CURRENT MISSION

To let my inner-travelbug come out and play.. and to find a place (home) in the sun (*Update: As of 2011, I've been living in Bali! Check ;)

ABOUT ME

I'm a culture vulture, keen observer of humanity, great fan of design & architecture, lover of mountains, desert and water, fascinated by the little tidbits of information I collect along my travels, constantly amazed by all that I learn from children & elders, interested in what makes people tick & tock. Babies in strollers tend to make eye contact with me and stray dogs follow me around in foreign cities... go figure.

PHILOSOPHY

Honesty, truth, a sense of humour and wonderment at the world. There's more, of course, but how about over a CS cuppa hot tea :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I always thrive on the insights and exchanges, conversations and outings that I've had through Couchsurfing - and meeting travelers on the road. Spontaneous meetings of the mind. Unexpected shared experiences. What's not to love?!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first two CS experiences were in Moscow; the first was dismal, but the second one was fabulous! I continued in St. Petersburg and enjoyed CS-time in Berlin. Wonderful hosts, interesting conversations, cool neighborhoods and an old-world style (ex-East) Berlin pub I would never have discovered on my own!
One of my CS hosts (Singapore, now in Jakarta) remains a friend until today, and each of us has extended our friendship network as a result - including 'sending' her to spend time with family in Israel.

Interests

Used to be: running, cycling & dragon boat racing. Then I had an accident, so... now: hiking, swimming, reiki & Iyengar yoga. Human rights and environmental issues. Photography (b&w especially), mosaics, pottery, blue skies, anything circular. Paper & art supplies. Shoes, boots, sushi & chocolate. Music, music & music: I've fallen in love with the Bali steel pan!!

• dogs
• arts
• culture
• architecture
• design
• photography
• human rights
• chocolate
• yoga
• running
• walking
• pub crawls
• boating
• socializing
• pottery
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• swimming
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: **Life in a Day**, The Usual Suspects, The Inside Man, Rear Window, 12 Angry Men, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Inherit the Wind, Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music, Stalker, Le Professionel (Leon), Das Leben der Anderen (Lives of Others), anything Wenders, Babette's Fesat, Fantasia, documentaries (too many to mention!), NFB animation & claymation films. Hand me a lifetime subscription to the Criterion Collection & I'll be in 7th heaven.

Music: James Taylor, Natalie Cole, Jack Johnson, Seal, Morcheeba, Piaf, Dream Academy, The Corrs, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, Debussy's Claire de Lune, George Winston (et al. @ Windham Hill), Gregorian chants, Gavin Bryars' Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet, Nurit Galron, Shalom Hanoch, underwater sounds.

Books: Breakfast with Buddha, Blessings of a Good Thick Skirt (about women travellers), A Fortune-Teller Told Me, Shantaram, Q and A by Vikas Swarup, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, historical fiction, anything by Primo Levi, The Following Story by Cees Nooteboom, The Magic Mountain, Lucky & The Lovely Bones.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Published my first book! a memoir of my journey - inner as much as exterior - along the Camino, "(Un)Bound, Together: A Journey to the End of the Earth (and Beyond)" [I've been told it's 'mildly riveting' ;) ]

Scaling Thorong-La Pass at 5,416 m (Annapurna Circuit)
Returned to Cambodia two years after a near-fatal accident there...
Watching a few spectacular royal cremations in Ubud, Bali
Walking nearly 1000 kms along the legendary Camino de Santiago in Spain... until the End of the Earth (i.e. Finisterre).

Teach, Learn, Share

At least once in your life: visit an astrologer; pay attention, silently watch sea creatures underwater, spend a couple of hours actively watching the sky, and give away your most prized possession.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Sharing adventures and coconuts on the beach. Suggesting studios for yoga. Visiting sites and ceremonies. Tasting Indonesian dishes. Translating. Exchanging travel anecdotes and life stories.

Countries I’ve Visited

Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, India, Italy, Jamaica, Laos, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia, Canada, France, Indonesia, Israel, Nepal

•