Couchsurfing: Stay with Locals and Meet Travelers for Free!

People often ask me how I can afford traveling to so many places. Truth is, traveling doesn’t need to be expensive. In my recent post, I wrote about ways to travel cheaply. In this post, I would like to elaborate on Couchsurfing, and how it changed my life.

Couchsurfing a worldwide cultural exchange program that brings together millions of hosts and travelers. It is popular with budget travelers and backpackers, and the best way to connect with locals and experience culture. Best of all, it’s a free service for all! Especially in expensive cities where hotels costs over $100/night, Couchsurfing is a lifesaver.

I have been using Couchsurfing since 2014. My first host was an expat living in Hong Kong. He lived right by the beach, where he took us on a walk to see the sunset. We had long conversations about everything. He also gave us very helpful advice while exploring Hong Kong. I felt very safe and welcomed in his home, my only regret being that I wish we could have spent more time with him! Since then I have couchsurfed in Washington, DC, Chicago, Asheville, Honduras, Guatemala, New York, Mexico, Nicaragua, Belize, El Salvador, and more!

My Awesome Experiences with Couchsurfing: 

Authentic Culture and Traditions. Living with locals is the most immersive way to experience culture. We share a house with the host, sometimes with their family and pet, too! Once we’re in the house, we’re practically family.

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Here’s a photo of my Couchsurfing family in Bacalar, Mexico

Depending on the host, we sometimes also get an opportunity to meet other couchsurfers, too! Hosts often take surfers to local hangout spots (which are especially fun on national holidays) that we would never have found on our own.

Couchsurf hosts live a very interesting lifestyles. Some have traveled all over the world, some choose to live off-the-grid, and some who love meet and talk to people from all over the world. They love sharing their local culture, history, and traditions. There is always so much to learn.

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Staying at a Couchsurfing off-the-grid cabin powered by solar panels in the Big Island, Hawaii.

In Hawaii, we had the opportunity to stay with a wonderful host at an off-the-grid log cabin in a tropical jungle. We were surrounded by fruit trees on all sides. We were able to walk around and pick passion fruits, jackfruits, coconuts, and other fruits to eat (for free)! We did not have access to the internet, which gave us an opportunity to write on our journals.

Food. I’ve eaten the most authentic foods while Couchsurfing. They are usually foods that locals would eat every day, and are incredibly tasty. In return, we would share our own traditional Vietnamese/American foods!

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An El Salvadorian dish prepared for us by our host’s mom.

Contributing. Unlike hotels and Airbnbs, Couchsurfing is a community. Once you stay with them, you’re like family. That means you do dishes, chores, and cooking. One important principle of being a surfer that a host once taught me, “Carry your own weight.” Contribute and don’t be a free loader!

Things to Know:

  • Read the hosts’ profile. Do not copy and paste your request to all hosts. Most host will ignore your request if your message is not personalized. They will usually include something in their description page saying, “Please include ___ in your request or I will ignore it.” It is their way of telling whether or not you’ve visited their page.
  • Be careful when sending Couchsurf requests to stay. It is important to check the hosts’ previous references and description page. Not all hosts are good people. We’ve met a host with strange behaviors and opted to leave the same night. That said, 99.9% of hosts are fantastic people. I like to see a full profile, complete with photos and hobbies so that I know more about the host before staying.
  • Each hosts’ preference is different. I’ve seen hosts who only host single travelers. I’ve seen hosts who live the nudist lifestyle (and will be walking around naked in the house). These information are written in their host profile upfront.
  • You may be sleeping on the couch, floor, bed, or tent. Over the years, I’ve met hosts who literally just have a space to set up on the floor.
  • Hosts may not spend time with you. Hosts have busy lives. They might not be there during work hours. In these cases, I like to spare my nights to spend time with hosts and get to know them.

Planning a trip and want to try Couchsurfing? Check out this article on 16 Places to Couchsurf in 2017.

What’s on your travel list this year? Please leave questions/comments below and let’s exchange!

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8 Ways to Travel the United States Cheaply and Comfortably

As with any long-term traveler, the biggest goal is to make the amount of money we have to last as long as possible. If we must spend money, the goal is to spend it as efficiently as possible. To prepare for our big road trip around the United States, Cuong and I gave away all our possessions, save a few boxes of mementos. We chose the things to bring with us very carefully, with two things in mind: practicality and comfort. Travelling the US is expensive, but it there are ways to lessen the burden. We had to decide on what we needed to take that makes sense in the long run. Through our experience, we have learned a few things.

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Took a picture of my partner taking a picture of me on one of our side trips.

car is the most versatile method of transportation;

R1: Interstate buses can only takes you from point A to point B, usually between two big cities like Manhattan and Atlanta. What if you wanted to stop by a nearby state park for a day out? A car can take you anywhere we want to on the map. We frequently took side trips to national parks and Six Flags. Unlike most buses, we could charge our phones in the car!

R2: What we spent on gas, we saved on rent and hotel cost. With the right setup, enough blankets and pillows, my car transformed into a comfortable bed. We usually chose brightly lit gas stations, fast food restaurants, or rest areas to spend the night. We have not had a problem with any of them.

R3: It functioned as our storage; it was a luxury that we don’t have to carry everything on our backs. When we get hungry, we just post up, grab some food from the trunk and go.

One thing I would change: I wish that I had bought a new set of tires. On the mountain back roads of Colorado, my car did a 180 degrees spin that made my heart drop to my stomach. Luckily, there were no cars around and I made it without a single scratch mark.

One thing to know: There will be lots of driving. Yeah, duh. But it is really important to ensure that you don’t get fatigued by driving too long. Cuong and I scheduled our driving time. We made it work  by driving in five hour intervals and taking turns sleeping. Planning and spacing it out made our trip as efficient and relaxing as possible.

2. Our Tiger rice cooker functioned as our portable kitchen. Eating out costs. Our solution for long term food source is using a rice cooker. For newbie cooks and veteran chefs alike, it is so simple to cook up a bag of ramen or a quick vegetable stir fry in a rice cooker. We take advantage of chain fast food restaurants like McDonald’s and Wendy’s, with their abundant amount of power outlets to cook up a meal.

3. Pack for Rain and Shine. In just Hawaii, we experienced seven different climate changes; that is just one island. Through our trip, we’ve been through blizzard conditions, tropical rainstorms, as well as humid summer weather. I found these packable dawn jackets to be lifesavers as they’re light and incredibly. The more prepared you are for diverse sets of climates, the less likely you will be spending on new clothes.

4. Couchsurf and Airbnb to save on hotels costs. With every destination, we like to find Couchsurf or Airbnb host in the area who can show us around. It gives us an opportunity to meet people, refresh from sleeping in the car for so long, and take care of our hygiene. To learn more about this awesome community, see my short guide to Couchsurfing.

5. Shop at the right places. In highly populated cities like DC, New York, and Los Angeles, prices for food can be much more expensive. To save on grocery costs, we typically stock up when we find a budget friendly store. On the east coast, we shopped at Dollar Tree and Aldi for all our snacky needs. If you’re a fan of Waffle House, take it all in before you go over to the west side. On the west coast, keep an eye out for 99 Cent stores for your one-stop shop needs.

6. Knowledge of budget airline flight deals. We flew Allegiant Air from Los Angeles to Hawaii at half the going price. Beware, budget airlines typically have very strict carry-on rules, and they will charge you for every extra thing. You get what you pay for.

7. Get the best travel cards.

Charles Schwab is an excellent checking accounts card that has no ATM fees whatsoever. 

Capital One Quicksilver and BankAmericard Travel rewards card gives you 1.5% cashback on every purchase. 

8. Make long Term Investments. We don’t nickel and dime everything. We did spend on a few things that we considered an excellent use of money.

  • Six Flags Season Pass- $70/year; Roller coasters throughout the country!
  • National Parks Pass- $80/year; We hiked at Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Yosemite, and more!
  • Miscellaneous passes such as NYC CitiBike pass, metro cards, etc- biking around NYC can seem scary with all the crazy traffic and people, but it is an experience that made us want to come back.

I would love to hear from you! If  you have any budget travel tips, please share. 🙂 

Stop for a Moment: Get Off Your Phone

Ever since returning from Central America, I stepped out of a world where no one needed technology to a world where everyone is dependent on it. I want to share a couple of stories.

Story of my Life 1: As a backpacker, I loved my phone. I took all my photos on it. Ancient ruins, traditional clothing and cultures, foods, landscape- you name it. I used it to keep in touch with my family and friends. One day, on our way to a new destination in Guatemala, I reached for my phone in my backpack strap- it was gone. Time stood still. It felt like one of those horror movies, the moment where you realize going down the cellar was a huge mistake. I thought back to the last few hours. I racked my brain until I remembered that earlier the same morning, a friendly Guatemalan man had helped me lift my backpack to the overhead compartment on the bus. He must have felt through the pockets and grabbed my phone, along with all my money in it. How typical of a tourist can I get, letting a stranger handle my bag? I went through the rest of the trip without my brand new iPhone 6 and credit cards. In the chaos of my panic, I suddenly felt a strange calmness. I was jolted out of that world and the need to be constantly connected. No more distractions. I was not going to be that one person checking my Facebook every second, because I didn’t have the ability to. I can immerse myself in the beauty that I was surrounded by. I can actually listen to people who are talking to me. In the end, the only truly important items that I missed were my travel photos.

Story of my Life 2: After two years of not seeing each other, I have finally reunited with my close friend from college. We’ve known each other for 5+ years, sharing countless of memories with each other. We had so much in common: parents, interests, personalities, cultures, etc. I was really excited to see her. After weeks of planning our reunion and $200 spent for an entire weekend in a Hyatt hotel in downtown Atlanta. When it was finally time for us to hang out and catch up, it became glaringly apparent that she wouldn’t stop using her phone. I’m not being over-dramatic. She literally checked her phone every other minute, responding to her boyfriend or chatting up her hometown friend, who both have seen her a few days ago. I tried to engage her with questions about her life, enticed her with all the different things we could do with our night out, etc. She would talk to me absentmindedly and half heartedly, then checked her phone every so often. I suddenly realized that I was interrupting her time with her phone. I brought my concern to her attention, told her that I was upset. She insisted that she didn’t think it was a big deal, that I should have told her earlier, that I was over-reacting. I was heartbroken; it was so unfair. It has now been almost a year since I have spoken to her. I took it to heart never to get carried away with my nose stuck in a device that I don’t see the people around me.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my phone. Without it, I would be very lost- literally and figuratively. Luckily, my body has a very natural way of preventing me from getting too technology dependent.  I get a headache from staring at an electronic screen for too long. I think that everything should be enjoyed in moderation. When you can’t control your urge to check your phone every 2 minutes, it becomes a problem.

  1. You become rude to people around you. Are you really even spending time together at that point?
  2. You become reliant. When used excessively, the devil’s box ensnares the mind. Just like the moment I realized I lost my phone. People don’t know how to cope without it. Technology, used excessively, dulls the mind, making it inept. How can you learn or remember anything when a quick Google search answers the question? It kills the curiosity that drives people.
  3. You become constantly unmotivated and distracted. When was the last time you read a book without being interrupted by the buzz of your phone and a quick Facebook check-in? Are you playing video games through the night and neglecting your dinner? Do you binge-watch TV shows on Netflix?

What am I going to do now that I get off my phone? Surprisingly, not all people in NYC glue their faces to their phones in the subway. They do a variety of things- listen to music, read, or just sit and relax before/after a day of work. In a fast-paced, high efficiency environment, I figured they learned that it is a good balance in life.

  1. Spend time with people. They’re much more interesting in person than on your chat box, I promise.
  2. Read. It might be cliched, but reading is awesome in many ways: improves focus, jogs memory, expands imagination, relaxes the mind, and takes you on an adventure! You then can talk to people about it.
  3. Play an instrument. Whenever I’m overwhelmed with work, TV, life, I like to switch gears and play some music. I play the same chords on the ukulele with every song. It’s not hard to learn. It’s just nice to hear something real once in awhile. I also like to sing. 
  4. Take a walk. I’m not a very active person on a daily basis (though I should be), but I love taking a refreshing walk once in awhile.
  5. Board games. We have an entire shelf stacked up to the ceiling of board games hoarded from over the years. Play them!

I recently bought my little brother a Minecraft Book Series Boxset for his birthday. If you have any kids in your family, you’ll know that they are obsessed with Minecraft. At the time, the box set competed with Pokemon plush toys, cool gadgets, and new clothes. As months passed by, all his toys became boring and he began to read the books. Through them, his imagination was able to expand. He still reads and re-reads them because he loves the world so much. It was not video games, but his imagination had taken place of his other senses. Imagination is the most powerful thing you have and it must be nurtured. 

I’m still trying to teach my little brother and sisters to take enjoyment in doing other things than technology. Learning to balance relationships, self, and technology is very important in happiness. Don’t let your phone take control of you. You take control of it.

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