Couch surfing in Bangkok

Couch surfing -- the phenomenon that matches needy travelers with free accommodation -- is rolling through Asia like a big ball of kindness. Made popular by the website CouchSurfing.org, even countries controlled by a Communist Party such as China and Vietnam are happy to allow foreign comrades to crash in communes, private residences or anywhere else a host is willing to shelter them for free. 

"We've couch surfed in Japan, we've couch surfed in China, we've couch surfed in Vietnam, in Cambodia and here," says Nikola, 23, a Canadian traveling with his French girlfriend Lise, as they sit on a Bangkok couch. "Basically we're on a year-long trip."

Couchsurfing.org is a non-profit website that matches up travelers with locals willing to let them sleep at their houses. It started in 2004 and aims to “create inspiring experiences: cross-cultural encounters that are fun, engaging, and illuminating.” Similar sites include Stay4free.com and Hospitalityclub.org.

Allowing strangers to sleep over may sound like a great way to invite danger into your home, as there have been reports of rape and theft linked to the use of online couch surfing networks. Couchsurfing.org does have a section devoted to safety measures  on its site, which points to its verification process as one way of protectng members.

In fact Thai-American photographer, Peak Ness, 37, says she thrives on the international interaction, and crams as many people into her Bangkok pad as possible.

She says her experiences have been overwhelmingly positive and profound, though inevitably some have been regrettable, such as the time she hosted someone when she lived in Los Angeles, California. "Someone came to stay and was on drugs, without telling us," Peak says, recalling the L.A. incident. "We weren't able to figure him out, until he just sat in the corner one day, laughing, and said he was on drugs all this time. It was L.S.D. He confessed basically.”

Peak hasn't had any such problems in her Bangkok home where she hosted Nikola, Lise and a Belgian man named Fenn -- all at the same time -- by placing beds in different rooms.

Fenn, from Belgium, practices meditation in a traditional Buddhist shrine room in Peak's home.

Different cities, different experiences

Couch surfing in Bangkok differs from couch surfing in Los Angeles, says Peak. "It's still the same system, but I feel it’s a different mentality here," she explains, noting that Bangkok has a reputation for being cheaper. “There are a lot more people coming here for vacations, and staying a lot longer. So you have people who want to party, or people who really want to come relax a little bit, and take their time, in travelling."

In Los Angeles, couch surfers "are not really able to stay as long, or feel out the city as much, because of the cost," Peak says.
   
"I've been staying here four nights," says Fenn, 34, relaxing next to Lise and Nikola on Peak's sofa. "It's been great. It is a very warm feeling, like being part of the family. I couch surfed in Mumbai with a guy who worked for MTV. It was also great. I stayed there four nights."

After Bangkok, the Belgian sound engineer plans to visit southern Thailand's tropical islands. He has hosted several couch surfers himself at home on his boat, moored in the Spanish port of Barcelona.

Lise, a 22-year-old dancer working in tourism, combined her couch surfing with a flash-back journey through Vietnam's World War II years under French colonial rule. "My grandfather used to live in Saigon," Lise says, referring to the previous name for Ho Chi Minh City. "He was working for telecommunications during the war.”

Lise combined her couch surfing with a flash-back journey through Vietnam, where her grandfather used to live during World War II.

Bangkok’s growing couch surfing network

Bangkok offers lots of couches to surf for free, including Peak's home in a nondescript commercial building on Phahon Yothin Road. At present, five floors of her family's storage space are being converted into living quarters.

"Traveling can be hectic," Peak says, especially with all the "little details you have to worry about. At least, I try to offer a sense of security and friendliness."

She describes couch surfing as an "interesting global platform for getting to know people by this weird organic network, using the Internet. 

"The best experience, I think, was finding people with the same interest, who became really, really good friends afterwards."

A recent visit to Couchsurfing.org found that there are 367 people  -- Thais and foreigners -- offering a free couch in Thailand, mostly in Bangkok.

Couch surfing websites also display gossip written by other individuals, including reviews of experiences with hosts and guests, to help both sides predict their compatibility.