Travel Like A Local

Its been a while since the last time Mr/s X send me articles to be shared with Travelog Saya readers. Well, the long wait has ended people. Mr/s X sent me this. Well basically its about coach surfing. Have you heard it before? If You haven't, you gotta to read this one. Thanks mysterious Mr/s X!

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Every travelers dream is to travel a city like a local.. Travelers like me would certainly would like to explore more than just tourist attractions. You might want to try the best pushka in Kolkata which is sold at one place under the Howrah Bridge , or to find the local Cock Fight in some isolated village in Jakarta, or you might want to get some best Nasi Kandar under a flat in Air Itam, Penang..

Indonesia Cock Fight - (Farid) During my last trip to Indonesia, we have planned to see this illegal fight but somehow we cancelled it last minute. We don't gamble anyway. So we expect the fight will be boring.

So to travel a place like a  local you need to be with a local.. this time im going to introduce a website which you could get to know locals from another country. The site is www.couchsurfing.org.  This is an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals from more than 230 countries all around the world. So the first step is to register yourself on the site  and start communicating with people on the country that you wish to travel.

One of the interesting part of this travelers network is that you be provided a place to hit while you are in town. there are so many likeminded people who just spare at least a couch for you.. yes you to spend nights in their country instead of you spending money in hotels/hostels.. some are also willing to meet you over coffee and guide what you need to know all over the city.

 You can choose to offer coach or only coffee to others

You might host another traveler in your place as well in return. this kind of network is so fantastic. to know more about this site, i certainly recommend you to visit www.couchsurfing.org right now.. i bet you just cant wait to travel right now. LOL. Remember, travel like a local, don't be cheated like a tourist!

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Well, from a typical Malaysian point of view, this idea is kinda scary as we don't simply let strangers come into our house right? But in some developed countries especially Europe, this adventurous way to travel is quite normal because everyone is doing it and everyone does travel. So it's like Gua tolong lu, Lu tolong gua lah! My personal advice is, its better for us to be sure that the person can be trusted and I think its safer to sleep on others couch rather than letting strangers sleep on your coach.

Don't forget to add me as your friend at www.couchsurfing.org ! Click here for my profile. The website looks kinda old fashioned and look like a fraud website but have no worries. It is the real website though. Haha. BTW, thanks again Mr/s X for the tips!

P/s- Tangguh lagi Universiti 4 Musim.. :(