CURRENT MISSION

Live life to the fullest. Hike, run, climb and bike as if it is my last.

ABOUT ME

I love to travel. I'm into hiking, running, mountain climbing and biking. I have four full marathons under my belt. I'm a physician, forensic expert, crime scene investigator, university professor, and women and children's rights advocate rolled into one.

I spent the best two years of my life in Australia backpacking, hiking and sightseeing while pursuing my postgraduate studies in Forensic Science at the University of Western Australia (Perth, Western Australia) through an international scholarship grant from the Ford Foundation. I also had the opportunity to visit Sydney and Melbourne during my stay in Australia.

I had traveled to Thailand six times (Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Pai, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, Similan Islands), Malaysia (where I had best time of my life climbing Mount Kinabalu, the highest summit in Southeast Asia), Netherlands (Amsterdam and Hague), France (Paris), USA (LA, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington DC, New York, Pennsyslvania), Indonesia (Jakarta, Surabaya, Mount Bromo, Ijen Crater and Bali), Taiwan (where I climbed the 2nd highest mountain in Taiwan, the Snow Mountain), Japan (Tokyo, Yokohama, Mount Fuji, Mount Takao, Kyoto and Osaka) and Canada (Vancouver, Calgary, Banff National Park, Toronto, Kingston, Montreal, Ottawa).

This year (2022) I went on a three-month Southeast Asian backpacking tour, starting my journey in Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket) then explored Northern Vietnam for 19 days (Hanoi, SaPa, Tam Coc, Trang An, Cat Ba Island and Halong Bay), Laos for 16 days (Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Nong Khiaw), cross the border to Thailand and went island hopping in the Gulf of Thailand (Krabi, Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui), fly to Cambodia (Siem Reap and Phnom Penh) and end my journey in Singapore. That was my probably the craziest backpacking journey I ever had!

PHILOSOPHY

“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.” – Mark Twain

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I usually do meet-ups and host whenever I'm available. I like giving surfers the "local" experience because it's simply the best way to let the people I host appreciate Baguio city, it's culture, food, history and trekking destinations.

I do not like to be taken advantage of, so if you are one of those couch surfers/ backpackers who is always expecting me to pay for things, then my advice to you is to please not travel. I think I am generous enough to put you up, so please have the decency of not abusing anyone’s kindness.

Interests

Biking, running, hiking, mountain climbing
Forensic Science

• culture
• dining
• running
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• teaching
• history
• medicine
• science
• sightseeing
• forensics

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing thing I have done was climbing the highest summit in Southeast Asia - Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia.

Trekking the Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Hosted the following Surfers/Guests:

November 2014
Sunnie Fernandes (USA)

December 2014
Celyne Multipass (Paris, France)
Kadu Macar (Davao City, Philippines)
Sammy Bonger Tuwone (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Andreas Permana (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Imam Malik Habibi (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Audrey Gregory (Benguet) - I serve as guide during a trek to Mount Ulap
Shiela Api-it (Mountain Province)
Felipe Gaspar Latorre Riquelme (Chile)

January 2015
Ag Galle (Belgium)

May 2015
Patryk Kalinowski (Poland)

November 2015
Joel Hindson (UK)
Nirali (UK)
Sylvain (Paris, France)

December 2015
Bill Satago (Cebu City, Philippines)

January 2016
Sebastian Villegas (Colombia)

February 2016
Takeshi Morikawa (Japan)
Bony Stoev (Dresden, Germany)

September 2016
Pablo Choi (South Korea/Australia)

December 2016
Alex Foradori (Italy)

February 2017
Patryk Kalinowski (Poland)
Malgorzata Malec (Poland)
Rafal Gosia (Poland)

January 2018
Azim Alfawzan (Saudi Arabia)
Deana Coates (Canada)

April 2018
Clem Tentin (Paris, France)

August 2018
Sofia Ferrer (Russia)

December 2018
Clarisse Letoile (Czech Republic)
Maksim Dunyashin (Russia)
Josh Castro (Boracay, Philippines)

January 2019
Jake Sim (California, USA)
Mikko Mustaparta (Finland)

March 2019
Hector Guerrero (Mexico)

April 2019
Younnis Bouhaddou (Morocco/France)
Maxime Lesage (Paris, France)

August 2019
Hiroki (Hiroshima, Japan)

January 2020
Dan Maltsev (Russia)

February 2020
Petr (Czech Republic)

My Hosts:

January 2019
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Lee Hon Wah

April 2019
Surabaya, Indonesia - Rizki Adrian, Annisa Bunga

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Philippines