—— CURRENT MISSION ——

to get my wandering self back on the road again

—— ABOUT ME ——

Coffee - Chocolate - Tea - Squash - Cycling - Backpacking - Hiking - Strolling - Cafés - Music - Party - Social stuff - Entrepreneur - Observational humor - E-commerce

Please take a minute to browse my blog, it is the best representation I can offer :)
http://www.victorstravels.com/about-victor/

—— PHILOSOPHY ——

"Find out what you really, truly want in life and go do it"

"Dreams shouldn't only be dreams; it's time for action"

"Spend more time with the people you miss when long-term traveling"

"Say yes more" (franchising this from CS'ers Hicks and Mitch, both extreme yes-men)

"It's ok to play at playgrounds sometimes at age 24" (copyright: Angie)

"Truly listen before you speak"

"Patience is a real asset in life"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

—— HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING ——

I try giving something back. Cooking, being extra social, buying you a drink when we go out, little things that will reflect the message that I really appreciate that you're hosting me.

—— COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE ——

I've been introduced to couchsurfing by a friend in 2009, and I was sceptical at first. "Do people trust each other based on a (presumably fake) internet profile?"

I have been couchsurfing for over 6 years now, and I've stayed at more than a hundred hosts and hosted plenty of people myself. It is very easy for me to tell other people that I find Couchsurfing one of the best concepts of the last decade.

The general trust level is just amazing, and because of that openness and the honesty in the things people put on their profile surfing has ALWAYS been an awesome experience. I haven't had a single negative encounter. In fact, I've met some amazing people who I would love to meet again someday, sincerely hoping that "it's a small world".

Randomness is a key element in my CS experiences. I often post messages on the CS groups of cities that I visit asking for travel partners. This way I'm creating a win/win: cheaper travels AND meeting new people. Worked out very well so far, like the time I spent 14 days in a small campervan in New Zealand with someone I met on the day of departure.

Interests

Currently I'm at the point of self-rediscovery. I'm throwing things up on the wall to see what sticks. So far I found out that I enjoy the things mentioned at the top, under "about me".

I'm interested in hearing success (and failure!) stories of people's online and offline businesses. It takes courage to start your own thing, so I'm curious what triggered you to do so, and how your journey went.

• pets
• dogs
• books
• dining
• cooking
• chocolate
• coffee
• partying
• drinking
• movies
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• surfing
• racquetball
• track and field
• entrepreneurship
• long-term travel
• squash

Music, Movies, and Books

Music is a big passion in my life. I'm always collecting tracks, be it Funk, Techno, Hip Hop, Korean Soul, Japanese Surf Rock from the '60, anything groovy and danceable really. I travel with my complete (digital) music collection and am always ready to DJ. Just ask me!

I really enjoy self-help books, and I have a dozen of them on my to-read list. I'm really bad keeping track of what I read, but here are a few of my all-time favorites:

- "The 4-hour workweek", "The 4-hour body" and "The 4-hour chef" by Tim Ferriss. I recommend these to everyone!
- "The way of the superior man" - David Deida
- "Losing my virginity" - Richard Branson
- "The 8-minute mediation" - Victor Davich
- "Money - Master the game" - Tony Robbins

In the movie section I enjoy films that are well put together, usually psychological thrillers. A few of my favorites:

- Coffee and Cigarettes
- Batman: The Dark Knight
- Memories of a Murder (Korean)
- All Studio Ghibli movies (My Neighbour Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, Howl's moving castle etc)
- Jagten (The Hunt)
- The Wire (I know, not a movie, but it sure feels like it is)
- Das leben des anderen
- Funny games
- Inception
- The Shawshank Redemption
- ALL Quentin Tarantino's
- Shindler's List
- One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest
- Casablanca
- Rear Window
- 12 Angry men
- A whole lotta Martin Scorsese
- District 9
- The usual suspects

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I keep track of my most awesome experiences on my blog. Have a look: http://www.victorstravels.com/memorable-experiences/

Teach, Learn, Share

If you are interested in anything I've mentioned above, I'm happy to tell you more about it. Sharing is a really important aspect during my travels and back home and I particularly enjoy sharing books, movies, music and a little bit of life experience. If you let me stay at your place I can cook, play games, pet your dog or do the dishes.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Laughter, banter, food/drinks, a late-night chat, pictures, stories, music, books, you name it, really..

Countries I’ve Visited

Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Korea, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, Netherlands, Sweden

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