sofasurfers

And why did I not stay with Sergey and Yelena, on-piste in Astana? “We cannot host couchsurfers now,” says Sergey. “We are not bosses at home any more.” The young couple married last summer and now live with Sergey’s parents in the centre of town (Sergey is out of work, despite having an MBA: “It’s very hard to get a job because of the creesis [crisis].”) They ask us to sign their couchsurfers’ wall of fame pinned to their door – one previous comment reads: “Sergey without guests is like a bird without wings”.

And when the wedding photos come out on the laptop (the slide show is an inevitable couchsurfing moment in any get-together, and, yes, the bouffant bridal gown does boast a special pearlescent sheen), there’s a German couchsurfer in the crowd. He was staying with Sergey at the time of the wedding. “But couchsurfing is not in Kazakhstan’s mentality,” he explained. “People think it’s very strange to have a foreign stranger staying with you.” Hence, perhaps, the lack of couches even in its capital. So what did your parents think? “They were angry.” The unknown off-piste beats angry on-piste any day…