CURRENT MISSION

Plotting a summer stay in Tuzla, Bosnia, and an autumn trip to Tokyo

ABOUT ME

I'm an open minded dreamer with a want for adventure. Prone to grinning and making bad jokes, I think that interacting with people I meet along the way is the real joy of travel.

PHILOSOPHY

I've always loved this quote that's attributed to Mark Twain >>> Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. >>> I'm trying to live this way :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Will always reply to messages even if I'm unavailable for hosting on requested dates. When the sofa is not an option I'm all for meeting up with people visiting my town.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm a newbie. Be nice. Surfed once so far.

Interests

Reading - Writing - Music - Photography - Film - Travel - Running - Swimming - Football - I blog at http://chewlikethis.wordpress.com/ Tweet at https://twitter.com/benbthewriter & post pictures at http://instagram.com/benbthewriter

• writing
• photography
• beer
• running
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• drawing
• music
• guitar
• sailing
• rock climbing
• soccer
• swimming

Music, Movies, and Books

Among my favourite works of fiction are After Dark by Haruki Murakami, Birdsong by Sebastian Faulkes, 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Musically, I like a bit of everything but I'm traditionally a rock/indie kid. Totally addicted to Arctic Monkeys and The Cribs at the moment. Be Safe by the latter is one of the greatest tracks of all time if you ask me. The most obscure acts on my iPod are probably Caravan Palace and Gotan Project - apparently I have a soft spot for accordions. Here's my Grooveshark page http://grooveshark.com/#!/benb83

When it comes to movies I'm all for a decent sci-fi flick like Alien, a daft easy watch such as Anchorman or something much more thought provoking. I recently watched Parked, a beautifully shot film made in Ireland that really spoke of life, love and loss and pulled at the old heart strings.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

This year, my most amazing experience has so far been climbing through the window of an abandoned fort overlooking the beautiful Sarajevo cityscape at sunset and taking in the changing light in the company of awesome new friends and a few cheeky beers.

Teach, Learn, Share

It's a bit niche, but I can write Teeline shorthand, in theory at 100 words per minute. Can't imagine this would be terribly interesting to you... but just in case you want a crash course...

I really want to learn to draw and to play an instrument. I just picked up an acoustic guitar which I'm trying to learn to play from absolute scratch.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom