Sam and Orna Stay July 24, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Friends , add a commentWe just hosted Sam and Orna for four nights.
Sam is Australian and Orna is Irish. They are traveling the world together and are heading to Koh Tao and then to Vietnam where they plan to teach English for 6 month.
Tik and I were both busy working this week but got the opportunity to take them for dinner at Fah Sai restaurant and, today to Crepes and Co for brunch.
Kanchanaburi Safari Park July 6, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Friends, Leisure, Thailand, travel , add a commentThe following morning we visited the safari park.
I’d seen videos of this park online and looked forward to how close we could get to the giraffes. The park itself was great value; 300 baht for westerners, 130 for Thais.
Outside the park we had the opportunity to play with an excitable lion cub and have a group photo with a pretty lethargic tiger.
The park itself was as I’d imagined it, animals so used to tourists that they stuck their heads right into the car.
I found the zebras a little aggressive. They constantly snarled and jumped at the giraffes in a bid to get into our windows. (more…)
Weekend in Kanchanaburi July 5, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Leisure, Thailand , add a commentOur Couchsurfing friends David and Sharon were only meant to stay with us one night. Even before meeting them I felt bad that we’d not get more time with them as they were an extremely interesting couple with a positive and proactive attitude and a lot to share. Thankfully we managed to convince them to join us for a weekend in Kanchanaburi as I was keen to visit the safari park there.
We chose a bank holiday weekend so a few guesthouses were booked up but we were lucky enough to find Sams Rafthouse which is along the river Kwai and not far from the infamous (and infamously dull) railway.
Although we were planning on only modest accommodation Tik was excited to be offered the VIP rafthouse with fully fitted bathroom. At 800 baht for the night this was very reasonable and the room was clean and well-maintained. We were looking forward to sitting outside on the floating patio and getting to know our new friends.
We sat outside on the porch, discussing life until late.
Eddie Teaches Us To Juggle June 19, 2009
Posted by Martin in : Friends, Leisure , add a commentOur Couchsurfing friend Eddie taught us to all to juggle today.
We are currently hosting Eddie, a lecturer from California and Teague from England. We were also joined by Patrick and Simone.
I’m a few hours away from being able to juggle but even after an hour with Eddie I’ve made a lot of progress. Tomorrow I’ll go out and buy my own balls to practice with.
Face Bar Restaurant & Gazebo Rooftop Bar, Bangkok May 23, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Leisure , add a commentWe met up with a lovely couple through Couchsurfing today.
Stefan and Aileen are a similar age to us and we had a lot in common. Sadly, although they have been living in Bangkok for many years, we met them just a week before they relocated to the Philippines.
We were also jonied by their friends Arare and her partner (forgotten his name already, sorry). We began the night at the stylish ‘Face Bar’ in Sukumvit which is styled very much like a spa resort. They offer Japanese, Indian and Thai food.
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Elisa, Hector & Sameer Stay May 18, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Friends , add a commentWe have so many wonderful Couchsurfing experiences that sometimes I fail to take photos or update our blog about them.
The most memorable guests are usually those who cook for us and Elisa, Hector and Sameer came at a time when we weren’t too busy with work and could all relax together.
Elisa and Hector are Spanish although they’ve been all over the world for the last 7 years. They have just completed a round-the-world journey and are heading to Koh Phangnan to study to become yoga instructors and, when they complete their course will head to Brazil to teach at a school there.
Sameer is from El Salvador and is probably the biggest Couchsurfing fanatic we’ve yet met. Current he has about 145 positive references and is one of the ambassadors from El Salvador. Sameer’s had a very interesting life and is in Thailand to complete some advanced diving courses in Koh Tao.
Congratulations to David & Anna May 17, 2009
Posted by Martin in : Friends , add a commentA healthy boy, born May 16th 2009
Phil Returns to Bangkok March 28, 2009
Posted by Martin in : Friends , add a commentIt’s been 2 years since I last saw Phil. We used to meet weekdays at Lumphini park to play tennis until he returned back to the UK.
He came back to Bangkok with his friends Lee and Mark and we were lucky enough to host them for the day before they head to Samui.
They had a really long day with us, arriving from the airport about 9am. We took them and our current Couchsurfing guest Pascal to Molly Malones for a cheap Irish fry-up then gave them a few hours by the pool to relax.
Couchsurfing Picnic in the Park March 27, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Friends, Leisure , add a commentWe attended an organized Couchsurfing event in Lumphini park.
There were about 50 people there and although we met some great people it wasn’t as friendly as our new years eve party.
I was really delighted to have reunited with May – an old colleague of mine from my teaching days.
Another Couchsurfing Get-Together February 13, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Friends, Leisure, Thailand , add a commentWe had four people staying with us last Friday;
- Philippe and Amelia, a really lovely couple from Switzerland who’re traveling the world and are on their way to India.
- Alex, the guy we met in Kanchenaburi last week who’s on his way to the Philippines.
- Toon, Tik’s sister who came to Bangkok for a meeting.
We had a few other friends in Bangkok as well so took the opportunity to invite everybody over for dinner and drinks.
We ate at a great restaurant down the road called Fah Sai which serves Thai food.
Our CouchSurfing / Birthday / Farewell / Hello Party January 14, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing , add a comment
We decided to host another party last night. Most of us came for dinner at the large Issarn Restaurant round the corner, then it was back to our place for drinks and Wii games.
Attending were:
- Nolan, Tim and Josh – three American couchsurfers who were staying with us for three nights.
- Hailey and her Thai friend Roz. Hailey stayed with us a few weeks back and came to see us again beore flying home to Korea.
- Ying, Masaya and Sophie who we’d not seen since before New Year.
- Chris and Gai who are about to move out of Bangkok to travel the world together.
- Our Friend P’A
- Eric & Yasmin, a couchsurfing couple who’ve just arrived in Bangkok who hopefully we’ll get to spend more time with soon.
- Quinn, another couchsurfer who we unfortunately couldn’t host this week but we hope might return soon to stay with us.
It was also Tik’s birthday today so it was great being around such fun people.
Although many people were couchsurfers, we’d invited them privately so this wasn’t an official couchsurfing event.
In the future though we’ll issue a few more open invites to other couchsurfers who live or have arrived in Bangkok.
Click Here For Photos
Loy Krathong 2008 November 12, 2008
Posted by Martin in : Friends, Thailand , add a comment
Not many photos this year unfortunately but for Loy Krathong a nice group of us went near the river to post our krathongs (boats).
As ever, it’s impressive to see so many Thai people in one place – all of whom are there to enjoy themselves and there’s not any hint of trouble, drunks or rudeness.
After floating the Krathongs we made our way to ‘Tom Yam Kung’ restaurant in Khao Sarn Road to enjoy a large Thai meal.
Koh Samet November 2008 November 2, 2008
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Friends, Thailand , add a comment
We decided to treat our first ever CouchSurfers and P’A to a weekend in Koh Samet.
We arrived Saturday lunchtime and left the following day but managed to have time to swim, read and to get pretty drunk in the evening.
Click Here to view the rest of our photos
CouchSurfing October 28, 2008
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing , add a comment
Tik and I joined up with Couchsurfing as a way of making contacts when we travel to Japan in April 09.
The concept behind the site is to connect traveler with hosts. As a host you make your couch (or bed) available to interesting people and, as a traveler you get the benefit of arriving in a town worldwide and immediately having a friend, a room and perhaps a tour guide to help you out.
f you’re not that way inclined then Couchsurfing is also great to ask questions to residents of places you’ll be traveling to, and there’s a large social community worldwide where you can meet up without the obligation of sparing a room.
A few friends of ours find the idea of inviting strangers to stay quite worrying, but Tik and I are positive people who assume the best in everybody. Networks like this can only work when every participant reciprocates a level of trust and respect. We’re confident we’ll attract the right kind of guests.
Even before we’d added our profile we started getting inundated with requests to stay with us and we are averaging about 3 requests per day.
Click this link for our Couchsurfing profile page.
If you love to meet people and / or to travel then visit their website here. Remember it’s free – and great fun.
Group Weekend in Pattaya July 16, 2008
Posted by Martin in : Friends, Leisure , add a comment
We spent the weekend with about 10 other couple who’d married in March 07 like us. We’ve been friends with these people since before our wedding as Tik was a member of Wedding Square – a website for Thai brides to network and to discuss their wedding plans.
