I am Sam van Oerle, 26 years old and I was born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Late 2013 I graduated for my study 'airplane engineering' which left me time to think about the future. Back in those days the future sounded more serious than I now consider it was. I decided to leave my education on the side lines and follow my own desire.

While working in Amsterdam's restaurant industry I found myself thinking of wanting to see more than the Netherlands. I had the job for the savings, the time to plan and the courage to go and so I went. I bought myself a train ticket from Moscow to Beijing and started a long journey, not knowing where it would bring me.
The journey took me a near 2,5 years through areas like East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Now I am working on a new chapter in my life. I have the dream of going globally once more but this time the journey would go by bicycle. Back home I was raised up while always cycling to everywhere I needed to go. Packing up the little things you actually need in life and go on adventure seems as if it was made for me. As it is now, I am preparing my trip and will buy the bicycle very soon. I hope that by bicycle it is much easier to meet heaps of Couch surfers in cities I otherwise would not visit.
This all is work in progress and I expect to leave, heading east from Amsterdam in spring 2019.

I hope to meet you down the tracks!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Since I have traveled a lot and stayed in all different places. What I miss often is the feeling of a place like home. That is logical. Meeting locals, whether you meet them at their homes, home town or on a day out has given me that feeling before. This shows me more depth and diversity of people but also their culture from the inside. What I like most of all with Couch surfing is that I sometimes participate in completely different things than that I would keep myself busy with at home. You can learn a lot from people living their daily lives. Soon I hope to meet you while I pass by on my bicycle.

Interests

My hobby's would be playing the drums and of course travelling. I also like to cook, juggling and engineering. Soon I'm about to step on a bike ride without a finish line which will make me realize if cycling is a hobby for me or just an easy form of transport.

• cooking
• aviation
• traveling
• music
• drums
• cycling
• engineering

Music, Movies, and Books

My music taste is very wide. I play jazz with drumming but I also enjoy rock to hip hop. Electro to Latin american music. Anything with a good taste of rhythm can make my day. My favorite movie has to be the Lord of the Rings. I am reading the 'A song of Ice and Fire' series which are great, definitely my favorite on the short list of books I have read.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I took the Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to Beijing. I drove my own motorcycle across Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Hiked up high in the Nepalese Himalayas.

Teach, Learn, Share

Basic music knowledge and dutch Language/food. I would like to learn Chinese.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Some of my life experiences and what they brought me. I can teach how to juggle, drum and perhaps a laugh if we both have humor.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Netherlands