Special things going on :
http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/calendar/
https://www.todocanada.ca/things-ottawa-weekend/

There is always a lot going on in Ottawa during the summer. The biggest thing is of course Canada Day on July 1st. The Bluesfest (5 stages, 200+ performers) and Hope Beach (music and volleyball for charity) are also very big events in July

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CURRENT MISSION

- visit Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Hawaii, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Eastern Europe

ABOUT ME

I grew up in Ottawa and lived here most of my life. I also lived in British Columbia for awhile.

I am easy-going and I get along with people of all ages and personalities. I still hike up mountains and enjoy going to a pub with live music when on vacation. I like to drink but I don't go to bars much in my own town unless I have a couchsurfer who requests a pub night or a nightclub. I really enjoy live music so I am usually up for a night out.

I was in the technology services industry but I am transitioning away from that. I decided to enjoy life rather than "chase the dollar". I play poker successfully for extra income which is a great passion/hobby of mine.

PHILOSOPHY

You only live once. When an opportunity presents itself, take a risk and choose the path that will be most rewarding.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted a few times and been hosted once. I have been to CS meetups and have done some adhoc hanging out with many other CS members. I was lucky to meet some wonderful people that I would have otherwise never have met.

I am trying to learn mandarin Chinese and welcome the opportunity to host Chinese people even if they don't speak much English. In the past, I have had a non-English speaking Chinese in my home and we managed to communicate effectively using translation tools.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The one thing that sometimes happens when traveling is that you don't get to immerse yourself in the culture. Museums and such are great but learning about the people, their way of life, their way of thinking and making new friends is why I enjoy travel. I think couch-surfing is one way to get that and staying at hostels is another.

CHINA TRIPS

There are many places in or near China that I want to visit or revisit: Changsha, *Chengdu, Dali (Cang Mountain), *Foshan, Guiyang, Hainan province, Harbin province, Huangshan in Anhui, Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟 in Sichuan, *Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia and Northern China, *Shenzhen, Taiwan, Tibet, Wuling Mountain Range (武陵山脉) and Fenghuang and Zhangjiajie (张家界) in Hunan Province. Maybe Xinjiang also. Maybe Zhaoqing and Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟 in Sichuan province.

Interests

hiking, music, festivals, poker, swimming, badminton, ping pong, arcades, pubs and taverns, food, clubs, site-seeing, mountains, lakes, camping, galleries, coffee, exercise, red wine, billiards, pinball, horse racing, movies, board games (Catan, Dominion, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride, 7 Wonders).

• arts
• culture
• concerts
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• red wine
• beer
• coffee
• picnic
• bbq
• exercise
• clubbing
• pub crawls
• shopping
• technology
• movies
• traveling
• billiards
• poker
• music
• live music
• hiking
• camping
• whitewater rafting
• soccer
• horse racing
• swimming
• table tennis
• bowling
• badminton
• tourism
• lakes
• mountains
• pool
• ball hockey

Music, Movies, and Books

Lord of the Rings (all of them), Star Trek (various), Apocalypse Now (1979), Heavy Metal (animated), Pink Floyd - The Wall (1982), Planet of the Apes (1968), Groundhog Day (1993), The Matrix (1999), Melancholia (2011), Donnie Darko (2001), Wall-E ....and many more.

I love watching movies of any genres but I gravitate towards movies that are philosophical, have a social message, or stretch the imagination beyond what is real and possible.

I like most music but to pick some favourites: Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Beethoven Symphony 6 Pastoral, Cake, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Primus, Rammstein, Steve Vai, Pachelbel, ... can listen to anything.

读万卷书不如行万里路 - It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books. Actually books are great and wish I would read more often but lately I just wait until the movie comes out ;)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have rafted in the Indonesian jungle, jumped from an airplane, rode an elephant, played poker in many different countries and won a poker tournament against 3143 other entries.

In China I have travelled a lot ... I have been to:
Beihai, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongzuo, Foshan, Guangzhou, Guilin, Hong Kong, Huizhou, Kunming, Leshan, Lijiang, Macau, Nanchong, Nanjing, Nanning, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiamen, Yangshuo, Yunfu, Zhaoqing, Zhuhai, and I will grow this list.

I go hiking each trip at least once.

I still have not been to Taiwan and Tibet ... but they are on my list.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach English, learn Chinese. Learn about other cultures and attitudes.

2-3 Weeks in Ottawa and surrounding areas in Summer - Suggested Itinerary

Unless you have a large budget and a lot of time, you probably should pick only one of either western Canada (Alberta and British Columbia), eastern Canada (Ontario and Quebec), the maritime provinces (east coast) or the far north (Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territorries). In my opinion ... you probably need 2 or 3 separate trips or over a month to see substantially all of Canada. So balance your desire to see Niagara Falls and Ottawa (the capital city) with that of seeing mountains and the ocean. There is plenty of nature and beauty everywhere in Canada but the Rocky Mountains on the west coast are definitely something special.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A travel guide, a bed, food, a glass of wine, open conversation about anything and insight into how North Americans think, poker lessons. If none of that is good then I have an Xbox and Netflix.

If you are a good cook then we can make dinner together or you can make a side-dish (something that is served in your country) - that would be awesome for me. If you can't cook that is okay too, I can make some pretty good dishes.

OTTAWA - USEFUL ADVICE and LINKS

Live Music:
http://couchassassin.com/venue-type/live-music
This site now closed but Google Search “live music ottawa” and there is plenty.

Festivals:
http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/calendar/

Tourism:
https://www.ottawatourism.ca/

FYI: my real name is Allan Drake or Al for short.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, England, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada