Warmshowers is dead, viva Couchsurfing !

To make this long trip cheaper and nicer and to interact with local people, i was highly encouraged to use "warmshower" . This website/application is a bit similar to couchsurfing : you contact potential hosts in cities you are going to and ask to be hosted (totally of partially : for warmshowers, you can sometimes camp and only use the bathroom facilities). The difference is that the warmshower community is made out of cyclists or at least cyclists lovers ! This way, I imagine that your hosts are more likely to understand your specific needs, as a tired cyclo-traveler (which, as far as im concerned, are ver basic and can be summed up in 3 words : food, rest and a shower ! Of course, a good talk with your hosts is the cherry on the cake... As would be a few tips on the route/on spots of interest !) . Unfortunately, even though there are members in India, no one answered my messages. The community does not seem to be very active...In the eastern part of Nepal, only one guy was registered, but he was not exactly on my road and never answered my request...

So I decided to go instead for couchsurfing. And.. I was frankly impressed ! You dont even need to contact hosts, you just indicate your travelling plans and hundreds of invitation come up. Mumbay, Goa, Delhi, Kolkata...or more remote places in the countryside : I received messages from all over India, with people trying to convince me to visit their hometown or region. All very kind, it just takes time to answer all these messages... And 9 times out of 10, to decline the invitation !

This way, I came to be hosted for the first time in Siliguri, West Bengal (I have been registered on the website for years, but only used it in Estonia, with some friends, and in Greece but only for a coffee and a walk in the hills outside of Athens). But I had never been invited alone yet. Living mostly in tiny Parisian appartments, I never had the chance to host travelers myself.
Anyway, my first host Anita was a nice young girl, living with her family. She is hoping to get enrolled in a master in communication in Delhi. She is also very versed into fashion photography, being herself prone to pose ! (And then post the pictures of her pretty self on instagram).

Well, we had some nice chats. She also kindly put me in front of her computer so that i could catch up the first 3 episodes of Game of Thrones, Season 8 !! Awww ! Happiness. It was so peculiar (and all the same pleasant) to lie on an indian woman's bed, watching GOT with her...while eating potato crisps. Another proof, if any was neededz that the world has become so globalised that Indian and French people share the exact same taste in Netflix TV shows....
Then we went out with her young mum in a fancy westernized bar. Loud music. Expensive stuff. There, I was unfortunately not allowed to wear my brand new Indian outfit (Kurta Pyjama), being told by Aritra that this was not "good enough". Well...instead I had to go for the quechua style (the only clothes i'm carrying !)... In my opinion, this was way less classy but Aritra obvisouly prefers me wearing some dirty and cheap sport clothes rather than anything indian ... Strange but interesting !
In the end, I think that even though Aritra's dream is to come to Paris or to London, after she graduates, we are very different from one another... These days, I dream of camping in natural spots and discovering more about the Indian culture, while she dreams of making amazing pictures of herself, partying in western-style bars and get merge into the Parisian lifestyle and nightlife. But we both enjoy travelling... and watching GOT. Enough common interests for a good first couchsurfing experience ! :)Read more