Surfing the world

There’s a popular saying that ‘You will never be completely at home again because a part of your heart will always be elsewhere. This is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.’ And for many, this does not seem like such a bad trade.

That’s what couch surfing allows one to do — exchange your thoughts, ideas with a localite and experience the true culture of the place you opt to stay at; in all probability, paving the way for one of the best holidays of your life.

How does this work, you ask? All one has to do is create a profile and send a request to be hosted or wait to get one. The host can choose to accept or decline the request. Once approved, the traveller can stay with the host.

Devender Suyal, a manager at an IT company, is an avid traveller who was hosted by a family in France and in Greece during his last trip. He says, “It’s a great way to meet people and interact with them. As there isn't a fee to pay like when you stay in a hotel, you spend much lesser than you had intended to. But, of course, you do share the expenses with the person you are staying with.”

As part of a global travelling community, backpackers find couch surfing useful as they get to stay with a resident, understand their culture and exchange information and knowledge about each other in a way not possible in traditional accommodations.

Shonali Majumdar has hosted a couple of travellers in the last few years.

She says, “I prefer hosting foreign nationals as I get to learn about their lifestyle and culture. This way, when I travel to their country, I don’t feel like a complete stranger. It does have a little bit of a risk factor but it’s a chance that I take and thankfully I’ve only had pleasant experiences.”

It was during Rohit V’s trip to the US that he took up the couch surfing option for the first time. The content writer says, “Since it is a private community, you get to know what your host is like. The host I stayed with for a couple of days took me around the city and took me to places I wouldn’t normally have gone to like a local diner, an artist meet up and so on.”

However, safety is one of the issues that many travellers face.

Meena Iyer, a professional, says, “Even though I’ve heard good things about couch surfing, I think it is a huge risk that I am taking. That’s why I prefer staying in a hotel, spend a bit more if I have to, and then interact with the locals when needed. Having said that, I am not completely against the idea. Maybe with more travel plans, I hope to build my confidence and give couch surfing a try in the future.”