CURRENT MISSION

To see and experience the world!

ABOUT ME

I moved to Hertford, England (about an hour north of London) at the beginning of 2013 and am working as an Assistant Project Manager on Highways Major Projects.

In 2012 I took 8 months off work and travelled through Asia, Russia and Europe. About 50% of this trip was couchsurfing and I loved the experience so much.

Before my big trip I was living in the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula area of New Zealand. I hosted a few couchsurfers when I was living there and showed them around a bit and stayed in my parents caravan at Matarangi.

Previously I grew up in Auckland and studied at the University of Otago in Dunedin.

I live for experience, try and make the most fun out of everything I do.

PHILOSOPHY

Live for Experience!I have an acknowledgement for the necessity of the system coupled with a declining tentative respect...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted a few great surfers around the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand and have surfed in many countries around the world during my eight month adventure.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hosting
It is great fun meeting new people, exploring the tourist sites and finding places that I have not seen before as I show people around the Coromandel Peninsula.

Surfing
CouchSurfing provides the necessary means to communicate with locals, get valuable advice on what to see and experience and try to experience other cultures first-hand rather than observing from afar.

Surfed
Singapore, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Russia, Netherlands, Spain, England, Wales, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Scotland, Turkey, Austria, Denmark... so far

Interests

Sport
Playing sport (Squash, Rugby, Cricket)
Watching live sport
Trying new sports

Music
Playing Music
Listening to music
Discovering interesting new bands
Attending live concerts

Food
Eating food
Inventing new recipe's every day
Trying new, crazy, spicy, interesting and weird foods

Drinking
Parties
Pub Crawls
Trying new drinks (Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic)

Travelling
Exploring new places, close and far, is one of my current passions. While working in a new country I want to see as much as possible while I have the chance.

• photography
• concerts
• dining
• cooking
• partying
• drinking
• pub crawls
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• surfing
• bungee jumping
• sports
• cricket
• rugby
• racquetball
• hitchhiking
• mountains
• squash

Music, Movies, and Books

Music
King Crimson, The Mars Volta, Tool, Muse, Rammstein, Battle Circus, Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Karnivool, Nine Inch Nails, Kerretta, Neil Young, Gazpacho, Temple of the Dog, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Battles, Faith No More, Primus, At the Drive-In, A Perfect Circle, Mr. Bungle, Metallica, Head Like A Hole, Deftones...

Movies
The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men, A Clockwork Orange, Blazing Saddles, The Believer, This Is England, True Grit, American History X, Fight Club, Blood Simple, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, Trans-Siberian, The Prestige, Memento, In Bruges, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, There Will Be Blood, Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects, 12 Angry Men...

Television
Peep Show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Modern Family, Big Bang Theory, Game of Thrones, South Park, Terra Nova, Trailer Park Boys, Suits, Arrested Development, The Inbetweeners, Rome, The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Deadwood, Band of Brothers, IT Crowd, Parks and Recreation...

Books
War and Peace, The Art of War, The Prince, Faust, The Holy Bible, Qur'an, Communist Manifesto, No Country for Old Men, The Road, The Border Trilogy, Tomorrow Series, Icon, The Day of the Jackal, The Fist of God, Blood Meridian, Fatherland...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Performed a Maori haka as a little white boy in front of Samoan schools.

Partipated in a Scallop cook-off in front of thousands of people.

Nevis Canyon 134m Bungee Jump in Queenstown, Macau Tower 233m Bungy Jump in Macau.

Swam in the freezing water of Lake Baikal (Siberia, Russia) with ice floating around me.

Drinking vodka in a car while hitch-hiking in the Altai Mountains of Russia.

Completed the 365project (Photography) taking a photo every day for 2012: http://365project.org/douglas2012/365

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you the rules of Cricket!

I can give plenty of advice for anyone wanting to couchsurf along the Trans-Siberian route through Russia!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cook Islands, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, Samoa, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand, United Kingdom

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