CURRENT MISSION

"Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much."

ABOUT ME (Updated May 2015)

I like how you need to keep updating this section with time as we all change with time :-)

I can't believe it has been almost 6 years since I was in Germany and since I first know the existence of CS. My CS experiences have therefore gone through different stages with the years. When I was in Germany in 2009, I was a hardcore couchsurfer, I will use my weekends and just find and city and go surf with someone while using the German carshare website: Mitfahrzentrale (Forget about Uber and lyft in SF, these are way before their time!!). I had formed some of the most memorable friendship in my time during those few months in Europe through CS and I am proud to say that I am still in touch with many of the friends back then. It was just living young mentality.

After Europe, I move to California, and I spent two years hosting travelers from all around the world on CS. It was a very different experience than being the traveler myself, but in a way, it still allowed me to see different culture and meet fantastic people. It was another great two years with CS.

And 2 years in California, I went on a 3 months backpacking trip in South America and India, I again bonded with some beautiful minds through CS, travelers or host. Some host me, some we met for drinks. It was just beautiful. I really love it.

After the trip, I moved to San Francisco, and with the small apartment where I live with my wife (We got married in July 2013!), I could no longer host. When I was in SF, I traveled for work to Asia quite a bit and every time I travel, though I never need a couch I always tried to meet with the CSers from the city and have a great time! That way, I saw Shanghai and Suzhou with the best they have to offer!

After all these transitions with CS, I love it, I conclude by saying that I think there is no a single way or typical way of using CS, it is all about bonding with people through travel. (the key is through travel, I hate people who use it to hook-up, seriously guys, go somewhere else). It is just I have met so many wonderful souls I will have no way of meeting otherwise.

Now comes another stage of my wife, after San Francisco, my wife and I moved to Brussels, Belgium in October 2014. This is because it is always in my dream to come back to live in Europe for an extended period of time and take advantage of all this magical continent has to offer, and I am proud to say that we get to do it now!

PHILOSOPHY

This great quote from Bejamin Button sums up the philosophy for life I hope I can live up to.

"For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again. "-Benjamin Button

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I used to surf, and I used to host. But not as much these days anymore :(. I still try to meet up with CSers and make new friends whenever I travel. But now that I am back to Europe after 6 years, maybe I will start to be active again?

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have gone through different stages of participating in CS. First, as a hardcore surfer in Germany, it was a beautiful time.. My first encounter with CS and I still gotta say it was the most magical period. Then, I hosted like a hardcore host in California That was another fun period. Now I don't use it to surf or host as much, but I still enjoy using it to meet people whenever I travel. I think that's the best way to see a place! To see the place from the locals' perspectives!

Interests

Travel is my biggest passion in life. But given that it's not possible to just go travel forever, I tried to balance seeing the world with my life. I love the opportunity to live in different places and see different cultures. Listening to different languages.

Apart from travel, I love literatures, philosophies, and just enjoy life. I also love to cook, I am pretty good in making Malaysian and Italian Cuisine. (I am not making this up!)

• culture
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• drinking
• traveling
• socializing
• backpacking
• languages
• study abroad

Music, Movies, and Books

I love reading.. Reading transforms a person. It really allows you to stand on the shoulders of the giants. You can totally tell whom around you do read.

I love Music, it brings joy to life!! All types. Really depends on when and the mood. I think each music has a mood that it is for. I love listening to Chinese pop at work. Classical when driving to work. Hip Hop when I want to feel the beat and weekends. Bossa Nova for weekday nights.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have to say the experience of spending 3 months with all the Erasmus students in Germany is still one of the funnest thing I am glad I had experienced. It had also introduced me to the views of Europeans on many things.

Backpacking through India and South America for 3 months, too many amazing things I did see in this trip, one place I gotta bring up is Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia!

The chance to live in my favorite city of San Francisco for 3 years but now it's time to move on, and it's amazing that I get to live in Brussels with my lovely wife :-) and see Europe with her!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can't say I have much to teach, but I value a great conversation just about anything culture, travel related. A great conversation over some good wine/beer and good companies, I value that as one of the precious thing in life. :-)

Countries I’ve Visited

Bermuda, Bolivia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Malaysia, Taiwan, United States

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