Lived most of my life in South East Asia and returned to my home country a number of years ago. Still learning the Dutch way of life and adjusting to the way things are done.
I love travelling especially to get to know new people and the stories they carry with them. By spending nights talking with each other we get to see different perspectives and learn from each other.

I'm allergic to one of the things I love most which is cats.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I guess the same as everyone else, to meet new people in places I visit. For you don't really know the place unless you've explored it with someone who lives there!

Interests

Biking
Reading
Exploring
Long distance running
Chilling

• cats
• running
• boating
• shopping
• clothing
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• track and field
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
The incredible lightness of being
Discovery of Heaven
Game of Thrones
Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

Movies:
Mr. Nobody
Before Midnight
Watchmen
Amelie

Music:
Chillstep, lounge or anything I can sing along to

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

This was back when we still lived in Laos, I think I was around 17 and we were visiting a cave in the south with the family. It was one of those underground river through which you could travel with the boat to reach a beautiful sanctuary at the other end. The locals, being smart had capitalized on this and we're transporting tourists with their boats underneath the mountain. My mother, ever adventurous and not wanting to pay the seemingly high price for the fare, decided that we would trek over the mountain. We asked around if it was possible to do so. Someone finally got her to employ him as a guide which we really didn't think necessary, but ok he could tell us a bit about the surrounding area. He tried to explain that the path would be difficult but he didn't know our family! Sure the path wouldn't be easy but at least it would be a better memory than a 20 minute boat ride in the dark.
The path started as any normal path and we were quite confident we would reach the other side in maybe an hour or so. The beautiful green surrounded us as we started to ascend. Slowly but steadily the path became less and less walkable. We had grossly mispredicted the difficulty and length of the trek. After two hours the path had pretty much vanished and when the guide wasn't cutting through the brush with his machete we were jumping from jagged rock to jagged rock. The water had been finished and the hot sun was beating down on us. My headphones were dragging behind me but I didn't care, I didn't think about anything except the next step I had to take, lost all track of time.
Another two hours later we arrived in the clearing. My eyes found what my sweat stained clothes were looking for, the river! We dumped our backpacks and jumped in, don't think I've ever been as ecstatic. There was a little shop from which we bought tuna with ketchup in a can and some crackers from. I don't think I've ever tasted anything more delicious.

Had we taken the boat ride through the cave to get there it wouldn't have been that special. But because of the journey it was paradise. It's not about the place but about the journey.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Most of the time I'm pretty happy and try to make others around me feel the same. I try to help a lot with things needed to be done because since I'm staying with you I feel indebted.

Countries I’ve Visited

China, England, India, Italy, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia, Cameroon, Hong Kong, Laos, Nepal, Netherlands, Viet Nam