couchsurfing...awesome!!!

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I told a mylotter that I will be sharing my experience when I tried couch surfing. So here it is. First of all Couchsurfing.org is an internet based community for travelers who seeks friends or hosts whenever they travel. It goes 2 way, you find a host then you host other members who wishes to visit your city. I have know this site for a year now but haven't really bothered to mind it back then because of the uncertainties it brings to a weary traveler. But when I heard it again a few months back, I gave it another taught since back then I was planning a solo trip to nearby Brunei. So I have decided to become a member last January and try to find me a host in Brunei and Labuan. And here is my story... When I joined Couchsurfing, my first intention was to find me a host in Brunei and Labuan. I started looking for a host first in Labuan since the hotels there are hard to reach and I cannot find a hotel which has a website that may entertain my queries. After a day of searching, a fellow member answered my request and said yes in hosting me for a night stay in Labuan. The plan was good since I will be staying at his house and he will be fetching me at the port and tour me around the city. I thought that would be great. Unfortunately, my host has an emergency conference during the time when I will be arriving so he advised me earlier so that I can find a new host. I was having a hard time looking for a host and there are only a few members that are in Labuan. So I decided to leave it as it is and find me a host in Brunei. After 2 days of waiting, 2 members from Brunei answered my request. I was delighted seeing 2 hosts who are kind enough to accommodate me. One is a Filipino and the other one is an Indonesian. The Filipino guy was offering me his house and tour me around Brunei and the Indonesian guy just offered me to accompany me during my stay there. I made a reservation already at a hotel so I told them it would be ok if they can just tour me around the city. And they said yes. The funny thing was, the Indonesian guy would be visiting my country a week before my trip to Brunei. So he was asking me if I can accommodate him when he is in Manila for a day only. I said yes of course. I am a bit nervous though because it was my first time hosting a total stranger. But when the day came, everything just went ok. I picked him at the bus station because he went to Baguio before coming to Manila. And I let him freshen up at my house and have breakfast also. It was an amazing experience because the whole time we were comparing delicacies between our countries and my mom was there joining the conversation. I drove him to Batangas and Tagaytay for a relaxing tour of Taal Volcano and a church named Caleruega. We ate at Tagaytay and let him sample the taste of the local dishes. After that we went to Mall of Asia before I drop him off at the airport for his flight back to Brunei. It was tiring but it was very fulfilling at my end to be able to host a stranger. It was a good thing that we connected instantly so the whole day just became like a day off with a friend. Then it was my turn to visit Brunei. At first, I was fetched by the Filipino guy at the airport and stayed at his home for a couple of hours since I arrived there at 2 am. My check in time was at 12 noon. So we rested a bit and at 8 am, we drove off to our first destination, the Empire Hotel. It was a huge hotel and everything there was gorgeous. We visited the place not only for the tour but we had breakfast there. What a way to start the morning. hehehe... After that, we checked in at my hotel and started the tour of the city. I saw the Palace, the floating village, several mosques, and the royal regalla museum. After that we relaxed at a local mall and watched a movie before meeting the Indonesian guy for dinner. When dinner came, we met with the Indonesian guy who brought along his Filipina friend. The four of us had a great time chatting over dinner. After that we went bowling. My Filipino host went home first due to some previous appointment. So the 3 of us toured the city again for a spectacular view at night. We had coffee first before calling it a night off... I really enjoyed their company that I decided to cancel my trip to Labuan and decided to stay for another night in Brunei before heading to Kota Kinabalu. So the following day, I had breakfast at the hotel before going to the city to look for souvenirs and arrange my flight from Brunei to Kota Kinabalu. Then after that I met my Filipino host for lunch at a Thai restaurant then went back to the hotel and was fetched by the Indonesian guy. We are to go to the border of Malaysia just to buy beer. hehehe... No one sells beer in Brunei. After that we went to a beach to relax and met his Filipina friend there then had dinner then went to Jerudong park to have some pictures taken. Then after that, we went to my hotel so that we can drink the beers we bought. hahaha... We were so exhausted that the 3 of us slept at my hotel room. The next morning we had a buffet breakfast at another hotel before bringing me to the airport for my flight. I didn't go to the other details because it will make this very very long. But the sure thing was, I had fun and gained new friends and saved a lot of money in the process... hehehe... So now, I am thinking of a new destination and I will definitely use Couchsurfing again!!!