Hii!

I am Elske, 29 years old and my boyfriend and I are currently cycling through Asia. We started 10 months ago in Vietnam and cycled through Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Unfortunately our attempt to hitch-hike a ship from Malaysia to Sri Lanka failed, so we had to put our bikes on the plain to get to Sri Lanka and India. Our plan is to get a one year visa for India and cycle all the way up to Nepal, and let's see what will happen after :).

Anyway before cycling we lived in Ho Chi Minh city for two years and worked as kindergarten teachers. I loved the city and the crazy energy there. It was cool to drive around on my motorbike and explore little alleyways and different types of Vietnamese street food (which is amazing). I started practicing yoga and meditation there to balance between the hectic city life and some peace of mind! Besides cycling I write stories for dutch magazine and have a small writing project going on. I am an easy-going Dutchie that doesn't require much. I am used to camping so I am already happy when I can stand in my sleeping room ;)

If you like you can visit my facebook profile;

www.facebook.com/elskewentcycling

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I signed up many years ago when I was still living in the Netherlands. I didn't really know what is was actually but it sounded fun to host people from different countries and show them around. Unfortunately I lived in a small town that is not so attractive to tourists so I never had the chance yet to host people.

In Saigon we hosted a few people but we always uses my boyfriends account, that is why mine is still quite empty!

https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/tiemehermans?action=show&controller=user_profiles

When we are not camping we like to use Couchsurfing or Warmshowers and we met so many wonderful people already!

Interests

About me: I love chocolate cake, hitch-hiking, the smell of coffee in the morning, playing guitar, meditation, my nephew and nieces, singing, reading, coconuts, cows, cheese , cycling, Asian markets, kids, African wildlife and yoga.

Music, Movies, and Books

Actually I can listen to a big range of music. From Taylor Swift to Bob Dylan to Beethoven, it just depends on my mood!

I recently saw the movie Captian Fantastic and I loved it!

Books are kind of the same as music. When I am tired I like to read easy books, fairy tales or chick lits. At other times I like to read books like the Power of Now, Breath by Breath or The Elephanta Suite.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- Not getting lost anymore in Ho Chi Minh City!
- Solo cycling on extremely muddy roads in Cambodia
- Practicing meditation in a cave-monastery

Teach, Learn, Share

Education, yoga, meditation, writing, guitar, singing, farming, sustainability and food!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I recently learned how to cook Sri Lankan curries and they are pretty amazing :) I also like to cook dutch dishes for my hosts but they are a little less interesting haha.

Countries I’ve Visited

Botswana, Cambodia, China, England, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, Viet Nam, Zambia