Not for tourists, travellers are most certainly welcome

WOULD you let a stranger sleep on your couch?

It may be a scary thought for those who don't know it, but you'll be surprised to find millions of people around the world are willing. All thanks to a social networking site for travellers called Couchsurfing.org.

I learned about couch-surfing, popular among globe-trotters and backpackers worldwide, on my recent trip to Singapore, where I met an old friend, (we'll just call him P) who apparently hosts couch-surfers visiting the country.

P has been a host for about eight couch-surfers so far and has couch-surfed once in Vietnam since he started the practice last year. And I've had a chance to meet a Turkish photojournalist who was couchsurfing with P during my visit to see how couch-surfing works.

The first question that popped into my head about couch-surfing: How can you be comfortable with letting a stranger into your home? Or let your guard down in a stranger's turf?

"It's all about mutual trust," P told me, which I think is the best way to describe couch-surfing, or CS as they call it.

The host trusts the surfer to not take advantage of their hospitality, and the surfer trusts the host enough to feel at home at their place.

CS takes the old notion of hospitality, mixed with a modern-day paradigm of social networking. Remember Friendster? With couchsurfing.org, each user has his or her own profile, filled with testimonials and references from people who have hosted or couch-surfed with them. References are a way of telling other potential surfers or hosts if the person is friendly, good and trustworthy. The more references the better.

I met P's roommates and guest the evening I arrived. We hit it off immediately sharing of our life experiences among one another. With the guest and I, both being writers, journalism immediately became the main topic in the room.

CS is really not about free accommodation at all. It's about meeting like-minded people, staying with locals, getting first-hand experience in their cultures, and checking out non-tourist sites and activities. More importantly, it allows an exchange of perspectives and ideas.

What makes CS particularly interesting for me is the networking with people with different experiences, and it's the best way to avoid falling into tourist traps.

It begins with a simple handshake when you walk through the door into the home of your host, continues a travel experience with a local perspective as the host shows you around the best places in the area from a local point of view.

Instead of jumping into the usual "let's shop till you drop in Orchard Road", my host showed me places where locals hang out. He introduced me to some local friends and I learned so much about the Singaporean life.

We're all in the era of globalisation; the idea of remaining in the same culture your entire life is absurd. People are always looking at ways to gain inter-cultural experiences and meeting people from all over the world.

Social networks like Facebook and Twitter lets you meet and communicate with people from around the world. CS takes it on a whole new level, you get a real life cultural exchange and sharing.

I guess I can say I had a taste of CS on my visit to Singapore, seeing that I "surfed" on, well not exactly P's couch, floor is more like it.

The best part about my experience was when I left the country, with a strengthened friendship with someone I already knew, and new friendships with people I have met during my stay.

CS is definitely an experience that makes you a traveler, not a tourist.The Brunei Times