Freestyle Couchsurfing 69:7 Why: Sometimes you gotta let the trip plan you. It goes hand-in-hand with hitchhiking and spontaneity, both of which I practice on a regular basis.
Neoma Lavalle 34, Female Berkeley, California United States Friends since August 1996 "First a friend from college, now much more than that... :)" Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Ben Bachelder 30+
DEEPHOUSEG 0, Male Sacramento, California United States Friends since March 1997 "Met Ben In Berlin many years ago... I've logged many hours walking with Benny." Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Ben Bachelder 30+30+30+
Ken Davis 53, Several people Friday Harbor, Washington United States Friends since 1992 "I met Ben when his mother and I became an item way back in 92, it has been 13 years now watching ben grow up from a teenager and then off to college and then flying from the nest off to Berkeley and then to his first post schoolastic employment in Hawaii"
Dave Mitchell 61, Male Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand Friends since 2006 "Ben surfed the CamelCaravanCouch for 2 nights and is always a pleasure to meet another Zappafreak."
Duc Pham 31, Male Campbell, California United States Friends since August 1997 "Went to Uni together, played in a band together, traveled together, and more." Friendship Type: Best Friend 30+30+30+
SALMAN 38, Male Phoenix, Arizona United States Friends since June 2003 "Ben and I first met via digihitch.com. Have traveled together and hosted each other. Much talking, we have similar ideals and he has my complete respect. I trust him without any reservation." Friendship Type: Close Friend I vouched for Ben Bachelder 338
Hikecrazy 99, Male San Francisco, California United States Friends since July 2003 "We met through digihitch and then in person in San Francisco. He stayed with me, I stayed with him." Friendship Type: Close Friend I vouched for Ben Bachelder 795
Taylor Boger 32, Male Kaneohe, Hawaii United States Friends since 2003 "This guy... lets just say "Smiley face boxer shorts"."
Eva Skogsberg 31, Female Kaneohe, Hawaii United States Friends since March 2002 "We used to date, and hitchhiked around in Europe, and went to Cali for a while" Friendship Type: Good Friend 30+30+30+
Phillip Moore 35, Male Oswego, New York United States Friends since May 2005 "Yep, we travelled together a bunch... Another person met through digihitch." Friendship Type: Good Friend I vouched for Ben Bachelder 261
I was born and raised in San Francisco's Bay Area and called Berkeley my home for my university years. My hippie-ish parents (they won't admit to it) raised me to be a free thinker and Berkeley reinforced that.
At the age of 17 I discovered electronic music and the rave scene and became a DJ, which helped put me through school and boosted my ego much more than I really needed. After graduation I finally left the US and experienced Europe and the glory of hitchhiking. I also fell in love with volcanoes, and parked myself in Hawaii to commune with the goddess Pele.
However, the song of the road beckoned and drew me as far as India on a fourteen month bare-bones journey. By that time, my girlfriend back in Hawaii threatened to disown me, so I reluctantly returned. That lasted for a mere twelve months, and I looked to the east for new roads to wander. Four months in Southeast Asia proved to be a mere scratch on the surface, but the prospect of employment in Antarctica again drew me back to my homeland.
I got the job, and after a side trip to Central America where I fell in love with an old friend, soon to be my wife, and I took a long ride south, to work on the frozen continent during the Austral Summer. I ended up spending four seasons there, with jaunts to South America, Asia, and Hawaii in between. Now I'm back home in Berkeley working as an engineer for a solar installer and loving it. Domestic life isn't so bad and now I can finally be a host!
How I Participate in CS
I'm the go-to guy for Antarctica
CouchSurfing Experience
All over the world, from mud huts to luxury hotels. Human hospitality never ceases to amaze me.
Interests
meeting people, understanding cultures, music, religion, rock climbing, cooking, hitch hiking, walking, correcting grammar, spinning records, getting lost, writing, observing, dancing, babbling on and on, listening, spontaneity, welding, operating heavy equipment.
Philosophy
So long as you're happy and not making others unhappy, life is good. Do what you can to keep it that way. Don't get caught up in the negativity of the world, because so much of the positive is overlooked. Just smile, and you'll see someone smile back.
Never let go of your dreams! Follow them to the sweet end!
Music, Movies, Books
Books: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintanence; Brave New World; Cosmos; Chaos; The Alchemist; Europe from a Backpack; Wanderlust; Guns, Germs, & Steel; Brave New World
Food: Indian; Thai; Italian; Mexican; Asian Buddhist
Movies: Matrix; Truman Show; Punch Drunk Love; Jackie Brown; Monty Python and the Holy Grail; The Breakfast Club; Amelie
Music: Carl Cox; Led Zeppelin; John Selway; Blies Brothers; Transglobal Underground; Snoop Dogg; Beastie Boys; Stevie Ray Vaughn, Frank Zappa; DJ Shadow; Taylor; LTJ Bukem; Gabriel; Pink Floyd; Dub Star All Stars; NOFX; Anabolic Frolic; Skatalites; The Black Dog
Artists: Ansel Adams; Salvador Dali;Taylor Boger; Hundertwasser
Most Impressive Sights: Lava flows in Hawaii, Buddha in Bodhgaya, India; Yosemite Valley; Dali's Museum in Figures, Spain; View from the World Trade Center; Dog trucks crossing the Lao-Vietnam border.
Types of People I enjoy
Well, anyone who doesn't suck, basically. People different from me make me think, and I like that. People similar to me help to reinforce my thoughts, and I like that too.
Teach, Learn, Share
Hitchhiking-It's my passion and I work every day trying to further it.
Volcanoes-I love them!
Engineering-It's what I went to school for and keeps my brain happy.
Antarctica-My second (third?) home and I'm happy to answer all your cool questions.
And I'm happy to help any travel newbies that don't know who or what to ask!
I'll proofread your documents for grammar errors, too. I can't stand a misused apostrophe!
One Amazing Thing I've Seen or Done
I spent an afternoon at Round Mountain in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Stunning.
Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org Project
I'm forever impressed at the growth and depth of the network. Couchsurfing is the best interface for a global travel network created so far, and I hope it continues to improve.
This summary is not a replacement for reading references; it's a quick summary to help you get started. At a glance, you can see how many references a member has, and how many of them are positive, neutral, and negative.
In the second line, you'll see how many references came from people who hosted this member, surfed with them, and traveled with them. These numbers won't always add up to the total: some references are not categorized, and some may be categorized as more than one thing.
When viewing this summary, don't jump to conclusions! Things that are negative for one person may be positive for another, and vice versa. It's important to read references carefully and evaluate what that information means to you.
From Kevin Dudney San Francisco, United States Jan 29, 2011
Positive
Ben is incredible. We have known and loved Ben for several years. He has an astonishing variety of interests and experiences that he is happy to share. We have stayed with Ben and Neoma for a few nights while they helped us prepare to come to Antarctica. They are delightful and gracious hosts.
From Lisa Fong San Francisco, United States Sep 26, 2010
Positive
Ben is a big orange pocketful of wow! He has been a friend for years now and I can talk about everything with him. If I ever need to be cheered up or just need a dose of positivity, he is the one to go to for sure. He is a fellow kindred traveling spirit. There is always so much of the world to learn and through the eyes of Ben.
From Carl Stearns Durham, United States Feb 28, 2010
Positive
Ben is a seasoned and thoughtful couch surfer, and is a lot of fun to hang out with.
Ben and his girlfriend Neoma stayed with me 2 days. They are such a nice couple and I enjoyed their company a great deal.
Come again if ever you are in Turangi you two!!
From Chris Kotrla Austin, United States Feb 9, 2009
Positive
Ben's a great guy who has taught me a lot about hitchhiking during our time living in Antarctica. He's also a damn fine bartender.
Ben is a good person who is always looking for ways to have fun or new places to explore. He is really good at making people smile and also an avid world traveler/hitcher. I've never known him to be inconsiderate of anyone else in any way - a very cool fellow. :D
From Dave Haddow Charleston, New Zealand Jul 5, 2008
Positive
I found Ben an outgoing and friendly person. He has plenty of very interesting travel stories.And helped Dj at my friends wedding.Roll on Ben.
From Hikecrazy San Francisco, United States Apr 10, 2008
Positive
A guest who's always welcome. Hitchhiker, traveller, DJ, cook... all this and he loves volcanoes too! Witty conversation, great tales, good company.
If he's in your area you should meet him, if you show him where to get a good burrito he'll love you for life!
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digihitch
Freestyle Couchsurfing
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