My first time in Thailand was in 2009. Like millions of tourists, the adventure began at Bangkok airport. The unpronounceable Suvarnabhumi airport sees millions of tourists invading the city every year. Arrived in the morning on a day of August, my first contact with Thailand was more like a slap than a big smile.

One wonders how Bangkok has become the most popular tourist city in the world. If the Thai capital has some uncontestable charms and a typical atmosphere (to say it quickly, it’s a happy mess), the only wish that comes to your mind after a few minutes there is to quit. Just imagine yourself as a Lilliputian in a dryer where your son has put his entire collection of small cars; you have 30 minutes to escape and reach your hotel… good luck! However after a certain period of adaptation Bangkok reveils an attaching side precisely due to its anarchy and perpetual movement. I don’t know New York but I can tell you Bangkok does never sleep!

In the delirious atmosphere of this suffocating metropolis, I could observe Thai people taking time to live. They were living together by exchanging smiles, meals or futile discussions; they were living inside by taking time for meditation. I could see them having fun and laughing while working; in Thailand any activity has to include necessarily its part of “Sanouk” (Fun). I was discovering the charm of this country, a subtle blend of Asian Buddhist serenity and optimism, tropical languor and joyful dynamism.

Without noticing it, my project was being born here on a sidewalk of Bangkok at the intersection of  Sukhumvit and soi 8. I was tasting something I didn’t know; I couldn’t precisely identify the flavors; I had to take some more. Ironically this typical busy atmosphere was leading me to the quiet northern mountains to explore the trails and the souls of this wonderful country.