upt: jan’2026 dear friends who are travelling to nepal/pokhara ❤️ this might be a small platform glitch cause i still pop up on the top search among hosts in pokhara, nepal but! just a gentle update so there’s no confusion: in june 2025 i left pokhara — and nepal — for good. i don’t reside there anymore, i don’t host there anymore and all my projects there were lovingly wrapped up this year 🙏 with my husband chenbin, we’ve officially moved to kunming, china 🇨🇳 i modified it in my profile but somehow the system doesn’t accept this fact 🤦‍♀️😁 that said, we are still traveling full-time, so with hosting for a while is a bit complicated to schedule. hence the option is available for cs friends and family members only with planing far in advance for the winter months mostly. because of several ongoing projects, we’re also not surfing at the moment. for now, we’re simply happy to offer occasional meet-ups in or around the places we happen to be exploring. thank you so much for your understanding, and sorry for any confusion this may have caused 🙏 🌸🌿🌾 now about me i'm arsa - full-time traveller, anthropologist and artist. former graduate in history of arts, polyglot and international tea culture ambassador 🍃 one of the things i am quite glad about has been risky decision after so many years of travelling around the world to turn two of my passions (travelling and studies) into my profession: i work as a researcher, teacher, brand ambassador and cultural anthropologist. currently my academic focus is placed in particular on cultures of china, india and nepal, which are my favourite places in the world ❤ i usually lead very minimalist and nomadic life with my beloved husband chenbin between china (where we live and host), india/nepal (where my research area and some projects are located) and germany (where i visit my parents every summer), leaving very often to many other amazing places either for my research, business trips, ethnographic fieldwork or just for fun. unfortunately i still have a tendency to overwork, that's why when i am not travelling (it’s very rare), i can be just terribly overloaded with obligations connected to all my numerous projects and family. it is also the reason why sometimes it takes a bit longer to reply to messages. i beg pardon for that in advance. since 2022 and reuniting after covid we decided to travel full time together with my hubby chenbin (https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/chenbinma) and since that have been moving indeed like crazy; living our mutual dream life to the fullest ❤️ here is a list with all the destinations we covered recently and some upcoming plans: dec22: xmas with parents in mainz, germany 🇩🇪 jan23: egypt 🇪🇬 feb23: new york 🇺🇸 feb-may23: colombia 🇨🇴 jun23: costa rica 🇨🇷 jul-sep23: ecuador 🇪🇨 oct-nov23: cuba 🇨🇺 december23: germany 🇩🇪 jan24: tunisia 🇹🇳 and lebanon 🇱🇧 feb24: china 🇨🇳 mar24: back to nepal 🇳🇵❤️ apr-jun24: trekking in himalayas, nepal 🇳🇵 jul24: tea gardens exploration in yunnan, china 🍃 🇨🇳 aug24: tea gardens exploration in wuyi mountains, china 🍃 🇨🇳 sep24: vietnam 🇻🇳 oct24: sri lanka 🇱🇰 nov24: bali 🇮🇩 dec24: xmas with parents in mainz, germany 🇩🇪 jan25: volunteering at montessori farm school in bavaria 🇩🇪 feb25: austria 🇦🇹 and luxembourg 🇱🇺 mar25: netherlands 🇳🇱 and qatar 🇶🇦 apr-may25: trekking in himalayas, nepal 🇳🇵❤️ jun-aug25: hiking jacob’s way in france 🇫🇷 spain 🇪🇸 and portugal 🇵🇹 🥾🇪🇺 sep25: japan 🇯🇵 oct-dec25: china 🇨🇳 jan26: philippines 🇵🇭 feb26: celebrations of chinese new year in kunming, china 🇨🇳 mar26: back to europe 🇪🇺 apr26: workaway in swiss alps 🇨🇭 may26: workaway in germany 🇩🇪 jun26-aug26: walking camino in france 🇫🇷 spain 🇪🇸 and portugal 🇵🇹 🥾🇪🇺 aug26: turkey 🇹🇷 sep26: kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 oct26: tajikistan 🇹🇯 nov26: uzbekistan 🇺🇿 dec26: kazakhstan 🇰🇿 jan27: back to kunming, china 🇨🇳 feb27: celebrations of chinese new year in kunming, china 🇨🇳 mar27: back to europe 🇪🇺 if you want to follow our travels and get recent updates from the road - feel free to add me on fb or/and wechat where i usually blog daily (unless no connection) and share my/our recent discoveries: fb: https://www.facebook.com/arsa.longa wechat: arsa-longa (is for chinese speaking friends who don’t have fb) these days we don’t surf/host much cause travel full time and moving around permanently. we also have part-time jobs which we do online hence not very flexible with timings sometimes. but if our time&schedule permits still are always very glad to catch up with interesting folks coming from different backgrounds. if you are somewhere around or atm travelling here - drop us a message, we will be glad to chat with you over coffee/tea/lunch or offer even a city stroll. since we just moved to the region, we don’t know much but will be happy to discover it with you ☺️🙏🏻 best regards and saludos, a. 📍important notice 📍 couchsurfing is a community built on kindness, trust, and mutual understanding. one of the most meaningful and sustainable ways we can keep this spirit alive is by leaving references for one another. it’s not only a way to show appreciation to your host, event organizer, or surfer but it also helps build trust within the community. personally i see it as a small yet important way to remember the time we’ve shared. i always take the time to write a reference and hope you, as a potential guest, host, surfer, or meetup attendee can do the same by leaving a few thoughtful words. if for any reason you feel it’s too much to ask or prefer not to leave a reference, i kindly request that you refrain from my invitation or/and inviting me to host, surf, or attend my events. i see it as a bare minimum for the time and energy we invest in each other, and if that’s not something you’re comfortable with, i completely understand. please consider directing your invitations elsewhere 🙏🏻 peace and love ❤️ CURRENT MISSION there is one chinese proverb that i like a lot for a long period of time already. it says: 读万卷书，行万里路 read ten thousand books and walk ten thousand miles. this saying implies the balanced combination of theoretical studies and practical experiences. but if to take it literally: i indeed keep reading and walking. i enjoy my way. PHILOSOPHY i'm vegan and I'm very happy about it ;) moreover i don't smoke, don't drink alcohol and don't like any kind of drugs. i usually avoid crowded, loud party places and prefer mindful, calm peaceful environment suitable for conversations instead. when I'm alone, I tend to land in bed around 8-9pm and wake up before sunrise. i love morning yoga, meditations, long walks/hikes/trekking, longlasting tea sessions and inspiring meetings with interesting people ❤ without anything else I would survive I guess 😊