The Art And Joy Of Couchsurfing

The Art And Joy Of Couchsurfing article (Manila Bulletin May 14 2009), originally uploaded by Jehan M.

"The Art and Joy of Couchsurfing" (Manila Bulletin, May 14, 2009)

So I, together with fellow couchsurfers DJ Yabis and Liliane Cobiao, were featured in the Manila Bulletin Travel Magazine last May 14. We shared our Couchsurfing and travelling experiences. They even published a picture of me!! Picture shows me, Charlotte de Grosse, Jonathan Pinvidic, Cedric, Lucie Legrand, Jean-Baptiste Heno, Alex Lind, and Linus Monten; when we were at Pinatubo. WOOHOO!!

I have been an active member of CS (or Couchsurfing.org) for several years, even hosting the weekly meet-up for the community. It is a unique traveling experience as well as a distinct mindset. I'm very proud to be a CS member.

Thank you Zane and Cebu Pacific! Full article can be found below. You can find them here and here:

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"Cebu Pacific make Couchsurfers’ travel dreams come true"

How would you feel if someone you’ve never seen before knocks on your door and asks permission to sleep on your couch? The default answer for most may be “no”, but for a growing number of people all over the world, the response is a “yes”; this paves the way for making everyone’s travel dreams come true. They are called couchsurfers.

The term was born in 2003 when Casey Fenton established The CouchSurfing Project, an online community of travelers seeking and offering their homes and company to travelers. Since it began, the site has not just helped the modern and budget-minded vagabond fulfill his travel wishes; but also provide many opportunities for meaningful cultural exchange.

Ever-thrifty, determined to explore and genuinely warm, Filipino travelers are taking a shine to CouchSurfing (nicknamed CS), opening their hearts and homes to fellow wanderers from around the globe. Meet Lilliane Cobiao, DJ Yabis and Jehan Machacon. As active members of the local CS community, they give couchsurfers a home in the Philippines, showcase the best of the country and gain life-long friends in the process, all while doing what they love the most—traveling.

Welcoming the world

Lilliane, an avid diver who works for the family business, finds it rewarding when her guests end up staying longer than expected. She tells the story of a German who extended his stay by two months before going back home. He is now moving his business to Asia and comes to the Philippines when he can just to visit her and her family.

“I also met a German girl—also a couchsurfer—in Bali,” she narrates. “We met because we had the same hosts in Jakarta and Bandung. I caught up with her and we clicked. She loved Bali so much but I said Boracay is better, so she’s coming this December and I’m hosting her.”

“It is best when locals show a foreign guest around because they can show you things and places that are not in the guidebooks,” adds Jehan, an entrepreneur and business consultant who has been hosting and traveling with couchsurfers for more than three years. Through their trips, she has showcased the charms of Palawan, Cebu, Caramoan in Camarines Sur, Mt. Pinatubo and Anawangin Cove in Zambales, Sagada, and the Manila night life, among others.


The low-cost airline is one of the best allies of the budget traveler.

At first glance, a life of constant traveling may seem costly, but Jehan and others like her find ways to make it work. Budget airlines like Cebu Pacific enable them to fly often and spend more time at chosen destinations.

“We’re in a big archipelago so traveling is not easy. You really have to go by plane or boat to explore… Via boat is cheap but it will take you like a day to get there, so it’s good that there are low-cost airlines to help us discover other places in the Philippines,” she explains. Recently, she booked Cebu Pacific flights for herself and her CS friends so they can enjoy the world-famous Boracay beach together. Because of such affordable travel options, Jehan is able to achieve her real mission as a couchsurfer.

“I want to show them the Philippines that I know—that we are a nice country and with very nice people,” she explains. “The mission is to show that the Philippines is a great place—via traveling together, hanging out, meeting up, having coffee or drinks, and just being good friends to them. It satisfies me when they would always want to come back and try to live here because they really like our country.”

On his part, DJ—an engineering graduate who dreams of living in Scandinavia—brings the vibe of his country with him on his travels. “The Filipinos have a reputation of being one of the happiest people in the world. I try to maintain that reputation,” he shares.

What else is possible?

It was in 2007 when Lillian first wondered about people who went traveling for a year. She could not help but ask online, “How do you do it?” This was how she learned about CS. A week after signing up, she received a request from an American missionary and agreed to host him.

“He was a CS ambassador and he gave me a crash course in couchsurfing, and I immediately got the whole concept of it. I then started requesting to couchsurf in Europe… I went to Barcelona and Madrid,” she happily narrates.

For DJ, it’s also about the perspective that CS provides. “When I traveled last year, I surfed couches all over southeast Asia,” he shares. “I experienced the lives of so many people: a Malaysian professor, a Spanish expat working for the UN, a Singaporean geographer who does urban planning for the Singaporean government, a French engineer living with his French friends in Bangkok, a Thai guy who’s friends with Imelda Marcos… These people enhanced my travel experience immensely.”

Through experiences such as these, CS has really helped change the way people perceive travel. For members of the community, flying is no longer just a means to get to a destination but also to live outside the box.

DJ sums it up, “I love the way couchsurfers come together as people and change each other with our life experiences. Being a couchsurfer has changed my life positively on so many levels. I’ve met so many couchsurfers and one thing I’ve noticed is that they are the type to turn their dreams into reality.”

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