Finding your place in the world

A slightly existential post to cap the year off. 


As the year draws to a close and we all take one further step towards oblivion, it is timely to reflect on the year that was and think about lessons we have learnt.

Otago University - where I studied and got my B.A has an advertising campaign which uses the slogan: "Find your place in the world."

A little over three years after graduating my B.A at Otago, and two years since my PgDip at Canterbury, I'm still searching for mine.

I haven't yet decided the career I want to pursue or even the city I want to live in.

2011 was a massive news year. Here were some of the big stories:


*A lot of powerful bastards fell of their perches: Gaddafi, Kim Jong-Il, Osama etc.
*There were revolutions all over the show: Libya, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and other countries in the middle East.
*The war in Iraq drew to a close.
*Big Natural disasters in Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere.
*The GFC grinded on. The world economic outlook continues to be a bit gloomy.
*The downfall of Rupert Murdoch and his disgusting publications' antics.
*All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup.
*John Key is still the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
*Labour got a new leader.

While there was plenty of transition, lots of stuff stayed the same. The world has not yet collectively got together to stop climate change or tackle inequality. As a species, are we moving towards a better future? Or are we just continuing to make the same mistakes that got us into trouble in the first place?

2011 taught me a lot. I've met a lot of people. Been to a lot of countries. Spent a lot of hours in transit. Did some study in Indonesia. Had my own apartment. Went back to living with my parents, was briefly on the unemployment benefit. Moved to Christchurch. Got a job with the Earthquake Commission. Had long periods in a long-distance relationship and, of course, pondered my own existence quite a bit.

The year finished on a low-key note: in an office, working an incredibly boring job and contemplating throwing my computer and then myself out the window (although it's only a two-story building so I'd probably just get moderate injuries).

It's an inane question, but sometimes you have to ask: what does it all mean?  If I rationalise all the individual elements of my life - I feel grateful for what I have. Compared to many in the world, I live a blessed existence. People in New Zealand have got it pretty good in a lot of ways.

Still.. there's that creeping sense that I'm just already going through the motions. I have the feeling that a lot of people are in the same boat.
I guess I don't feel I yet have any purpose.

For all my travels and experience - I haven't yet found what it is I feel I'm meant to be doing.
Perhaps there is no one thing that any of us is meant to do. Our experiences and education will shape the choices we make and a lot of people just fall into something.

I like this definition

You have to motivation towards a goal to function as a human. Without a sense of purpose. Everything can seem a bit pointless.

At the moment my goals are centered around paying off my student loan, finding a good job and travelling some more in future. That's enough to keep the wheels of my life turning. Money alone is not a huge motivator.

I don't like the sense that you are just plodding through life. If every day is just another 24 hours passed where you do the same shit you did yesterday, what the hell is the point?

Just work a job, save some money, buy some stuff, pop out some kids so they can do the same?
I don't have any belief in god or life after death. I believe we make our own meaning.

This article talks about "satificers" vs "maximisers." I probably fall into the latter category and agonise a bit about making the right decision about my life. It means that you often second guess the decisions you've made and as a result, don't feel as satisfied overall. How many others are out there think like that?

At the end of the day - you have to get on with it, right? But I'm often left thinking about what would bring me a sustained sense of satisfaction with my life.

I had a lot of good times this year and achieved some of my New Years resolutions. I haven't yet scuba dived. I did hit the gym a lot, take some protein powder and reach my goal weight (heavier rather than lighter), I studied Indonesian for a while and lived with my girlfriend for a period too.

I finish with quotes from two giant figures who died in 2011. Steve Jobs and Christopher Hitchens.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."
- Steve Jobs

"The only position that leaves me with no cognitive dissonance is atheism. It is not a creed. Death is certain, replacing both the siren-song of Paradise and the dread of Hell. Life on this earth, with all its mystery and beauty and pain, is then to be lived far more intensely: we stumble and get up, we are sad, confident, insecure, feel loneliness and joy and love. There is nothing more; but I want nothing more." - Christopher Hitchens


Here is to a positive 2012. Happy New Year everyone!

Living in post-earthquake Christchurch

My experiences returning to Christchurch after three major earthquakes.

I've been living in Christchurch for just over a month now having taken up a temporary job with the Earthquake Commission, the organisation that insures most private homes in New Zealand against natural disasters.

It's a diverse group of people working there. From young graduates to middle aged mothers. Hundreds and hundreds of us. Everybody at EQC realises the task of rebuilding Christchurch is a big one and they also know the job is temporary (as in a few months). So we get on with it.

It's kind of strange that my weekly pay cheque is thanks to New Zealand's worst ever natural disaster.

Christchurch is mind bogglingly different since I last lived here in 2009. While not my home city, I did live here for two years and during my childhood I came up for nearly every school holiday to see my grandparents. I know it well and it holds many great memories for me.

One of the quake victims

I guess no one expects a place they live in to be destroyed by shock event. One becomes accustomed to seeing natural disasters on the news. You can foolishly assume those things won't happen to you.

I was in Thailand for the September quake, Belgium for the Feb one and Indonesia for the June event. While in Belgium I was suddenly seeing my old home on TV. A massive earthquake had destroyed a place I had lived! I went through initial panick at the thought my friends and relatives had been hurt. Once I knew they were safe I was just sad to hear of all the victims and widespread destruction.

 It could have been worse. It's not like Christchurch was hit by an atomic bomb or a tsunami. It was pretty awful.. A lot of tragic stories, 181 deaths, many injuries and stress and a city forever changed. On the bright side, parts of the city remain in good nick

In front of the Cathedral 2009

I was lucky not to have been here for any of the major shakes. A lot of people were traumatised by the experience, particularly those in buildings that partially or fully collapsed. I have experienced a few aftershocks but because it was my first time ever feeling a house shake I started laughing.

A lot of Christchurch residents find themselves in tricky situations. Some have lost their businesses, home and worst of all loved ones. Some people want to leave but aren't able to sell their properties until the insurance has been settled. There aren't exactly a flood of people queuing up to move here either.

When I last lived here I doing journalism school at University. I had an active social life and enjoyed visiting bars in the downtown area.

Christchurch is known as the garden city. It's quite leafy, flat, had a nice inner city, trams, heritage buildings and is the second most populated city in New Zealand with around 350,000 people. It had nice beaches and beautiful areas like Lyttelton and Sumner.

There was Cathedral Square and many good pubs, restaurants and cafes. Most of the aforementioned are gone now. Christchurch is a shell of it's former self. Thankfully my grandparents house where I spent a lot of my early years is still standing. Looking at it from the outside someone might not know it has a lot of damage but it's fallen off it's foundations, has large cracks inside and some of the doors can't close anymore. The bill for repairing this damage? Around $78,000. And that's considered low.

The main earthquakes in CHCH were September 4th, February 22nd and June 13th but there were many thousands of aftershocks. Now there is no inner city. A lot of the cities most famous tourist attractions were destroyed, famous buildings have been demolished and most houses in Christchurch sustained damage in one of the shakes. Hundreds of the buildings that were very damaged have not yet been demolished. So they sit - there empty, cracked and sad. Their only fate to be taken apart piece by piece.

Parts of the city are much the same as before the disaster and a foreign visitor might not instantly realise there had been a catastrophe.

The very bumpy roads, patches of bare space and even areas of uncleared rubble that you eventually see while exploring the city do give it away though. I visited my old university the other day and a field that I used to run on is now covered with temporary buildings in which lectures are held!

So there is not much to do here these days. For the next couple of years, Christchurch is going to struggle to attract tourists. Not only are a lot of the best tourist attractions gone but the infrastructure for accommodating and transporting foreign guests is much worse than before.

What has stuck out most for me in post-quake Christchurch is what a (excuse the horrendous pun) leveler natural disasters can be. No matter how technologically advanced humans may be, we are not able to control the unpredictability of nature.  We may steadily become better at predicting when and where natural disasters will occur but I don't believe we will ever be able to completely stop these disasters from happening. Disasters can be a reminder to humans that we are not completely in control of the land and planet.

The road to Sumner now lined with containers

Christchurch will never again be the city that I knew. Hopefully it will evolve into something equally great or better over the many years of rebuilding.

Amanda Knox freed - My two cents...

From left to right, Kercher, Sollecito and Knox

So - quite a big day in the central Italian city of Perugia.

After serving four years in a Perugian jail Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito have had their convictions for the murder of Merideth Kercher overturned. 

Rudy Guede, the third man convicted, whose DNA was found in the private area of Kercher, remains in jail to serve out 14 more years in prison. If you don't know the facts about this case, you can see it all here.

I lived in Perugia at the beginning of this year in January and February. I was living there with my girlfriend who was studying Italian at Universita per Stranieri. It's not a whole lot of time, however I do have a few thoughts that I thought I'd like to share with you. 

In January I wrote a blog about life in Italy and briefly mentioned the Knox case at the bottom, here.

Perugia is a small city so when I asked around about the case, it wasn't very difficult to find people directly involved. One of the several connections I had was through a friend (a bouncer originally from South Africa who spoke five languages weirdly enough) I met who had met with the Knox family and was a huge supporter of them.

Patrick Lumumba and his family

I have a natural curiosity about these sorts of things and spoke a lot to people around the town who had been there when the murder happened. I even met Patrick Lumumba, a local bar owner who was accused by Knox of committing the murder and was later found to have a rock-solid alibi. He even gave dancing lessons to my girlfriend.

What has fascinated me and I believe many people about this case is all the twists and turns. It's horrible in a way, to have such a morbid fascination over what was a horrific slaying of a promising young woman. 


However, it's a real human drama and the stakes were high. One person's life had already been taken away but three other young people would potentially spend a very large portion of their lives locked in cages. Who was innocent and who was guilty?

If this case had clear-cut evidence then perhaps there would be no arguments. Critics of the Italian police in America mentioned that Perugia police rarely dealt with cases of this type. Their inexperience may have led to cross-contamination of DNA samples found on some of the objects in the home such as the alleged murder weapon and Kercher's bra-strap.

Knox confessed that she was in the house on the night of the murder and that she heard Kercher scream. 

Later this testimony was changed. The defence alledged police had questioned Knox for many hours in Italian without a lawyer present at a time when Knox only understood the basics of the language.

The big question was always:  What would Sollecito and Knox's motive for the killing be? 

Photo I took of central Perugia in January with my gf

Why would a seemingly normal, young American exchange student and her Italian, medical student boyfriend of two weeks commit a rape and murder when there was nothing at all in the lead-up to the murder to suggest they would want to do so?

The whole orgy/murder alleged by the prosecution was pretty fantastical. If you add the word "sex" into any news story, it gets a lot more attnetion. I know this even from both working in the media and writing this blog. 

Unfortunately, over time, with so much evidence and conflicting testimonies, it feels like the truth is almost impossible to come by. 

The whole case reminded me very much of the murder trial of David Bain in New Zealand. He was accused on murdering his whole family in my hometown of Dunedin in  1994. In his first trial in 1995 he was convicted and through the appeals process he served 13 years in prison. He had a retrial in 2009 (much of which I attended) and was acquitted.

Rudy Guede in police custody

People were so divided in New Zealand on that case. There were passionate, vocal supporters of him in court, but the wider public and the media firmly believed it was David and not his father who killed the four other family members. 

Short of the victim returning from the grave to tell the world what happened to them, we will never know the full truth. There are only theories. 

When I talked to people in Perugia, the opinion were mixed as to the guilt or innocence of Knox and Sollecito. Some people really, really hated Knox. They believed her promiscuity and murder had brought the small Italian city into disrepute. Lumumba had fired Knox after she had worked at his bar as a waitress. She apparently flirted with customers and didn't have a good work ethic. 

A week later she accused her boss of being the murderer. There were also weird stories of Knox buying lingerie just the day after the murder and doing handstands for police in the cell just after she had been arrested. Perhaps this came down to shock?

I spoke to others including a Swedish friend who flatted with a close friend of Amanda Knox and was adamant that it was an incompetent Perugian policing that accounted for the conviction.

Whatever the case.. They are free now and the 26 year old Ivory Coast man, Guede, will continue to serve his time.

Diagram of house where murder occurred

A former FBI serial killer-profiler looked into the case and had this to say:

E: What was your conclusion of the behavioral profiles you conducted?

JD: From the profiles created, none of the behavioral or forensic evidence leads to Amanda and Raffaele. There's no history or experience related to violence or mental illness in their backgrounds. None of the behavioral or forensic evidence leads to them. This is not a case of serial killers, cold blooded murderers. They used marijuana, but that’s not some hard core drug that will change a normal personality. They should’ve walked out of there. 

Here are my questions:

* If the evidence was handled properly and more clear-cut would this case have dragged out over four years?

* Would there have been so much media attention if Amanda Knox was unattractive? 

* Now that she and Sollecito are free will either of them or both them write books about their experience and make money? Is it right if they do?

* Will they do televised interviews? Will Knox appear on 60 minutes?

* Can you ever resume a relatively normal life after an ordeal like this? If so, how long will it take? Knox and Sollecito will always have people who think they did it, regardless of the overturning of the conviction.

So what do you think? I'll respond to any questions or comments... 

Getting smacked by a big dose of post-travel blues

It was always going to happen.

Returning to my small, cold home-town at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand after an exciting year of travel was inevitably going to be challenging.

The blues were slightly compounded by the fact that most of my friends have left town.


Fortunately I'm not going to be in Dunedin for long.

Reasons for post holiday blues:

Gone are the three-day stop overs in European cities.
No more fleeting conversations with interesting itinerants.
No more annoying street sellers chasing me everywhere, sigh...
Less exotic food but on the plus side, less diarrhea.

Of course, travelling wasn't all great:

I did get sick.
I was tired from many nights of little sleep.
I did sometimes wish I could just stay in one place, especially when I just started to like it and meet cool people.
I got sick of being on trains or busses for 16 hours or being in airports all the time.

However.... 

I feel that somehow when you're travelling, status means a bit less. In everyday society, it's what you do, how much money you earn. In hostels at least, it seems that people come together in a way that they might not in their normal lives. You can be having an amazing conversation with a mexican guy who owns a bar, an irish woman who works as a G.P back in Ireland and a Brazilian student all at the same time.

Travel snobs:

Travel status comes in the form of exchanging exotic stories. There are those dreadful people who always try to one-up you: the travel snobs. People who think everything they've done is better than anyone else.

 Person 1:  "I went to this great beach the other day in Thailand."

Person 2: "Well, two weeks ago my girlfriend and I went to a remote island with some local chiefs. We were the first Westerners to go there in 50 years and the locals had a festival in our honour."

You get the idea.

Knowing what someone does didn't hold the same weight that it does in everyday life. In travel, I was more interested in someone's thoughts and whether they were fun to hang out than the job they do.

I do not miss sleeper buses

Post holiday blues not helped by looking for work in time of recession:

Coming back to NZ when the youth unemployment rate for 18-25 years is 17.4 per cent is not ideal.

There are still jobs around, but you are competing for scraps. I'm not in the position where I have to provide for a family. I'm predominantly responsible for myself and doing menial labour for minimum wage is not attractive (I did those sort of jobs from 15-21 y.o so I'm holding out til I leave New Zealand again so I can chase a career job). I have been trying to find work and applying for temping positions but employers have got more workers to choose from at the moment so they tend to go with the person with the relevant experience every time (even when it comes to something like retail).

I realise many, many people around the world are in this position right now and at very least New Zealand's minimum wage is okay (10.1 USD an hour).

I do miss this

One thing I really miss about travel is the excitement of constantly going to a new environment.
Back in my home city, it really is just the same old thing. Most people are not particularly interested to hear about your travel adventures.

I'm not quite sure if returning to no job and lots of leisure time is better than if I had returned to a job that I didn't enjoy?

Seeing my family for a while has been good. Experiencing a bit of the world-cup atmosphere has been good too.  Fresh air and a clean environment are a nice contrast to over-crowding and pollution that I experienced in many of the places I visited.

And this

So the world keeps spinning and I'm interested in finding some work that actually helps the world rather than just trading my time for a measly wage and feel miserable.

Would be interested to hear other people's experiences coming home after a big trip.....

New Zealand: A frank look at my home country after a year away

This blog is not about me hating on New Zealand. I'm just re-evaluating some things about the country with fresh eyes. It's a lovely place for the most part and where I will probably raise my kids.

I think its inevitable that when you spend a decent period of time away from where you were brought up, you will view it slightly differently when you return. That's because the more places you experience, the more points of comparison you have to your home town.

It was the rule rather than the exception that the traveller's I met abroad were a bit negative about their home city. When one compares an exciting life of travelling: meeting new people every day, partying, sightseeing and general holidaying, your life in your home city seems dull and boring.

After my first big trip abroad to Costa Rica in 2008, I returned after five weeks and remember arriving back at Auckland airport. Suddenly the flat vowels and general monotones of the New Zealand accent were deafening. Last year when I returned to NZ after being in Indonesia for two months, Christchurch really felt like a ghost town because compared to Indonesia, there are barely any people (and that was before the Earthquake). So how you perceive something is relative to other things you've seen, right?

My friend's house on the West Coast of NZ

Quiet Streets

Whereas the streets of Asia are mostly a throng of activity: food sellers, cars, motorbikes, noises, smells, people eating - Dunedin and more broadly New Zealand streets would be a welcome home for tumble weed or old newspapers blowing in the wind. There are literally nights when you can go on the streets at 7 pm and not see a single soul. If you love peace and quiet, it's right up your alley. We have small population and the climate doesn't always lend itself to being outside (it's pretty cold a lot of the time), so that's part of the reason.

Boozy Nation
The exception to the quiet streets is, of course, when people go out to drink; oh yes, Kiwis love a few ales. Binge drinking culture in New Zealand was more apparent to me after I had travelled to countries where people drink but perhaps don't have the same tolerance for projectile vomiting. I find after a certain time out on the town, say 1am, people get a bit more aggressive. Fights start breaking out (mainly with young people), people stumble about and couples often start rowing. What you see in NZ is pretty similar to Australia or Britain.

Dunedin

Some Queenstown scenery

I tend to be a bit deprecating about my little city of the South called Dunedin. It's got a population of around 120,000 but it feels quite claustrophobic because the inner city is based around one main street. About a fifth of the population are aged 18-24 because it's got a large University and Polytechnic. Returning this time to my family home after a year way is different from it has been in the past. With the exception of one or two, all my friends have left. Dunedin is the sort of city you get out of once you hit a certain age. Perhaps you return when you have kids, or maybe you don't.

It's quite a beautiful place; there's no traffic, it's peaceful and there's a lot of nature nearby. The living costs are also lower than other parts of the country. On the downside, it's small and insular; the weather is spectacularly crap and the wages are significantly lower than in other parts of NZ.

NZ is sweet as because:
The things I can definitely be grateful for about New Zealand are that it's pretty clean (although the likes of the dairy sector don't necessarily tow the clean, green line), that we get free health care and schooling, there are benefits available for those who need it and the people here are mostly friendly, humble and open minded (although there is a bit of closet racism).

Slightly rubbish news

I had always heard that the NZ news media was a bit crap but that was especially obvious when I returned from overseas. The stories that get precedence in the media are often ridiculous and I think that's just a consequence of our geographical isolation. Apart from the occasional look at what's happening with our traditional trading partners (Australia, US and UK) we are mostly inward looking.

Rugby World Cup

The RWC was on last year and it was the biggest event New Zealand had ever hosted. We had approx 100,000 foreign visitors and there was a good atmosphere throughout the country. News hour after news hour, the leading stories were about the price of rugby shirts, or how some trains were late in Auckland, or that it was raining... Presumably the news chooses to lead with what its viewers want to hear but I definitely felt that there were issues that deserved greater prominence in our media than friggin rugby. 

Globalisation has meant we are more and more affected by what goes on abroad so we should all be a bit aware of international issues so that we don't become ignorant about things that are important to both NZ and the world. If we focus too much on what is happening here we risk further irrelevance in the international arena. I think that a lot of people do travel and keep and eye to what's going on but there's also a bit of denial. Some people seem to think NZ is immune from the rest of the world's problems.

My family home (at least in the eyes of foreigners)

But NZ's great, aye?
People love to harp on about NZ is "God's own" or say we are "the best country in the world" blah blah blah.. I want to know how many people who say that have travelled beyond Australia or Fiji? It's best to remain humble about your country because it's quite natural that you would have a preference to where you're born.

NZ does have a lot going for it to be sure. The fact that we have benefits for the sick or unemployed, we have a stable, functioning and not corrupt democracy, that we don't have heavily polluted air or lots of traffic are things to celebrate. But let's not be arrogant..

Where is New Zealand again?

The reality is that a lot of people abroad know next to nothing about NZ. In international affairs, we are a minnow. We do have just four and a half million people and our influence is limited. Those who do know about us often have strange ideas like we all live on some giant farm and there are sheep living in the cities or the whole country is like Lord of the Rings. Maybe being from somewhere like Denmark is similar; small country, quite wealthy but not super-important in the world.

True

Clean and Green, yeah, right. 

I am absolutely in favour of making the best of our environmental policies and looking after this land we have (although I told that NZ has one of the most altered landscapes of any country in the world). However, even if NZ was 100 percent Pure as we claim to be and used absolutely no power or resources it would matter not a bit. All the good work we do here is undone by all the bad done by big polluters like China and the US.
Funnily enough, NZ is a prime exporter of coal one of the most dirty forms of fuel around. Maybe we don't burn it here but we do sell it to countries who do. So it's slightly contradictory. It's like being against war but then selling weapons to North Korea.

Recently our Prime Minister John Key was grilled on the BBC by Stephen Sackur about our clan, green image. Mr Sackur cited Mike Joy, a leading environmental scientist at Massey University, who recently said “we are delusional about how green and clean we are”. Mr Joy made the comment while pointing out that many New Zealand species are facing extinction and more than half the countries lakes and low-land rivers are polluted. “That might be Mike Joy’s view, but I don’t share that view,” said Mr Key when Mr Sackur presented him with the quote.

I try my best to be pro the environment and help the world etc but in fairness I have one of the largest carbon footprints round. A year of flying to different countries has meant my green credentials are not so rosy. When I was in Europe people often said things like: "Oh, you are from paradise, you're so lucky." 

Our illustrious Prime Minister

NZ is definitely a paradise compared to a lot of the world but we have many internal issues we need to look at and fix. Independence and geographical distance from other countries makes the analogy of NZ being like a life raft in the world seem appropriate but lets down blow our own horn too much, aye? 

Questions or comments welcome.

  

Couchsurfing, why it's awesome and why you should join!

 If you are planning travel, a seasoned traveller or just love meeting new people CouchSurfing is a website you should consider joining.

Without hesitation I can say it's the best website I've ever joined. I've met so many amazing people, had incredible hosts who live in interesting places and who showed me generosity and kindness. It's allowed me to experience countries through the eyes of locals rather than just other travellers. It also helped me travel for longer because the accommodation is FREE. For nearly two months in Europe I didn't pay a single penny for a bed and that helped me travel further.

At present there are more than three million couchsurfing members spread about the globe but that number grows by about 20,000 new people a month.

For those who have never heard of CS the basic concept is this: 

CouchSurfing gathering in Jakarta

If you have a spare bed or traditionally a couch in your home and you are open minded you allow travellers to stay in your home. The person will contact you by looking at your profile, then send a request which you then accept, reject or ignore. You then look at their profile and decide whether you will host them or not. The system works because you have feedback on your profile from people you've met, much like with TradeMe.  Ideally, you will get to experience both a host and a surfer.. I've even had the pleasure of staying with people who I had already hosted.

My first guest was Anna for Aachen in Germany and two years after she stayed with me in my home town in New Zealand, this year I stayed with her in her place in Cologne.

I would say that people who offer their bed to strangers are generally pretty cool and not rapists or murderers as some concerned friends have suggested to me.

Your couchsurfing profile is a bit like a facebook profile: 

You can see mine here:  http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/fei/ . 

At dinner with some Sicilians

MY BEST EXPERIENCES: 

* My girlfriend and I stayed with some wonderful Sicilian guys in Palermo.. They were funny, cooked for us, told us a lot about the local culture and we met their friends and were treated to local.

* In Brussels, Belgium I stayed with a flat full of young Dutch Belgians.. I don't think I'd ever met any Belgians before and Brussels was described as being one of the most boring cities in Europe on the forums I had read. I had a fantastic time there! I learned that Belgians love comics, at the time they didn't have a proper government and a lot of them are fluent in Dutch, English and French and are able to switch freely between the three.

* Having two cool Czech hosts in two nights in Prague, one who I shared a really good laugh with, another who
took me to watch an obscure Czech singer/ comic book artist.

* Learning a bit about Thai culture from our Mexican host in Phuket

With some Surfers and traveller's in Vietnam

MOST COMMON CONCERN AMONG POTENTIALS HOSTS: 

But you let strangers into your house!?! Isn't that dangerous?

People say this to me often. I can certainly understand why they would have their doubts. 

Well, hopefully by the time you say yes to the person coming to your house you have read their profile thoroughly, checked their references and had a few emails of correspondence. Over 99 percent of all couchsurfing references are positive so you could conclude there reference system is pretty good. 

Have you ever had a negative experience? 

Yes I have.. Not horribly negative but a bit. I've had about 70 couchsurfing experiences. Some were so-so, 2 were not so good, most were great and several were mind-blowingly awesome. I've made some really great friends too.

In Brussels for dinner with young Belgians

I did lend a Couchsurfer some money once.. I had met a Cambodian guy who ran a school for disadvantaged children in Siem Reap.. He was very nice and genuine and a friend and I organised some fundraising for the school. Anyways.. a while later he asked to borrow some money. I lent it to him and he said he would repay within two months. It ended up being six months of emails and hassling him to get the money back.. I unfortunately found that this guy had done the same thing to other couchsurfers, some who didn't get their money back. Whether he was using the money for the school or not..It wasn't honest to meet people for couchsurfing under the pretext that they might give money to him..

Me on the left with my host (South African) and 2 other surfers

Do people use couchsurfing to find hookups?/ do couch-surfers often hookup? 


Undoubtedly some people do use the website for that purpose.. When I was in Rome I struggled to find a host because nearly all the hosts were men and a lot of the Italian guys had "female only" under their preferences for guests and had profile shots showing off their abs.

It seems inevitable that when young people are using a website like Couchsurfing to meet other people, particularly travelers that some people will kiss, fuck or even find a relationship (as I did)..




Do hosts cook for the couchsurfers?


Well you can if you want to.. You can also ask that they bring their own food, it's really up to the host.. I've had all sorts of different hosts. One girl in Bristol just gave me the keys to her apartment as she went to stay at her boyfriend's place. She also lent me her camera and laptop. I already had about 50 positive references on my profile at that point so she could be pretty sure I was trust-worthy (until I stole everything!!! only kidding)

With a surfer I hosted from the States

So basically, I wholeheartedly encourage you to get involved.. It's lots of fun. It's not for everyone, you have to have time put aside.

Do some people use Couchsurfing just for free accommodation?
It's true that free accommodation is a big part of the attraction to join the website but it would be obvious if someone was using you like a hotel. I've never had that sort of experience but I've heard of people who've had. Part of the point is you spend some time with your guest and make and effort to explain the place you live or even show them some local attractions. It just depends on your level of commitment 

Does any money exchange hands during Couchsurfing? 

If a Couchsurfer offered to contribute some money towards petrol if you are driving around a lot or food if they are staying for more than 4 days then that's fine but generally no money is involved.

SO WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN? 

Arm-wrestle with surfer Lars from Germany. He's one of my good friends and
I managed to catch up with him in both U.K and Ireland

I think that the spirit of Couchsurfing is really great. It's spreading good will and helping create connections between people all around the world. If I were to suddenly think of Thailand or Belgium or Germany, I would think of the locals I met in those places and the experiences I had. Hosting or being hosted has aided me knowledge of foreign countries. And it's so bloody easy!
Increasing one's knowledge of the diverse range of people and places on planet Earth can only enable one to understand it better. CS will not be to everyone's tastes but hopefully to yours!

Hopefully that convinced you to join!


Questions? Comments? 

Advice and tips for round the world travel!

On a bridge in Prague

In a club in Liverpool 

On Tower Bridge London

In Venice

Overlooking Palermo, Sicily

In Barcelona in front of Sagrada Familia

Trying Guiness even though I hate beer

With my friend in Dublin

An amazing house near Blarney Castle in Ireland

On Koh Phi Phi with some friends and girlfriend

With my girlfriend in Thailand

With a Thai fighter in Chang Mai

With some Cambodian kids near the killing fields

Angkor Watt

In a Cambodian hotel basement with staff 

In Laos

How I looked after an eye infection from tubing in Laos

While I was working in a bank in Perth

Down town Hanoi

On August 12th I returned to New Zealand after 370 days travelling overseas.

August 5th last year I departed Christchurch to Thailand on the first leg of my multi-continent journey. I was unsure of the next stage for my career or study and in the meantime, travel seemed like the best option.

It was the longest I'd been away from my family and friends and it was incredible.

My trip was 20 countries in Oceania, South East Asia and Europe.

Here are some simple tips that I have drawn from my trip that could help you next time you are on the road.


Travel doesn't have to be expensive:


In my year travelling by far the highest expense was flights. Aside from that, travelling was cheaper than my every day life in New Zealand. I didn't have to pay regular rent (I got cheap accomodation a lot of the time and couchsurfed), I didn't have to pay car maintenance and food was generally cheaper than in NZ too.

Have a practical bag and pack light.

 If you are in a developing country and want to have a ride on the back of a scooter, a giant suitcase will be a massive pain in the arse. A comfortable and sturdy backpack is ideal. Along the journey you will inevitably collect souveineers so best plan is to leave half to three quarters empty.


Write down details of where you are going who you are meeting and try to have a map in advance.

If you're melting in the sun carrying your backpack from the airport or train station you just wanna get to your accomodation pronto. The simple step of writing down a meeting point and putting details on your phone plus carrying a map prevents needless waiting, searching and feeling pissed off.


Have a place sorted in a city before you stay

 I don't mean booking well in advance. Sometimes you can book on the very day you travel. It will make you feel better going to a city and knowing that you have a room sorted to stay. Just turning up to a hostel will often mean paying extra because the staff know you probably can't be bothered finding somewhere else. Hostelfinder and hostelworld are easy sites for booking accomodation and the advice from other backpackers is a good guide for whether a place is a shithole or not. 

Couchsurf!

I'm going to write a separate post about this later but off the bat I can honestly say that joining couchsurfing.org is one of the best things I've ever done..

 You can meet amazing people from all around the globe, you get a cultural experience from a local and free accomodation. I couldn't have stayed in Europe for so long if it wasn't for my great couchsurfing hosts. I got places in the centre of Paris, Siciliy, Brussels, Berlin etc etc.


Put your money in multiple places and carry a credit card.

When going out I tend to only take as much as I think I'll spend and leave the rest in a safe place at my residence. Having a credit card can come in handy for booking or emergency purchases. Don't put all your eggs in one basket cause if you lose your money and passport together, you will be underneath a shit volcano just as it errupts.

Dress sensibly and for the climate

There are times in the trip when I didn't have the right clothes for the environment and paid dearly. If you wear too much when it's hot you will be repelling potential friends with your body odour and feeling dredful. Flip flops are pretty good but not for climbing a hill and not on slippery rocks. A quality pair of all purpose shoes are a must.

Be respectful of the local culture

 Westerners have a bad reputation in parts of Asia because we are viewed as being loose and disrespectful. I went to Vang Vieng last year and had a blast but I can completely understand the perspective of some of the locals in Laos when I read this article:

 http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/international/5372627/Laos-tubing-craze-destroying-town

 It's fine to enjoy yourself but think about the image you convey if you are in a conservative country wearing next to nothing, especially when visiting a temple or a religious site. Determine the social norms of a country to establish whether strolling round in a group of friends staggeringly drunk is accepted or not.


Sleeping aids are your friend:

If you are crashing in noisy hostels after a long journey on a train or bus you want a good night's kip. Some earplugs and face mask will aid you especially when people in your dorm are getting up at 5am to catch their flights. A good neck pillow will come in handy many times as well so keep one on you.


Try travelling alone:

 You are never really alone while travelling because you will literally always meet people. It's much easier to make friends when you are by yourself because other travellers feel more at ease approaching you. I've had locals take me to a Vietnamese movie in Vietnam, people buy me dinner or drinks and all sorts of cool experiences which would not have happened had I been with a friend. If you suddenly have an urge to go with a new friend to a different place than you originally intended you don't have to consult another party to see if they are up for it.  Try it out, at least once..


Don't look like a tramp at customs:


Customs staff the world over are notorious fucking assholes. It's in the nature of their job to be suspicious of everyone but there's no need to wave a flag that says "I look like I'm a drug mule". If you want to be searched and delayed and the airport then don't shave for a few months and dress in your most shabby clothes.


Bring entertainment for long journey

Get as many small books crammed into your carry bag as possible, charge your Mp3 player and bring some cards or games if you've got them. 18 hours on a train through Vietnam or a 16 hour boat trip in Laos will gradually make you lose the will to live. Great scenery will only keep you entertained for so long.



Agree on a price first:

This is very important. Write the price down if the person doesn't speak English and make sure they agree to it. One of the most common things you hear travellers tell you about is "that bastard taxi driver who charged me 20 dollars when the trip usually costs 5.."


To save money:


Buy your lunches at supermarkets

If there is a water cooler at your place, fill your portable bottle.

Have a daily budget, and try hard to stick at it, unless you are loaded you can't travel long if you are shredding through 50 bucks a night on alcohol.


Know the local exchanged rate and have a rough idea of the typical price of things

In some countries, people don't look at you as a person as much as a walking, talking ATM. Be clued up on money or you will get shafted


Go to museums or shopping malls to use toilets:

Sometimes you will spend an hour looking for a loo and in some countries the restaurants wont let you use the bathroom if you don't buy something.


Try street food but be careful:

If there are flies on the food displayed, go elsewhere. If they fry the food in front of you, you should be okay.

Bring some medication and toilet paper in your carry bag because you never know when your body will say "get this crap out of me!" I had a horrible moment on a plane shortly after having food poison in Jakarta. I was talking to a nice American girl and had the sudden feeling I would explode.. Fortunately I didn't.