CURRENT MISSION

finding the best cocktails in town

ABOUT ME

Photographer/ visual artist from Hanoi - Vietnam. I moved to the US for 4 years in 2013 for my undergrad study in fine art. During that period I was lucky to travel within the US and to South America during break time. And that's how I first started Couchsurfing and met amazing people thanks to this network!

Now I'm back in Ho Chi Minh city, working freelance as an art-director, photographer, graphic designer. My family also runs a side Airbnb business, through which I meet travelers on a frequent basis. The urge to travel has been itching so here I am, with an itinerary to Europe summer 2018.

It's part of my job to keep myself updated, so whenever not working, I would go to exhibitions/ movie screenings/ talks/ discussion forum/ workshops/cultural events to fill my head with new ideas and meet people from different background/outside of my circle. My close friends often says I'm running everywhere and not sleeping so much ( though I do actually). No matter where I live, favorite places in the cities are usually public parks (where I can sit and observe people), local markets, libraries, museums. If we happen to have the same favorite list of destinations, please recommend me your picks.

I love cooking for people and usually takes care of the groceries/cooking part in my house. I started the vegetarian diet in the US for environmental reasons mostly though it has been quite hard to live in Vietnam as a vegetarian. Still, cooking just from veggies bring about a lot of joy and meditation. That being said, if you're hosting me and have some free time, a Couchsurfer-home-cooked dinner is totally possible. I recently completed a course in bartending as well, so if you have some hard-liquor lying around, we might be able to whip some easy cocktails :)

PHILOSOPHY

"In the end, it's not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I got my first Couchsurfing experience on Jan 2014, as I was traveling in Philly during winter break. It's beyond awesome that I decided to continue Couchsurfing for a while.

Later I got spoiled with Airbnb options and didn't really have the time for long-term travel, so I didn't use it for 2 years. As I'm not a fan of stopping for just 1 or 2 days and walked away without knowing anything about the host. Now that I have more time in this trip to Europe, this is probably a good time to come back.

Interests

Long walk in the forest, sinking my feet in the sand, listen to the sound of silence, watching people passing by, reading in long commute, listening to podcast when washing dishes, driving motorbike along a rice field, peeling fruits, holding my grandmother's arms, skimming the newspaper, diving into a long article, catching last-minute trains/flights, taking photos of things people don't bother remembering, forgetting what people remember,

• arts
• culture
• books
• photography
• documentaries
• environment
• cooking
• vegetarian
• yoga
• minimalism
• hiking
• agriculture
• art history
• ecology
• nature
• sustainability
• learning
• bartending
• philosphy

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Tim Burton
TV Shows: Black Mirror, Chef Table, Parts Unknown
Music: NIN, Rage against the machine, Queen of the Stoned Age, Tosca, Thievery Corporation, Red Snapper, a lot more on my Youtube. Rock/hip-hop/downtempo/nu jazz/ electro

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Trekking and watching sunrise on an active volcano in Indonesia. Actually that is cliche. I don't know, taking in the orders 10 times wrong when I was working at a cashier at a restaurant? Hell that was a hard day with never-ending line of customers.

Maybe applying foot cream instead of face lotion accidentally. That wouldn't have been so hard, if only I realised that right away, not 4 days after the incident first happened...

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you photography skills or mostly any visual-art related stuff (drawing, painting, design, Adobe softwares, art history,...) cooking (I can cook both Vietnamese food and Western food) basic bartending (based on what you have).
Basic French/ Chinese/ Vietnamese.

I don't think it would be practical for me trying to learn any new skills within a short span of time. But your stories alone will be precious! No story is a bad story. I love hearing people's stories and experience. It's similar to seeing fragments of a movie, told from the perspective of just one character. How I remember these fragment is another story,

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, China, Cuba, France, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States, Viet Nam

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