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- [Pipi] My mom always said,
"Don't talk to strangers."
And yet, in my very first flat,
I didn't only talk to strangers,
I even let them sleep in my home.
- [Maya] Hey
- Hey.
- [Maya] We're starting our first day
walking the towns of Vienna.
(cheering)
Woo-hoo!
- [Pipi] This is Maya and Katie from the U.S.
I met them through Couchsurfing,
a website that connects travelers with locals
to provide them with a free place to stay the night.
- Hello,
daughter of Mozart here.
I take my hat off.
(gentle piano music)
♪ The hills are alive with the sound ♪
- [Pipi] These two girls are my first ever Couchsurfers
and I have to admit,
I am a little overwhelmed with their open nature.
That nervousness is written all over my face.
Check it out now, Maya and Katie are in Vienna,
and
they makes me crazy. (laughs)
Make me crazy.
At least I get to work on my English skills,
which is very necessary.
- Hello.
Ask me a question.
- [Pipi] What?
- You have to ask me a question.
- [Pipi] How is your trip in Vienna?
- Trip in Vienna is,
it's been really spectacular.
Pipi's been a really good tour guide.
Howdy y'all.
- It's really cold here.
- It's really cold here at the lookout point.
- We are now
150 meters high.
- Okay, the game is, you have to see how far
you can run while yelling,
around the tower.
Okay, one, two, three.
(yelling)
(laughs)
- [Pipi] That was a bad run.
- This time I was really bad.
(laughs)
- Hey!
How ya doing?
- You don't know we're doing this right now, do ya?
- Big surprise.
- A really big surprise!
Why is the camera moving around like that?
Anyways, we've had a great time with you,
you're a great person.
We've really enjoyed--
- Best tour guide ever.
You're gonna be so good at your English and--
- Just best of luck with the filming--
- Knowledgeable in Vienna.
- We love you.
- [Pipi] Maya and Katie have woken a fire in me.
A fire to travel myself.
I want to see the world and leave everything behind.
But to do so,
I lack the courage.
Seven years have passed since
and I've been doing pretty well, I can't complain.
I completed my degree in film,
have my own place in Vienna,
have friends that are up for fun,
and a job that I like.
Could be worse.
(laughs)
And yet, somehow I have this feeling of
missing out.
What keeps me from changing my life?
The unknown?
Not knowing what is going to happen tomorrow?
Or am I afraid to leave my comfort zone?
Of all places, the inspiration comes to me
at my grandma's toilet.
An old man once said,
"If I had to live again,
I would care less
and live my life crazier."
And I realize, I don't want to wake up one day,
knowing it's too late for all the things I could have done.
So I make my decision.
Just do it.
Don't give a shit.
(upbeat music)
- First found out about
exactly what was involved with Couchsurfing,
it was terrifying to know
your daughter's staying with strangers.
- I've never tried it before,
so I have a little bit of fear about that,
because I don't know that person,
so it can be an awkward situation.
- It's not really that I'm scared of people I don't know,
but my space is something that I'm very careful with.
- There are people who
are trying to use it like Tinder.
- I've had definitely requests that were like that.
My favorite one was, "Hey sexy, you look cute,
can I sleep in your bed?"
So, unfortunately I passed on that opportunity,
and we'll never know how good in bed that guy was.
- My craziest experience so far has been
with one of my hosts in New Haven, United States,
where I did not know that he supported
the nudist movement and I was forced
to sleep naked with him.
- I would trust a stranger in my house
because I have two dogs and a pistol under my bed.
(laughs)
So I don't really worry about strangers!
- [Pipi] Without guns and dogs in my bags,
I begin my journey from couch to couch.
This way of traveling does not suit everyone.
That much I know.
My adventure too,
starts with a step into the unknown.
I don't know what I'm getting myself into.
Kendall, from San Diego, doesn't either.
I'm her first Couchsurfer.
Because, in the student housing Kendall lives in,
there are no guests allowed.
Her breaking this rule is a first,
and she's doing it for me.
- Yeah, welcome to my dormitory.
I've lived here about three years now.
And I just have one bedroom all to myself.
Two beds, one for me and one slightly less
comfortable one for the Couchsurfers.
- [Pipi] So I will sleep here?
- [Kendall] Yeah, yeah.
- [Pipi] It's really close to the ceiling.
(laughing)
- I hope it's okay.
- [Pipi] Yeah, I think if I put my head
on the left side,
I think it's better. (laughs)
- Yeah, that'll work.
But there are other ways you can be comfortable here.
I have a kitchen
to make tea,
fridge, freezer for your food,
microwave.
- [Pipi] So cooking in the microwave?
- It's the American way.
(laughing)
My first time Couchsurfing, honestly,
the days leading up to it, I was super nervous.
And it's so weird, because I shouldn't be nervous,
I'm like, I'm the one who's opening up my home, like
and being generous, but like, yeah,
I was so anxious about what they would think of me,
or what they would think of the place that I lived in,
or my house rules, would they be comfortable.
And so I was really nervous
and just meeting a stranger
for the first time and then like within a few hours,
having them sleeping in the same room with you,
it's a pretty weird experience.
- First time in a dormitory on my trip.
(chuckling)
It reminds me of my childhood.
I was always sleeping on the top bunk,
so it's quite nice.
- This past year has just been a lot
of trying new experiences
and discovering new things about myself
and what I'm comfortable with,
what I'm not comfortable with.
So, it's been a weird year,
but it's been really interesting.
Really, that's about it, it's pretty small,
but it's clean and it's comfortable
and it's safe, so, I like living here,
and hopefully you will as well.
I think in the back of my mind,
there's always the fear that someone
might steal something, or break something,
or just do something that might get you in trouble.
I don't really know what to expect since I'm,
like, this was my first time so,
maybe I'll have more fears as time goes on.
- [Pipi] Contrary to Kendall,
my host Jessica in Montreal already knows
the ins and outs of Couchsurfing.
Over 100 reviews on her profile,
make her a super host.
It is at her place that I meet Alberto.
He is just like me, one of the many people
that Jessica lends her couch to.
- Usually, I only accept like one surfer at a time,
so that they have good conditions.
But like, Christoph requested me--
- [Pipi] You can call me Pipi.
- I can't, I'm sorry,
there's no way I can do that seriously.
It means urine in French.
- [Pipi] Yeah, but it is like that in every language,
so it's fine.
- Yeah, I cannot do that,
I'm sorry.
The way the world is now, like,
especially now,
like recently in the last maybe five years,
I feel that we're going back to a lot of intolerance,
and a lot of incomprehension of what's different.
- That's your cat?
- Yep.
- Isn't it a cute cat?
- [Jessica] I don't want to traumatize you,
but that's how I got that scar.
(laughing)
- [Pipi] It might not seem like it,
judging from this, but I'm really not all
that much into cats.
Especially when they keep me awake.
All night long.
But I realized quickly that I need to let go of my own
standards and start to accept my host's rules.
That isn't always so easy.
- Basically, somebody welcomes you in their home for free.
It's normal and decent to just, like,
to respect things, not break anything,
to clean after yourself, that kinda stuff.
I expect to have human contact as well.
Like I'm not, you know, if what you want is just a place
to sleep, well that's called an Airbnb.
You can leave your bag here.
Here you have everything you need for WiFi,
connector and password.
You have the bathroom here.
Nothing specific, like the shower's pretty normal whichever.
Just like don't close that thing,
'cause it's the switch for the hot water.
If you want to wash dishes,
which would be appreciated if you use dishes,
just make sure not to pile them up too high
in a dangerous way.
Do you have any questions?
- I think it's all good.
- And I also like people to go out.
Like I don't like when Couchsurfers
are just using my WiFi all day,
then I feel like I'm being taken advantage
of a little bit.
Like, you're in a different city, go see something.
(soft music)
- [Pipi] How different the living conditions
are all around the world.
I realized especially in Vietnam.
To own a couch is considered a luxury,
possible only for a few.
It is the public space that becomes
the Vietnamese's second living room.
Their houses are functional, not homey.
Krong's place is no exception to this rule.
- So far in Vietnam how many days?
(laughing)
You're filming me?
- [Pipi] Yeah.
- I'm already acting like an actress.
- [Pipi] You don't have to act, just be you.
- Because I see--
- [Pipi] Just be you, it's fine.
- I didn't have a lot of experience, not too much,
because to be honest, I don't have...
I feel like I don't have...
I can't satisfy
the space for my friends
and it's quite far from the center.
So I feel that
it's quite hard.
That's why I haven't hosted
anybody before, until you.
- That's your home?
- Yeah, I can say that.
That's my home.
- Is it a house or? (laughs)
- Not really, it is a little room.
This is our little space,
shared with my brother.
Here's my brother.
His name Chao.
- What's your name?
- My name's Chao.
- Chao.
- We've been living together for around
maybe ten years.
- [Chao] Nearly ten years.
- 10 years, okay.
Do you need more space?
- Sometimes.
- Sometimes?
- Sometimes.
- Like, privacy?
- Yes, privacy place, because sometimes
you got sick, and I bother him a lot.
When he sleeps, I cough a lot and I feel that I bother him.
Yes, with girl and boy,
sometimes you have your problem,
your troubles. - Yeah.
- You need, I mean for example,
like you need a corner to cry,
like that and I can't cry in front
of my brother's face, you see.
Yeah, it's a very small space, just 24 meters.
- Square meters?
- We have a private house in my hometown,
no not my private home, but my parent's house.
Big, many rooms,
but moving to a big city like Saigon,
you don't have any money to buy one flat
or one apartment.
- A bigger one.
- Yeah, you have to rent some room like this, yes.
And you've got to share with the others.
Sleep, cook, do everything together in a very small space.
Very typical.
- And that's our bed?
- Sometimes it changes, every night,
I go to sleep here.
If it's okay, I can sleep here,
because he's gonna snore a lot.
- And is it common to sleep on the floor in Vietnam?
- I think so, I think so.
- [Pipi] Krong's living space is bedroom, kitchen,
garage, and workplace all in one.
In spite of the lack of space, she's happy to share
what she owns with strangers like me.
- You like the fresh chili?
I have fresh chili.
(gentle music)
- [Pipi] In India, space is also limited.
Taking public transport is a torture.
At least I've managed to find my own sleep compartment.
Still, I feel like I'm being drowned by all these people.
(siren blaring)
All the more surprised I was
to see my couch for the night,
with host, Eksha.
- [Eksha] This is going to be your room.
So you have a bed, AC.
- [Pipi] AC?
- Yes.
(laughs)
- [Pipi] Not even every hotel room has one!
- This does have.
One TV, which doesn't work!
(chuckling)
And now that you're gonna stay here,
I'm gonna stay with my parents.
- [Pipi] So I have the room just for me?
- Yes.
- [Pipi] Oh my gosh.
(laughing)
- [Pipi] That's so friendly.
So you share the same bed with your parents?
- Yes.
- [Pipi] For one month?
- No!
(laughing)
- [Pipi] I told you, I'll stay here for one month now.
- First of all, I was skeptical about my parents,
because I stay with my parents,
and we have never done something like this before.
Especially for free!
(laughing)
She is to shy.
Say hi.
- Hi!
(laughing)
- So we are a family of four, a small family.
My mom, my dad, my small dog.
- [Pipi] What's the name of the dog?
- Money.
- [Pipi] Like money?
- Money, money.
(laughing)
He's money for us.
(laughing)
- [Pipi] So it's like a family member.
- Yes, we're four.
- He's like a wolf!
(howling)
- [Eksha] My parents are really cool with it.
It was unexpected for me,
because I thought that they would not really like it
and it would disturb their personal space.
But I can see that my mom especially.
She turned out...
You're a better host than me.
She's very enthusiastic, especially while cooking,
so everyone, all my references you can see will mention
her like her mom is cooking, cooking, cooking
and everything like that.
(food sizzling)
- I'm making Chapati.
Chapati?
- [Eksha] Yes, it's Chapati. - Yeah.
It's my first time.
- This here.
Keep on turning.
- [Eksha] Indians are very guest friendly
since thousands of years.
We have this phrase in our rule books
that (speaks in foreign language) which means,
"The guest is like our God."
And that's how we treat them,
with lots of love and respect.
So wherever you go in India, you'll find the people
are very welcoming, especially to the guests
from other countries and they are very ready to help you,
without expecting anything in return.
- [Pipi] I could feel the hospitality.
Having my own room and getting three meals a day.
Not even a five star hotel could make me feel
as great as Eksha's family.
(upbeat music)
(cheering)
While Couchsurfing, I don't only get
to know my host's home.
In Texas, I'm even invited to go on a trip.
Are you looking forward to your race?
- I'm ready to ride!
- [Pipi] Yeah?
- Yeah.
(upbeat music)
- [Pipi] My host Larry, takes part in a 24-hour bike race
and I get to be part of his team.
Go Larry, go!
Woo! (claps)
For 300 miles, I ride alongside Larry
through the Texan desert.
- [Larry] All right, here is the most important
crew member on the team.
(laughing)
The driver!
We're going to the border check point in probably
about 20 miles, so he's practicing his Texas accent,
for when we get there, so say something to us.
- Howdy!
Okie dokie!
(laughing)
- [Larry] I think you'll pass for a Texan, don't you?
- Yeah, you think?
(laughing)
They won't arrest me?
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
- Okie dokie!
- [Pipi] How is the motivation?
- The what?
- [Pipi] The motivation.
- Motivation.
Show us some motivation, Larry.
- Motivation?
- Yeah.
- Hoorah.
- Cold beer.
- Cold beer!
(laughing)
- Cold beer.
- 43 miles to go before the cold beer starts.
For breakfast.
- [Lady] How many more miles--
- Don't put that in the movie.
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
- [Pipi] Throughout my journey,
I get to know new people and their faces on a daily basis.
This way, I explore the U.S. American East Coast
together with Maxime.
So we will drive together?
- Yes, if you're not afraid.
(laughing)
- [Pipi] No.
I mean, you have to tell me the story about the accident.
- Which accident?
(laughing)
You can still drive it.
- How did it happen?
- Well, the brakes were not very
strong enough
and I was going downhill, turning right
at the last minute and so I hit another car.
(laughing)
- [Pipi] When I was a small boy, my mom always told me
not to get into a car with strangers.
(engine starts)
But if you want to live a little,
you have to break one or two rules along the way.
When you're spending a lot of time together,
you build trust more quickly than usual.
Maxime is part of the LGBTQ community,
and tells me about his personal experience
with Couchsurfing.
- [Maxime] Regarding having sex with Couchsurfing,
that's quite a common thing.
As a joke, I mentioned, yeah, this website should be renamed
"Sexsurfing" instead of "Couchsurfing".
And someone answered me,
it already exists, it's called "Cocksurfing".
And so I checked the website, because I'm very curious,
and it's very official and direct and straightforward,
because it said like, well, that's a way to travel the world
and to have sex with your hosts or your travelers.
Oh yeah.
(slurping)
I mean, last time, I had someone
who arrived at my home very late
and he told me, "Oh, I'm exhausted,
I need to take a shower."
So I'm like, "Yeah, sure, the shower is this way."
So literally five minutes after he entered my apartment,
he was already naked in the living room,
walked to the bathroom, left the door open,
took his shower.
So I'm like, "Okay, that's weird, but okay he's very open."
Then I told him, "Okay, so the extra
mattress is in my room."
So I enter my room, he was really exhausted.
And once in my room, he went in to my bed,
not on the extra mattress and he was still naked
after his shower.
And in that situation you're like,
"Okay, I know what you're looking for."
(upbeat music)
- [Pipi] Partying is a must while traveling.
Every year, the legendary full moon parties
attract hundreds of thousands of young people
to Thailand's beaches.
For me, this is the perfect opportunity
to party with people from all around the world.
(cheering)
(dance music)
- Who is ready for the full moon party?
(cheering)
- [Pipi] The ones that can,
party till the morning comes.
The ones that can't, have to search
for the nearest place to take a nap.
I'm fishing for my next place to stay as well.
And I find it in the form of a couch in Bangkok.
And once more, my host Fiona, broadens my horizon.
- When I was young, I looked of course,
I looked like a boy, but I act like a girl,
I walk like a girl, so that fits my shell,
you know, my soul.
So I need
to fit because when you don't look like the same,
those judgmental people, they bully you a lot.
Like, "Why don't you just become a girl?
Cause the way you talk, the way you act is like a girl."
So I fit,
I have to fit
the way I look to the way I act.
And my mind and my heart is,
I feel like a woman, think like a woman.
- [Pipi] Fiona describes her appearance
with her Mother's figure
and her Father's gift.
Her body is her temple.
She earns her living with it as a model.
- It's beautiful, it's actually a nude art photo.
And it's like something that's showcasing
the realness and beauty of transgender people.
And this is me.
(chuckling)
This is Goofy, female clothes.
Tom and Jerry.
I like it.
They're beautiful, they're trans now.
Disney characters.
This is my art, if I'm stressed, I draw.
The lifestyle of a transgender Asian is like,
it's normal, it's the same lifestyle.
It's just we can anomalies to people,
especially tourists, because you can see everywhere
in the TV, how people think, that we are just a freak show.
We are just this, but they don't know like,
that we have feelings, we have a heart, we can feel pain.
Living here, the reason why we have so many transgender
people here is because, in the pharmacy I can just,
I can just go to the pharmacy
and buy my hormones to become a woman.
The three things that we have that you don't have,
like Western people, you're hairy, you're tall,
and you are you know, like your bone structure is big.
Even you can see that an Asian boy, straight boy,
straight man,
it's the opposite from what you have.
So that's the reason why it's very easy
for us to be feminine.
Let's go shopping!
Because shopping can release stress and tension.
- Now I am looking like you Fiona,
but I am missing your boobs.
(laughing)
- [Fiona] Like, you look good in that.
You should try that!
- Yeah, why not?
- Every girl's dream
is
to wear
a white dress and a white veil.
Even if she was born a boy.
When people look at me, I don't really care,
and I don't really mind.
Everyone looks, everybody looks.
We look for the things that just are beauty,
weird things or everything unusual to us.
So for me, when they look at me,
I don't really care so much,
they are not aggressive, they don't touch me,
they don't hurt me, so I think,
for me they appreciate my beauty.
Maybe they think that I'm a trans,
or maybe, "Is she a woman?"
So they have doubt, you know, they're doubtful.
So they will look.
They're free to look.
That is normal.
Everything is beauty
in the eyes of the beholder.
- [Pipi] Fiona is living her life
exactly the way she wants to.
What others think of her isn't really
all that important to her.
Thanks to her, I have learned not to judge
people too quickly.
I try, now more than ever, to go through this world
with my eyes wide open.
To get to know people better,
before I make up my mind about them.
Our world is just too colorful to put it into boxes.
(bright upbeat music)
Traveling can't be taken for granted.
I only realized this along my way.
Sadly, traveling is impossible for many people
all around the globe.
For a lot of people, to host travelers is the only way
to get to know other cultures first hand.
- I had a really interesting guy here from South Africa.
It's one of my favorite stories.
This was going to be his first experience Couchsurfing.
His first experience actually coming out of Africa.
He had never traveled before outside of South Africa.
And about three weeks before he came here,
he sent me a message saying,
"Alan, would you do me a favor?"
I said, "Sure," and he said,
"Would you talk to my mom?"
I thought, "Huh?"
He wanted me to Skype with his mother,
because she was a little afraid of where her little
boy was gonna be staying.
So I spent 20 minutes talking to his mom on Skype,
and about halfway through, she turned to him and said,
"I think you'll be okay."
So I got the mom's seal of approval.
I thought that was really good.
- I want to practice my English,
I want to have many people, want to have many friends
from many countries.
- If you speak English well, you have a lot of opportunities
to interact with a lot of people,
know more about the world
and even you can read books, you can watch movies
without subtitles.
- I never go abroad, so I want to see a lot of people
from all around the world and learn about their cultures.
- [Pipi] But to do so, you need a common language.
Almost everywhere, you can communicate in English.
But to be quite honest with you,
when I started this journey, my English was quite terrible.
It doesn't really matter how well
you are versed in a language though.
You just need to keep trying
without taking yourself too seriously.
Giang lives in Hanoi, and volunteers to teach
his neighbor's kids English.
And he does this in his own home.
- I just give them some kind of basic lesson,
how they can speak English.
Like,
not so fully, but they can
communicate with
foreigners,
with some kind of
basic sentences.
- My name is Chami.
I'm nine years old.
- [Giang] Where are you from?
- I'm from Vietnam.
- [Giang] That's good!
How many people are in your family?
Family.
- My Mother,
my Father,
my sister,
my brother and me.
- [Giang] Wow.
I think the kids are gonna have a better future
when they study English, because there're a lot
of Westerners coming to Vietnam.
And of course they will find a job with them,
because they can speak English.
And the second reason
the kids need to study English is
they can go abroad and see the world with English.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Six.
(cheering)
- [Pipi] The kids are off the hook for today,
and now it's my turn.
Vietnamese for beginners.
- [Giang] The first one is hello.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Yeah.
And the second word, thank you.
(speaking in foreign language)
Look at my mouth.
- [Pipi] What did I get myself into?
Vietnamese is definitely not one of the easier languages.
It's a tonal language, which means in this case,
that for each syllable, there are six different sounds,
and those can change the meaning of a word completely.
(laughing)
Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
In Vietnamese is (speaking in foreign language).
- Okay, it's time to go.
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
So I'll never be a genius when it comes to languages.
This much I know.
Korean isn't an easy language either.
At least I can say hello, thank you and cheers.
(speaking in foreign language)
(bell tolling)
(train tracks rumbling)
Aside from the language, I had another problem
in South Korea in particular.
Piercing cold temperatures of -15 degrees Celsius.
I was not at all prepared for.
Being from Austria, with the Alps on our doorstep,
I was naive enough to believe
that other places weren't as cold.
Luckily, my host family prepared
an even warmer welcome for me,
and the way to a person's heart, as we all know too well,
is through their stomach.
First time making gimbap.
(chuckles)
And now?
(speaking foreign language)
- And carrots?
How often do you do gimbap?
(speaking foreign language)
- [Sanghak] She doesn't make it often,
because it's really hard to organize those ingredients.
- Okay.
(chuckling)
- Thank you that I can do that.
(speaking foreign language)
- I will stay in Korea
and I will do gimbap every day.
My whole life.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
- [Sanghak] She said, "You go to Austria and sell gimbap."
- Oh yeah!
(laughing)
I can do that.
I think I will,
it's just...
I haven't seen it in Austria, gimbap.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Sanghak] So today you get to carry maybe, three rolls.
- Really? - [Sanghak] Yeah.
- Really, oh my-- - [Sanghak] Yeah.
- Perfect?
- [Sanghak] Perfect!
- Perfect!
(laughing)
- Oh.
(speaking foreign language)
- Am I gimbap master?
- Gimbap master!
(laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing)
(car engine roaring)
- I've never seen my mom smiling that happy.
Like, it was a really innocent and pure smile.
My brother as well.
So, I guess it has open up a whole new world for her.
This Couchsurfing is like,
it feels like you are part of that travel, you know?
You are part of that traveler.
So you like, you contribute.
I guess Couchsurfing is the way that,
like the exciting feeling,
bringing the exciting feeling to the normal life
and it feels like you wanna do the travel again, you know?
(gentle music)
(bells ringing)
(horns beeping)
- [Pipi] Anjum, lives in Udaipur,
together with her parents and her siblings.
In the meantime, she has convinced
the entire family of Couchsurfing.
(speaking in foreign language)
However, I can only stay for tea,
because Anjum is only allowed to host
female Couchsurfers overnight.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing)
I like it!
- Thank you!
- I like it.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Pipi] The bags under the little one's eyes
are by the way, not due to a crazy night out.
- Charcoal in their eyes,
like this one,
actually it's very ancient, it's like,
it will save the kid or a person from the evil's eyes.
So that
the main cause is that.
And girls are doing it to look good
to have big eyes.
But I don't like to put (speaking in foreign language)
because my eyes are already big.
(laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
I don't have that privilege to explore
every city of the world, but I can meet people
from anywhere, so that interests me
and it's amazing for me to be with the other people.
That's why I'm on Couchsurfing.
- [Pipi] Through Couchsurfing, you can find more
than a couch for the night.
In California, I even met my next travel companion
on the Couchsurfing platform.
Kathi is from Germany.
Together, we paint the towns along
the U.S. American West Coast red.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Pipi] Couchsurfing is of course also linked
to a certain risk.
Often, things turn out not quite as planned.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Sorry.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Pipi] One night spent in the car is the proof.
Searching for hosts is often hard.
More than once, we end up sitting on the side of the road
at night, not knowing where we will spend it.
But it is exactly this thrill that makes it so fun.
Why not go one step further?
Hitchhiking.
Always smiling.
Admittedly, I thought it would be easier.
Hitchhiking comes with a lot of waiting around.
But the waiting pays off.
- Just because someone's hitchhiking doesn't mean like,
they're a horrible person.
But a lot of the times, they're just down on their luck,
trying to get somewhere else,
trying to travel, see different things.
And whenever I saw you guys, I was like,
well, maybe it's the same situation.
I was like, well her hair is done,
she doesn't look like she's been living in an alley
or something, they're trying to go to LA.
They've got to be tourists, just trying to get on their way.
- [Pipi] Good work, Kathi.
- [Kathi] Yay!
- [Pipi] That you look so great and beautiful.
(laughing)
- [Kathi] That's the way I woke up this morning.
(laughing)
- [Pipi] What good is our beauty,
if you can't see us at night?
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Kathi] Yay!
- Story of my life.
(speaking in foreign language)
And now we are going back to San Diego.
- One way or another, you'll get there eventually.
(laughing)
- Sorry. - No problem man.
- Thanks.
- Heading back down that way anyway,
so it worked out.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Pipi] It is time to part ways.
Now, I'm all by myself again, searching for new hosts.
It doesn't make life easier.
Often, I sit around for hours at a time, messaging people.
Long hours waiting and one rejection
after another, are wearisome.
But who seeks, finds a host even in the most
out of the way places.
(gentle music)
- Welcome to my cabin in Yosemite,
this is called a wob,
W-o-b.
Which means, "Without bathrooms."
So, that's what this is, it's basically a living space,
without a bathroom.
But two people live here, it's just me and my roommate.
I just moved in like three days ago.
So that's why everything's still kind of a mess,
but,
this is where I live.
- [Pipi] So how much do you pay for it?
- How much do I pay?
Well, that's kind of a good question.
It's only 21 dollars a week.
(chuckles)
- [Pipi] So it's the same like,
we paid for the beer yesterday?
- Yeah, actually I paid more for the beers yesterday,
including the tip, so yeah, 21 dollars a week
is not bad for a place like this, you know?
- [Pipi] Yeah, that's great.
(water gushing)
(gentle music)
Yeah, woo-hoo, I made it!
(bright music)
(speaking in foreign language)
(ocean waves whooshing)
The U.S. has much to offer.
Next to breathtaking nature,
sadly also one or two bad experiences.
At the Couchsurfing meet-up in Atlanta,
other travelers tell me about their journeys.
Apparently, there are a lot of nudists on Couchsurfing.
Mudassar tells me the naked truth.
- Oh Yeah, he was nude, when he opened the door.
Like, if anyone could have walked across in his corridor,
they would have seen his thing.
When I entered, I was about to hug this guy.
Suddenly, whoa!
No, no, no, no!
And the guy's like, I'm turning this way
and he's turning, "Okay, come on Mudassar!"
- So you didn't hug him?
- Of course not, fuck, no!
And I'll tell you one more thing,
that guy did not mention anywhere on his profile
that he wants everyone in his house to be nude.
He should have mentioned something like that.
Then I would not have gone there.
- [Pipi] But then nobody's gonna stay!
- No, but there are people who like it.
Because after that,
I went to many guys' profiles,
and I saw there were nudists
and they were very clear about it.
They were like, "Okay, I'm a nudist
and you have to be nude in my house."
- [Pipi] Stories like that make me
think twice about my journey.
How would I react if I was in a situation like that?
Soon, I get an answer to my question.
In New York City, I sent out 50 requests on Couchsurfing.
However, only one host accepts my request,
under one condition.
I have to share the bed with him.
Well, what choice do I have?
May I introduce, this is Bob.
Hello.
- Hi!
Welcome to New York City, how are you today?
- [Pipi] Hey!
I'm fine and you?
- Pretty good.
Why don't you bring your bag in here
and let me show you where you can sleep.
- [Pipi] Yeah.
- You can put your bag up here
and you're gonna sleep in here.
- [Pipi] So I have to share the bed with you?
- Yeah, I hope that's okay,
I have roommates and I have another Couchsurfer, so
it's a little bit tight.
So you're the lucky one.
(laughing)
I've hosted about 200 people,
and it's in my profile that I'm a nudist,
so I assumed they've read it and it's okay with them.
Some of the people that I host are also nudists.
Most of them are not.
And then some of them become nudist.
So, I think they're okay with it.
The living room
and make yourself at home.
Eat, drink anything you want.
I'll give you a set of keys,
so you can come and go whenever you feel like it.
- [Pipi] Aren't you afraid
that your neighbors see you naked?
- Well, actually no, because it's hard to see inside
in the daytime and at night
I have some curtains in the bedroom.
I did have one funny story though.
The super has a friend that lives in a building nearby,
and the guy said, he could see me naked,
and I said, "Eugene, I would be so happy if somebody
could see my penis from half a block away,
I'd be the proudest man in the building."
(laughing)
There's a famous naked man.
Now, I wish I looked like that.
(laughing)
And this is my former roommate Arthur, a self portrait.
(chuckling)
I'm a nudist, because I don't like to wear clothes.
I like the freedom of it.
And I started when I was about 23, I lived in Chicago
and I would go swimming in Lake Michigan nude,
and sunbathe nude.
And it's just more comfortable.
It goes like that.
And then you can adjust it the way you want it.
- Thank you!
- [Roommate] Be careful, you can burn here, right.
You might have no hair anymore!
(laughing)
- [Bob] He is smoothie like that.
- Yeah!
I should shave it.
- [Roommate] You don't need to shave it.
- That's very sexy.
(laughing)
Did I tell you this story already?
I had these three different people come here
and hadn't read my profile.
- No they hadn't?
So they didn't know what they will expect.
- Well, I opened the door,
and he goes, "Oh no, some people!"
And I said, "Did you read my--"
I said, "Come, come in here," cause you know,
I don't want that the neighbors see me in the hallway.
So I said, "Come in."
I said, "Did you read my profile?"
He said, "No."
And I said, "Well, I'm a nudist, if I'm making you
uncomfortable I'll put some pants on."
He said, "No, no, it's your apartment."
If somebody felt uncomfortable and they didn't know it
and like I have some textile friends,
so when they come to dinner, I always have my clothes on.
(laughing)
Then I have some friends who don't care
and then I have some nudist friends.
- I heard from some guys,say "Oh, I'm straight,"
"I'm straight, I'm straight."
At the end of the day, at the end of the night,
I spent the night with him on my bed.
- Really?
- Yeah!
(laughing)
- Well, you know what the difference is between
a gay guy and a straight guy on a Saturday night?
- What's that?
- A six pack of beer.
- Only a six pack?
I think like six double whiskies on the rocks!
- Yeah, maybe I need a beer now.
(laughing)
- How many did you have?
- This is my first one.
- Your first one?
- Yeah!
- You need to drink more.
(laughing)
Five more!
(laughing)
Which bed will you be in tonight?
(laughing)
Which one?
- No, no, no.
Can you turn around this way please?
Oh yes!
(laughing)
- So, now, schnitzel time!
Sorry!
I'm really afraid of the oil.
- [Roommate] Be careful!
Otherwise, your hair is just gone.
- And now, who is the next one?
- Here we go.
(chuckling)
(sizzling)
(laughing)
- Schnitzel is ready.
- [Roommate] Yummy yummy!
I'm not talking about the food.
- Oh my God!
- Yes, this is, let me tell you,
this is the hint for a straight man.
If you want to impress your girlfriend,
learn how to make a nice dinner,
and then use candles and use cloth napkins,
and she will either love you
or she'll think you're gay.
(laughing)
- I think now it's time to put my shorts on.
- [Roommate] Really?
You don't need to.
(bright music)
- [Pipi] One night in a nudist's home!
At the beginning of my journey,
I would have laughed if you had told me that.
But Bob proved me wrong.
With his fun and charming nature, I was a fan in no time.
In the end, I stay at his home in New York for eight days.
That is longer than with most of my other hosts.
(bright upbeat music)
Suddenly, Bob is no longer a naked stranger to me,
but a fast friend, with a crazy little hobby.
Bob made me drop my prejudices
and my pants.
(drumming and singing)
(cheering)
My big dream of my own movie.
I've never come this close before.
Couch Connections goes Hollywood.
And in the supporting roles,
Jair and Fernanda.
The helicopter's coming now.
And the aliens (mimics explosion).
Action!
- [Jair] I was already recording.
- Yeah?
Did you record it?
- [Jair] Yeah! (laughing)
Ten, nine, eight, seven--
What's this?
Oh my God!
(screaming)
(helicopter engine roaring)
(exploding)
(whirring)
(laughing)
- [Pipi] I have to admit, I could get used
to the life of a film star.
Or at least to my own Jacuzzi.
You can find those at every corner in Santa Barbara.
In Vienna, Jair and Fernanda were convinced of other things.
- It was a great experience and I think we loved
Vienna more, because of it.
- Because of Couchsurfing?
- Yeah, because--
- Because we had a local showing us around
and telling us what to do and you know.
- And where to go and where they go to like,
meet up with friends and like bars
that you wouldn't find otherwise.
- I mean, the opera thing we wouldn't have known.
- And you knew so much about Vienna.
Like when everything was constructed in what year.
(laughing)
- No, not really, but thank you.
(laughing)
- I made it up very well.
- And you stayed two nights longer than--
- Than we were supposed to.
- Yeah, well that's how much we liked it.
- [Pipi] Thanks to Couchsurfing,
I have found friends all around the world.
That is the biggest gift my journey could offer.
By the way, it is not a coincidence that I am visiting
them on this very day.
Because today is a very special day for Jair.
(singing in foreign language)
(clapping)
Thank you, thank you!
Gracias!
(upbeat music)
- It's my birthday!
So, I get to tell one person to do
any drinking game with me.
Christoph, you're gonna shotgun this beer.
(dance music)
Woo!
(cheering)
Woo!
(snaring of drums)
- [Pipi] From Hollywood to Bollywood.
In India, my host Rishav, takes me to his parents'
25th wedding anniversary.
It is an honor to be invited to family events like this.
(cheering)
(drumming music)
(upbeat music)
The party went on for hours and hours,
at a speed that would have made the most
extravagant European wedding look like
a children's birthday party.
And the weirdest part, all of this without even
a drop of alcohol.
(cheering)
Throughout my journey, I listened to many stories.
The most beautiful one was told to me
by Kristen and Sam from the U.S.
Their story began on Couchsurfing.
And by now, they share much more than just their couch.
- We're sitting on my couch and everything's cool,
and I think, "This guy's so nice, I like him."
And then we're on our computers exchanging music,
playing music for each other, "Have you heard this,"
"have you heard this?"
And then he goes, "Just a minute."
And he stands up and he unzips his pants,
and I was going, "He's crazy!"
And then he pulled them off and he had another pair
of pants underneath.
But I got really scared for a minute.
I thought, "Oh, my mom was right."
(laughing)
It was fine, he wasn't crazy.
- Well, I just decided last minute, you had that look
on your face, that I would just not pull all my pants down.
(laughing)
- [Pipi] Two strangers ended up being more than friends.
And now, their whole family is part
of the Couchsurfing community.
Do you like Couchsurfing?
- No!
- [Kristen] Why?
- [Pipi] Why not?
- I don't know what you're talking about, so I said no.
(laughing)
- The family got bigger and bigger.
- Yeah.
- Triple the size.
- Thanks to Sam.
- He moved out here and
a little after that we got married
the next year and now it's been nine years
since we met, seven years since we got married.
And we have two Couchsurfing kids,
a four year old and a 14 month old.
- 15 month old.
- Yeah, almost 15 months.
Not quite.
- That's the Couchsurfing family.
(laughing)
- Yay!
- [Pipi] Do you think I'm a stranger?
- Yes.
You are a stranger.
- But is he a stranger now or is he a friend?
- He's a friend.
- Yeah.
- I have this idea that maybe one day,
I'm gonna be able to do a tour around the world
only visiting people, I know already.
- And when you actually have a chance to meet people,
and talk to them and understand who they are
and hear their story,
it erases so many of those differences.
- People who use Couchsurfing have the same mentality
and it's a culture, it's a community,
so you can meet anyone in the world,
and you will not feel like a stranger.
- It's a really cool way to just realize that the world
actually isn't this big bad place,
there's really wonderful people out there.
- It makes this large world, smaller.
- Every friend that I have now was once a stranger to me.
(uplifting music)
- [Pipi] My journey helped me to see the world
more with the eyes of a child again.
My trust in humanity grew
and so did my hair.
My last host, Rashmi, took the opportunity by the horns.
Or should I say, hair.
She makes me a presentable human being again.
How do you feel about it?
- So, I feel really nervous.
But like I said, it's at your own risk.
- It's okay, I trust you, I believe in you.
- Cool, so, look what I have for you.
Ooh!
It's like a professional barber shop.
(laughing)
So like this?
- Yes.
- Ready?
- I think, yeah.
- Okay!
There goes the first.
(laughing)
This is exciting!
- I really trust your cutting.
I think you can do it perfectly.
- Yeah.
Can you see in the mirror how it looks?
- It's perfect in the mirror!
(laughing)
(razor buzzing)
(gentle music)
(laughing)
♪ I'm becoming a new me ♪
♪ In every place I go ♪
Oh my God.
It's weird!
All the hair is gone!
♪ And if all I'll one day be ♪
Bye!
♪ Is a sum of memories ♪
♪ I'll leave one in every land ♪
♪ From here on 'till my end ♪
Oh yeah, the camera!
(laughing)
- Take that.
(upbeat music)
- [Pipi] I never really liked kitsch and big words,
but in the end, I can't help it, because it's true.
In life, it doesn't matter how big your house is.
All that matters is the size of your heart,
and a big heart was shared by all of my hosts.
My initial fright of the unknown was without reason.
From Canada to India.
Everywhere, I was treated like family.
♪ Whoever you will meet ♪
♪ Carries a part of the world with them ♪
♪ Every little thing we share ♪
♪ Is a border overcome ♪
My mom said, "Don't talk to strangers."
But I stick to a different truth.
It is openness that gives you the key
to open doors around the world.
Mom, I'm coming home!
(gentle music)
♪ It's written in the stars ♪
♪ At least that's what they say ♪
♪ But how do we know where we're goin' ♪
♪ If we don't know our ways ♪
♪ I don't know, ♪
♪ If we've been fooled ♪
♪ What sticks to all these roads ♪
♪ It's the effort that it takes ♪
♪ I used to go back and forth ♪
♪ Now I'm way ahead ♪
♪ I gave all ♪
♪ I gave it all ♪
♪ I would give some more ♪
♪ I'd dig a hole in the woods ♪
♪ And I grow with the roots and I ♪
♪ Go with the flood as life tells me so ♪
♪ I let go of the mess created in my head because ♪
♪ Home is where the heart is ♪
♪ And that's wherever I go ♪
♪ I leave an early shaved again ♪
♪ Not where rock bottom is ♪
♪ My biggest adventures: sugar and milk ♪
♪ And I know there's so much more ♪
♪ I just haven't tried it yet ♪
♪ So come on take me by the hand ♪
♪ And we'll go crazy ♪
♪ Exhausted to the bitter end ♪
♪ But still so amazing ♪
♪ With my house door open ♪
♪ And my note on the fridge ♪
♪ I dig a hole in the woods ♪
♪ And I grow with the roots ♪
♪ And I go with the flood as life tells me so ♪
♪ And I let go of the mess ♪
♪ That I created in my head because ♪
♪ Home is where the heart is ♪
♪ And that's wherever I go ♪
♪ I close my eyes to feel the moment ♪
♪ I walk this path made out of cobble stone ♪
♪ I take a breath before I let it go ♪
♪ When stars collide, they fall apart ♪
♪ But in the end there'll always be a start ♪
♪ Til then I dance ♪
♪ Beneath the waterfall ♪
♪ I dig a hole in the woods ♪
♪ And I grow with the roots and I ♪
♪ Go with the flood as life tells me so ♪
♪ And I let go of the mess created in my head because ♪
♪ Home is where the heart is ♪
♪ And that's wherever I go ♪
♪ Is where the heart is ♪