Couchsurfing (Part 1)

Mi Casa, Su Casa


Tokyo, a couchsurfer megalopolis
There are thousands of hosts in Tokyo, hotly sought after by countless visitors to the ever-expensive Japanese capital.
Ogimachi, Hida, Japan
One of the traditional villages of Shirakawa-Go commune, one of the snowiest regions in the world. There, the houses were built with A-shaped roofs, in order to prevent landslides due to the accumulation of snow.
Dhukurpokhari
Dhukurpokhari's Inns provide more or less halfway between Chame and Pisang.
Looped ascent
Visitors go up the stairs to the Museo del Campesino restaurant.
Colonial Heritage
Partially isolated from the world due to the rigidity of the military regime, Yangon is one of the cities in Southeast Asia with more colonial buildings.
in the comfort of home
Young family at their home on the outskirts of Suva.
Color balconies
Balconies worked in an alley of the fort.
cubic houses
Very cubic colors and shapes of the San Juan neighborhood.
suzdal-golden-ring-russia-fashion-old-thousand-years-Irina-Zakharova
Dª Irina Zakharova prepares a breakfast in her family inn.
rural affairs
In 2003, a new online community globalized an old landscape of hospitality, conviviality and interests. Today, Couchsurfing welcomes millions of travelers, but it shouldn't be taken lightly.

Sounds simple, Couchsurfing.

You go online, register an account and fill in a profile and provide some more information. From then on, it becomes possible to sleep without spending on hostels or hotels in the homes of literally millions of hosts all countries in the world, North Korea included.

In 2013, there were more than one million registered users, with an average of 28 years. Even Julian Assange from Wikileaks was part of the community, but now it's the Ecuadorian Embassy – as far as we know, not registered on the site – that has been hosting him for a long time.

From Spontaneous Movement to Hyper-Organized Online Community

Initially, I led this community, not for profit and with good intentions, a group of idealistic volunteers, but the unexpected fame of the project came to corrupt the original ideals of sharing and socializing. Even so, countless people continue to strive to make travelers happier.

In exchange for the accommodation we need, it is assumed that at least one or another of these millions of registered users will also be able to stay in our house a few times a year.

From then on, the relationship established depends on the good will and open-mindedness of both the guest and the traveller, but as not always everything goes as expected, here is an overview of the best and worst of Couchsurfing, with some personal examples.

House Saints Don't Always Make Miracles

Couchsurfing Fake Offers:

part of the alleged guests attract travelers to their profiles and even to their properties with the sole purpose of imposing chargeable stays on them, with values ​​similar to those of hostels and inns.

Sometimes this is stated on the profile, but others allow a free first night and announce that there is an amount to pay – for one reason or another – the next morning. This was a question we came across dozens of times on two round-the-world trips and round-trips to the Pacific.

Fortunately, with careful reading of profiles and messages exchanged, as well as attention to telephone conversations, we were able to manage it with relative ease.

Sometimes, even against the founding principles of the Couchsurfing community, we couldn't get affordable accommodation in another place and time and, to be honest, we ended up staying in rooms/houses “advertised” on the Couchsurfing website.

By the way, we remember this problem in the immensely expensive French overseas territories – French PolynesiaFrench Antilles. It is natural that it happens a little everywhere.

The Lonely and/or Guest with Predefined Interests in Couchsurfing: 

is one of the really common situations in the community Couchsurfing. Countless hosts feel lonely or because of psychological, family and social problems or because they live as expatriates, out of step with the places and cultures they have changed to and expect guests to spice up their existence.

This reality becomes really unpleasant when they have already idealized that they will have the company of guests 24 hours a day and hinder their freedom or their plans. We went through several situations of this kind, with completely different experiences and results.

It went well: nothe surroundings of Perth, Western AustraliaTim had recently been divorced. He only lived with a son who completely ignored him. 

He welcomed us and a couple of Germans. He slept on the sofa, offered us the car to explore the Great Ocean Road and took us to see a australian football game among many other incredible sympathies. Despite his somewhat colloquial treatment, we had a lot of fun conversations. 

We have already praised him in several articles about Melbourne and we will never forget it. If you come to Portugal, we insist that you stay with us.

Did Bad: in Utsunomya, in the Japan, halfway to Nikko and her temple complex, we were taken in by a Japanese teenager obsessed with learning English who, in addition, despite not informing him, lived in a tiny T0.

As we arrived at his house late at night and we were far from any alternative, the three of us ended up sleeping on the floor, side by side with our legs under a table.

But that wasn't even what bothered us the most. The worst thing was that, the next day, he tried to stick to us in such an overt and oppressive way that we had to invent an excuse to leave him in the middle of the afternoon.

Homes Sweet Homes or Not As Sweet As This

We also stayed in pristine, sophisticated homes and avoided or left, as soon as possible, homes for us uninhabitable. It's not that we've always managed to fulfill it, but it's important to always have an alternative plan from other Couchsurfers or, if that's not possible, from another type of accommodation, for when things don't go as expected.

It went well: noone of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Tokyo, the American host, a consultant in a multinational company, received us saying that we had broken the record for the delay in arriving at the entrance to the building. à door of his house, such was the technological complexity of the building in which he lived.

As you can imagine, in this case, we feel physically comfortable in his modern, almost futuristic home, even if he turned out to be too corporate and “numerical” by our standards – the typical American eager to become the next "wolf of Wall Street".

went wrong: in Christchurch, in the south island of New Zealand, we had a response from a student in his twenties.

When we arrived at his house, he wasn't there. But there were six or seven other young women, almost all of them women, also couchsurfers, scattered all over the house. One of them welcomed us and told us to settle in wherever we wanted.

All around, everything was a messy, dirty and repulsive chaos and we are far from spoiled. We appreciate it, but we transmit it in the most sensitive way possible to that friend that we weren't going to stay after all. It still occurs to us today that either the host was, himself but only he, irresistible, or those girls were really penniless.

SexSurfing and the Pitfalls

It goes without saying that, even if some countries are practically unworried, no matter where you go, the issue of safety should be on the mind of any CouchSurfers.

One of the most recent criticisms of the community is that it houses too many guests and also travelers whose interests are purely sexual. Although almost all relationships end up being consensual, the news of forced sexual relations became more and more frequent, some with extreme violence.

It is Couchsurfing's own directives to advise women traveling alone or even in small female groups to avoid seeking and accepting male guests.

Finally, in some countries with recognized criminality problems, even Couchsurfing has come to be used as a tool for robberies and kidnappings. Malicious procedures are simple to calculate, the malicious host creates a fake profile and attracts victims where it is most convenient for him, not necessarily his home.

To avoid these two problems above, carefully read the profiles and all references of the people you contact and respond to. Don't trust guests without full profiles.

By the way, trust only guests with many positive references from other couchsurfers from different parts of the world. Also investigate as much of the person's remaining online presence as you can. Here, the Facebook obviously has a prominent role.

The Couchsurfing site also launched, some time ago, a paid credit card verification system that allows you to securely associate a name and e-mail to an account with a payment of around €20. .

This verification has become Couchsurfing's main source of income, but it is much criticized because, in practice, it is largely ignored since what it commits to do does not provide any guarantees of real safety.

For more information and safety advice on Couchsurfing itself, go to the Couchsurfing website Safety Tips.

Effortless Traveling

Sync with Check In and Check Out Hours

After a long flight or sequence of flights, he arrives at the hotel on a slop, but has to wait to be admitted to his room. Find out what you can do to prevent or soften this drama.
Effortless Traveling

Book Comfortable Stays for Your Finances Too

As with flights, booking accommodation has its secrets. Find out what the strategies are to ensure a welcoming and financially rewarding stay.
Travel does not cost

On the next trip, don't let your money fly

Not only the time of year and in advance with which we book flights, stays, etc. influence the cost of a trip. The payment methods we use at destinations can make a big difference.
Houses

Homes Sweet Homes

Few species are more social and gregarious than humans. Man tends to emulate other homes sweet homes in the world. Some of these houses are impressive.
Perth, Australia

the lonely city

More 2000km away from a worthy counterpart, Perth is considered the most remote city on the face of the Earth. Despite being isolated between the Indian Ocean and the vast Outback, few people complain.
Apia, Western Samoa

The Host of the South Pacific

She sold burguês to GI's in World War II and opened a hotel that hosted Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper. Aggie Gray passed away in 2. Her legacy lives on in the South Pacific.
Osaka, Japan

In the Company of Mayu

Japanese nightlife is a multi-faceted, multi-billion business. In Osaka, an enigmatic couchsurfing hostess welcomes us, somewhere between the geisha and the luxury escort.
Mendoza, Argentina

Journey through Mendoza, the Great Argentine Winemaking Province

In the XNUMXth century, Spanish missionaries realized that the area was designed for the production of the “Blood of Christ”. Today, the province of Mendoza is at the center of the largest winemaking region in Latin America.
Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, Wildlife, lions
Safari
NP Gorongosa, Mozambique

The Wild Heart of Mozambique shows Signs of Life

Gorongosa was home to one of the most exuberant ecosystems in Africa, but from 1980 to 1992 it succumbed to the Civil War waged between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Greg Carr, Voice Mail's millionaire inventor received a message from the Mozambican ambassador to the UN challenging him to support Mozambique. For the good of the country and humanity, Carr pledged to resurrect the stunning national park that the Portuguese colonial government had created there.
Thorong La, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, photo for posterity
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 13th - High camp a Thorong La to Muktinath, Nepal

At the height of the Annapurnas Circuit

At 5416m of altitude, the Thorong La Gorge is the great challenge and the main cause of anxiety on the itinerary. After having killed 2014 climbers in October 29, crossing it safely generates a relief worthy of double celebration.
Sirocco, Arabia, Helsinki
Architecture & Design
Helsinki, Finland

The Design that Came from the Cold

With much of the territory above the Arctic Circle, Finns respond to the climate with efficient solutions and an obsession with art, aesthetics and modernism inspired by neighboring Scandinavia.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Adventure
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
Moa on a beach in Rapa Nui/Easter Island
Ceremonies and Festivities
Easter Island, Chile

The Take-off and Fall of the Bird-Man Cult

Until the XNUMXth century, the natives of Easter Island they carved and worshiped great stone gods. All of a sudden, they started to drop their moai. The veneration of tanatu manu, a half-human, half-sacred leader, decreed after a dramatic competition for an egg.
Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, City Gates
Cities
Ponta Delgada, São Miguel (Azores), Azores

The Great Azorean City

During the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, Ponta Delgada became the most populous city and the economic and administrative capital of the Azores. There we find the history and modernism of the archipelago hand in hand.
Singapore Asian Capital Food, Basmati Bismi
Meal
Singapore

The Asian Food Capital

There were 4 ethnic groups in Singapore, each with its own culinary tradition. Added to this was the influence of thousands of immigrants and expatriates on an island with half the area of ​​London. It was the nation with the greatest gastronomic diversity in the Orient.
Impressions Lijiang Show, Yangshuo, China, Red Enthusiasm
Culture
Lijiang e Yangshuo, China

An Impressive China

One of the most respected Asian filmmakers, Zhang Yimou dedicated himself to large outdoor productions and co-authored the media ceremonies of the Beijing OG. But Yimou is also responsible for “Impressions”, a series of no less controversial stagings with stages in emblematic places.
4th of July Fireworks-Seward, Alaska, United States
Sport
Seward, Alaska

The Longest 4th of July

The independence of the United States is celebrated, in Seward, Alaska, in a modest way. Even so, the 4th of July and its celebration seem to have no end.
kings canyon, red centre, heart, australia
Traveling
Red Center, Australia

Australia's Broken Heart

The Red Center is home to some of Australia's must-see natural landmarks. We are impressed by the grandeur of the scenarios but also by the renewed incompatibility of its two civilizations.
Early morning on the lake
Ethnic

Nantou, Taiwan

In the Heart of the Other China

Nantou is Taiwan's only province isolated from the Pacific Ocean. Those who discover the mountainous heart of this region today tend to agree with the Portuguese navigators who named Taiwan Formosa.

ice tunnel, black gold route, Valdez, Alaska, USA
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Sensations vs Impressions

Nahuatl celebration
History

Mexico City, Mexico

mexican soul

With more than 20 million inhabitants in a vast metropolitan area, this megalopolis marks, from its heart of zócalo, the spiritual pulse of a nation that has always been vulnerable and dramatic.

Zanzibar, African islands, spices, Tanzania, dhow
Islands
Zanzibar, Tanzania

The African Spice Islands

Vasco da Gama opened the Indian Ocean to the Portuguese empire. In the XNUMXth century, the Zanzibar archipelago became the largest producer of cloves and the available spices diversified, as did the people who disputed them.
Horses under a snow, Iceland Never Ending Snow Island Fire
Winter White
Husavik a Myvatn, Iceland

Endless Snow on the Island of Fire

When, in mid-May, Iceland already enjoys some sun warmth but the cold and snow persist, the inhabitants give in to an intriguing summer anxiety.
silhouette and poem, Cora coralina, Goias Velho, Brazil
Literature
Goiás Velho, Brazil

The Life and Work of a Marginal Writer

Born in Goiás, Ana Lins Bretas spent most of her life far from her castrating family and the city. Returning to its origins, it continued to portray the prejudiced mentality of the Brazilian countryside
Las Cuevas, Mendoza, across the Andes, Argentina
Nature
Mendoza, Argentina

From One Side to the Other of the Andes

Departing from Mendoza city, the N7 route gets lost in vineyards, rises to the foot of Mount Aconcagua and crosses the Andes to Chile. Few cross-border stretches reveal the magnificence of this forced ascent
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Rancho Salto Yanigua, Dominican Republic, mining stones
Natural Parks
Montana Redonda and Rancho Salto Yanigua, Dominican Republic

From Montaña Redonda to Rancho Salto Yanigua

Discovering the Dominican northwest, we ascend to the Montaña Redonda de Miches, recently transformed into an unusual peak of escape. From the top, we point to Bahia de Samaná and Los Haitises, passing through the picturesque Salto Yanigua ranch.
Glamor vs Faith
UNESCO World Heritage
Goa, India

The Last Gasp of the Goan Portugality

The prominent city of Goa already justified the title of “rome of the east” when, in the middle of the XNUMXth century, epidemics of malaria and cholera led to its abandonment. The New Goa (Pangim) for which it was exchanged became the administrative seat of Portuguese India but was annexed by the Indian Union of post-independence. In both, time and neglect are ailments that now make the Portuguese colonial legacy wither.
Visitors to Ernest Hemingway's Home, Key West, Florida, United States
Characters
Key West, United States

Hemingway's Caribbean Playground

Effusive as ever, Ernest Hemingway called Key West "the best place I've ever been...". In the tropical depths of the contiguous US, he found evasion and crazy, drunken fun. And the inspiration to write with intensity to match.
Beaches
Gizo, Solomon Islands

A Saeraghi Young Singers Gala

In Gizo, the damage caused by the tsunami that hit the Solomon Islands is still very visible. On the coast of Saeraghi, children's bathing happiness contrasts with their heritage of desolation.
Christmas scene, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
Religion
Shillong, India

A Christmas Selfiestan at an India Christian Stronghold

December arrives. With a largely Christian population, the state of Meghalaya synchronizes its Nativity with that of the West and clashes with the overcrowded Hindu and Muslim subcontinent. Shillong, the capital, shines with faith, happiness, jingle bells and bright lighting. To dazzle Indian holidaymakers from other parts and creeds.
The Toy Train story
On Rails
Siliguri a Darjeeling, India

The Himalayan Toy Train Still Running

Neither the steep slope of some stretches nor the modernity stop it. From Siliguri, in the tropical foothills of the great Asian mountain range, the Darjeeling, with its peaks in sight, the most famous of the Indian Toy Trains has ensured for 117 years, day after day, an arduous dream journey. Traveling through the area, we climb aboard and let ourselves be enchanted.
Vegetables, Little India, Sari Singapore, Singapore
Society
Little India, Singapore

The Sari Singapore of Little India

There are thousands of inhabitants instead of the 1.3 billion of the mother country, but Little India, a neighborhood in tiny Singapore, does not lack soul. No soul, no smell of Bollywood curry and music.
Coin return
Daily life
Dawki, India

Dawki, Dawki, Bangladesh on sight

We descended from the high and mountainous lands of Meghalaya to the flats to the south and below. There, the translucent and green stream of the Dawki forms the border between India and Bangladesh. In a damp heat that we haven't felt for a long time, the river also attracts hundreds of Indians and Bangladeshis in a picturesque escape.
Lion, Elephants, PN Hwange, Zimbabwe
Wildlife
PN Hwange, Zimbabwe

The Legacy of the Late Cecil Lion

On July 1, 2015, Walter Palmer, a dentist and trophy hunter from Minnesota killed Cecil, Zimbabwe's most famous lion. The slaughter generated a viral wave of outrage. As we saw in PN Hwange, nearly two years later, Cecil's descendants thrive.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.