What is couchsurfing?

“I first started couchsurfing when I had to go to Los Angeles for about three months and could not find a suitable room to rent. I was travelling there for some events and without a social security number in the USA, no one was willing to rent me a room. I even tried student hostels for renting a shared space, but the minimum period was six months with an advance deposit. My budget was limited and I simply couldn’t pay for a hotel or Airbnb for that long in an exorbitant city like Los Angeles. So, someone suggested for me to couchsurf. Although I had known about couchsurfng for a while, I had never actually tried it until then. I was scared, being a young woman, what kind of people I would meet and if it would be safe for me or not. But I didn’t really have much of a choice so went ahead with it.”

Couchsurfing

Recently, she was couchsurfing in Delhi and Noida, when I met up with her. A resident of Costa Rica in Central America, she was in the Indian capital for the launch of her new book, Life Is Abracadabra, at the World Book Fair and I got acquainted with her through some common friends who were her local hosts. That was when she explained to me the concept of couchsurfing and I was fascinated. Now, what is couchsurfing, you may ask. It is a hosting platform for travellers, backpackers, and those on a tight budget who want to see the world. “When you go to a new country, instead of staying in a hotel and paying exorbitant tariffs, you stay with locals in their homes exchanging culture, cuisine, customs, courtesies, and conversations. They can show you around, share meals with you, introduce you to regional events, religious functions, and family traditions, whence one can learn so much about people and lifestyles across cultures very different from one’s own,” Baisakhi explains. “And if they don’t have a spare room, you could be literally sleeping on their couch!”

There are other organizations too that host travellers for free—just like Couchsurfing is an online platform that allows travellers to stay with locals in any country, similarly, Servas is another international organization that works towards fostering world peace by hosting travellers across nations and cross cultural boundaries. “So, I spent nearly three months changing homes and hosts every few days as Los Angelinos greeted me with warmth and hospitality, and I returned the favour by cooking delicious Indian meals for most of them, even gifting some of my initial hosts with rich Costa Rican coffee I had taken with me on the trip,” she adds. “But I had my share of challenges while Couchsurfing and Servas hopping, the biggest one being unable to find suitable hosts on time and some I found last minute. It was all spontaneous and unplanned. As and when I arrived at a new host’s place, I searched for my next host. It was impossible to book hosts in advance, as I had no clue where I would be the following day, and sometimes hosts cancelled at the last minute.”

“But the gifts I received in the process far outweighed the challenges,” she continues. “I ended up staying in more than 20 different houses during my 2.7 months’ stay in Los Angeles! In the end, the discomfort of packing my big red suitcase and moving frequently was rewarded richly, and not being able to find a rental space turned out to be a real blessing! I not only stayed for free the entire time but also got to know wonderful people across the length and breadth of the city, where local families of all backgrounds: blacks, whites, browns, yellows, Hispanics, people of Asian, European, African, American descent—Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Indonesian, Indian, Italian, Swedish, Mexican, North American, Nigerian, Jamaican, Haitian, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist, rich, poor, young, old, students, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, bankers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and more, opened their doors to me and we exchanged cultures, customs, cuisines, courtesies, in a world without strangers!”

“I was even picked up from the airport by my first host who showed me around the posh parts of the city, including the beaches, before dropping me off at my next host’s. Can beggars be choosers? Oh yes, they can be kings and queens if they so choose! By the time I left the city, I had more hosts than I could accommodate in my schedule, and a few generous hosting offers I had to politely decline! I came to know the nooks and crannies of the city this way as I shared amazing moments and space with its inhabitants. I also enjoyed several benefits, like a couple of my hosts invited me to the city’s fitness centre where I got a chance to work out and went hiking into the hills with some others. One of my hosts even took me to a spa retreat he was organizing where I got a complimentary hand, foot and body massage by professional female masseurs as I de-stressed and relaxed from my travels. Another host had peacocks visiting her patio and I woke up to the sound of bird pecks on the window.” And she was greeted with similar enthusiasm in India, across Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal, Delhi and the NCR region when she came here recently to promote her new book and do some events. For example, one of her hosts in Delhi was a filmmaker and offered to film her book launch event at the World Book fair. Then there were other families who opened their doors and welcomed her into their lives, where she spent beautiful moments interacting with them while they guided her across the city and introduced her to new opportunities related to her work.

Is it safe?

“Many have asked me if it is safe to stay with strangers like this in an unknown city,” says Baisakhi. “Well, it was my first time in LA and second, third, fourth, fifth… time couchsurfing in India, and this is what I can say from experience: It is absolutely safe!” While there are no risks with Servas as you have to be an official member of the organization to host or surf, one may face some challenges while couchsurfing, hence, one needs to choose a host or guest with some caution. People usually couchsurf to network or meet interesting people from across the world. A couchsurfer’s profile may be verified by the website, such as their phone number, house address, government identity, etc. so they are reliable and safe. However, verifying an account requires some money so many hosts or guests may have unverified profiles. In that case, it is essential to look at their references. The reference section on the website allows for a guest and host to leave an endorsement for each other after a stay has been officially completed through the couchsurfing platform. If they have a few references from people of different backgrounds or nationalities, you know they are genuine travellers or hosts. One must stay away from the shady characters—people with no information on their profiles, no photos, no verifications, no references, no friends, and still want to connect, hang out, or host. They may be well-meaning people but if they are unwilling to share more information about themselves, it is hard for a stranger to know whether they can be trusted or not. “I received hosting offers by a few people like this but declined them. That said, if you choose your hosts carefully, especially those with references and/or verifications, you will be completely safe and have a great time interacting with them while also learning a lot. Sometimes I’ve had couchsurfers wanting to just hang out with me, to show me around the city, etc. but I was really busy with my book work and events, so those offers I couldn’t take up. Other tourism facilities can also be availed through these platforms, like when I was in Los Angeles, I was thinking of doing a quick trip to San Francisco and there were car pool facilities available at budget rates or for free, depending on the hosts, but in the end I didn’t have time for that either,” she explains.

Meaningful connections

“No amount of money, expensive hotels, or room rentals could have given me this rich experience that staying with locals in their homes gave me. In the end, I can say that I had such a marvellous time, I now know it was all destined, supposed to be this way! I can’t imagine how it would have been otherwise, if I had actually found a room rental, I would have spent thousands of bucks just on rent, stuck at some corner of the city, seeing nothing, meeting no one! But now, I not only enjoyed complimentary stays in such expensive cities, my hosts even took me out, showed me around, engaged me in their social activities, games, concerts, comedy nights, get-togethers, invited me to local events, took me to churches, synagogues, temples, shopping malls, theaters to watch movies, hang out at the beaches, dine at exotic restaurants, walk through Hollywood boulevard and Chandni Chowk, and so much more that I cannot possibly pen them all down here! What more could I have asked for? And I remember how I was breaking my head prior to the LA trip, straining my eyes staring at the computer for hours and hours trying desperately to find a room rental on social media platforms and other websites, when in fact, this grand voyage had been planned for me ahead of time! Even in my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have conceived this myself. As I took one step, the next was revealed to me. It all happened so spontaneously, worked out so beautifully that I just had to relax and enjoy the roller-coaster ride,” she summarizes with a wink!

Baisakhi Saha is an award-winning international speaker, bestselling author, performer and globetrotter. Her latest book, Life Is Abracadabra, recounts twenty-one magical stories from her travels across the globe that will make anyone look at life with new eyes. An experiential documentation of how to transcend the ordinary into extraordinary outcomes in alignment with our desires, it will make you believe in magic and miracles. The book is available in all leading bookstores across India as well as on Amazon, Kindle, Flipkart, Google, etc.

~As recounted by Monica, a Delhiite cum reporter.

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