Couch Surfing Guests 2

My house has been so deathly quiet and I suddenly feel all alone when these two CSers left, after staying in my place and had their fill of seeing the Angkor Wat & other temples. These twos had just decamped vibes of cordiality, too bad, I haven't joined on their biking going around just as fund is so tight these days. Since I came to Cambodia and open my house for Couch Surfing, I never run out of request. My inbox is always filled with request messages & last minute request for meetings.

Alexander from Russia, a funny guy and musicality talented.

Jose from Spain. A nice man and so humble.

Jose busily tinkering my laptop, while Alex enjoying the green mango with gusto waited for his turn.

Couch Surfing Guests

Been an active member of Couch Surfing since 2010 and the experience is truly great. I just love to host fellow backpackers and listen to their travel experiences and travel tips as well.
I am honestly picky in terms of accepting someone to sleep in my place, so here are the people that I hosted in the Philippines and here in Cambodia.

A young lady from Taiwan.

A young couple from Germany.

A fellow educator from Singapore.

A travelers from Germany that I hosted in the Philippines.

Couch Surfing Class

I am proud to be a part of this online community. Thanking "The Crazy History of History" for these pictures.

Meeting a Friend of a Friend - Couch Surfing

Who would have thought (that) a fellow Couch Surfer & a  friend that I just met in Malaysia, would find her way to see me in Warsaw - Poland. Didn't expect that she could be that serious to see me again.

Our first meeting was in Kuala Lumpur during a Couch Surfing gathering. She shared her adventures and the way of travelling by cargo ship & I did mine too. It wasn't hard for me to adjust as we were trying to acquaint ourselves just as we have the same common interest apart from travelling but embracing vegetarianism.

She knows a bit of my country because she met a lot of Filipinos on her trip working in a cargo ship. The funny thing is, she could awfully sing popular folk song in my country.
Another local CS joined in, which a list of Polish friends have improving this time and we had a great time together. Hoping to see her again with her husband one day somewhere else.  

Friday Night - Out

It has been a couple of months that I haven't been out of my comfort zone and getting wild for a while. Thanks to my Polish friend Paulina ( & a fellow couch surfer) who invited me to be included in her celebrations after she successfully defense her dissertations.
My hesitations had prevented me at first to say my yes because of the freezing cold weather outside. I guess, that's where I got a bad cold. However, confining myself in the four corners of my room would killin me more, so despite of the chilling weather I need to stretch out of my legs and jive with the people whom I only meet occasionally.
The good thing about it you tend to meet new friends, though friendship intimacy would not be that close enough to go, one day or another you will still meet them on the way 'coz we are only living but in a small world.

COUCH SURFING FRIEND - 3

From my previous entries, I featured about Couch Surfing friends whom I just met during my backpacking trip and CS gathering. Being a part of this backpacking community is a good chance to meet people from other countries with the same interest in budget traveling so as gaining ideas of the do's and dont's on traveling.
For my 2 months stay in Poland, I met some of the CS members whom I just asked several questions about their trips and one of them was Aniko from Hungary. I enjoyed talking to this brave lady, who just love to travel alone.

1. How did you discover your love for travelling?

I was really obsessed with Finland and its culture, so I really wanted to move there and see. When I was there I wanted to compare with other Scandinavian countries, so then I could see where can I position Finland in it. Then I wanted to compare Scandinavia with other countries to see why it is soo succesful and calm place, then... :-)

2. Best travel experience that you’ve ever had?
I love them all and I cannot choose. Why? Because all of them was my idea, my plan, I organized it and I saved the money for the expenditures. For me it means a lot as before it was impossible for me to afford to go anywhere, even in my home country sometimes.

3. What's the farthest place you have ever traveled?
Probably Norway and Portugal.

4. Name the top 5 places both local & abroad that you like?
I like Scandinavia as it is, St Petersburg also must be in the top five. France also a must. Portugal and Switzerland, probably.

5. If there's one tourist place in your country that you could recommend to a lone traveler where'd it be and why?
In Hungary: Széchenyi Spa and Budapest itself.
In Finland: Helsinki, and the forests are amazing (traditional sauna is a must!!!)
Switzerland: I think here anytwhere you go it is amazing, like a postcard. Really! As a dream!
France: Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris

6. Bad experience that you’ve had on your trip?
None yet and I am very hapy about it! Although I have to add that I try to prepare very well for every travel to avoid any problems. But of course luck is a big factor always!

7. Things you learned on travelling?
Life is amazing. I think this fact should already make people happy and satisfied. When I go and see and experience I am happy and balanced with my life and my surroundings, because I can see how coloful and perfect our planet is. I have to add that I don't believe in perfect-perfect as perfect-perfect is unnatural! I think something is perfect with the beauty of the defaults involved, like our little planet. :-)

8. Where’s your favourite place in this planet and why?
I think Europe is really cool. I have to add that I haven't been out of Europe yet, so I am not objective, but my explanation is:
Europe is one of the smallest continent, but the most colorful with languages cultures and historical buildings.

Imagine this in any other continent:
I lived in Lausanne , Switzerland. There the religion is protestant, language is french and people are swiss citizens. If I went 70km west: I was already in France, where the language is french, but the religion is christian!!!.
If I went like 300km north I was already in Germany, where people speak german and they are catholic!
If I went like 100km east I was in still switzerland, but all the people were speaking German (german canton) and the religion is catholic.
If I went south like 200km I was already in Italy and there people are very strickly catholic and they speak italian, etc...
And the top of it: all these people:italian, german, french, swiss german you could see in their faces as they were also different in appearance and not to mention the buildings and the landscape!!!
I think now you undesrtand why I think that Europe is the best!
You travel a little and you see soo different culture that you cannot imagine and all these cultures, nations, countries live peacefully together (most of the time... :-))

9. How long will you backpack?
I don't know yet. I hope for a long time!!! :-)

COUCH SURFING FRIENDS - 2

Was spending on my bed for two weeks and now I'm recuperating and trying to regain strenght from such an unexplainable Winter depression, that took me a while to update my blog. The previous entry of my blog was, I made a brief interview of James Betia the author of travel blog "Journeying James" about his passion on backpacking.
As a regular member of Couch Surfing and made some friends whom I just met during the CS meeting here in Warsaw and in Malaysia, I also thought of why not asking my CS friends about their love on backpacking and how they got started.
I selected a few who have gone longer on backpacking, so here's the first couple that I'd love to feature first.

Dianne and her husband, on their travel.


1. How did your love for travelling start?

Went to Kenya as missionary and did not know we liked to travel until then

2. What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?

there have been no bad trips all too good to chose one

3. What's the farthest place you have ever traveled?

China

4. Name the top 5 places both local & abroad that you like?

1. home
2. Sanibel Island
3. Germany
4. Kenya
5. the next place we go

5. If there's one tourist place in your country that you could recommend to a lone traveler where'd it be and why?

any quiet beach anywhere - because i love the beach

6. Something that you learned on your travelling?

it is a really big world out there and I will never see it all and everyone is so nice to meet and they have such wonderful stories to tell

7. Where’s your favourite place in this planet and why?

even though travel is the greatest thing home is best of all.

(I'd certainly agree with you, there's no place in this world called home,that's why its called Home Sweet Home.)

8. How long will you backpack?

till I run out of money!! already using the thing with wheels since can't carry a pack anymore

9. If you could treat yourself in style by traveling, which country you wish to see & why?

around the world!!!

10. What Not to bring (on)backpacking?

to much stuff - too much stuff - too much stuff
every time we travel we carry less and less.


Well, I am looking forward of traveling this godly couple one day soon. Traveling with the same interest so as you go in the church would be fun I guess.

COUCH SURFING FRIENDS

I just had a great day yesterday while staying in Kuala Lumpur. At least for my two weeks stay, it wasn't that boring because I got the chance of meeting other CS friends here in KL so as from other countries too.
Meaning it was a gathering of backpackers in Kuala Lumpur so as backpackers from other countries who are travelling in the capital city right now. Was and am certainly is happy to be a member of this backpackers online community.
To update you about our happenings let me show you some pics.



With the CS from other countries that I met in Kuala Lumpur.



Susanne Wilke from Switzerland, a very friendly and funny lady.



Me at the roof top of Traders Hotel with Petronas tower in the evening.



The street that we hang-out...place for backpackers.