Early Life and Travel
Born in France, I started travelling in my early 20s and never stopped. By 1994, I had settled in Thailand after visiting more than 40 countries, many of them during times when international travel was far less accessible than it is today.
Travel Background
My most memorable journey began at 19 when I crossed the Sahara Desert in a Peugeot 504, travelling through Morocco, Algeria, Burkina Faso, and Mali. After selling the car in Niger, I hitchhiked all the way back through the Sahara. Later, I lived and worked in the Bahamas, New Caledonia, Tahiti, and Japan. Other trips that stuck with me: India, Greece, Turkey, Scotland, Italy, Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia, and the Maldives.
Travelling taught me more than any book could. My appreciation for cultures and cuisine led me to love the food of Thailand, Japan, Korea, France, and Italy. Food has always been part of how I travel.
Why Thailand?
I spent eight years as a set designer for Club Med, building stages and designing sets for rotating shows in different countries. In 1993, while working in Tahiti, I decided to explore Asia. I chose Thailand almost at random, planning to stay for only a couple of years. That was 30 years ago.
Starting a New Life in Phuket
When I arrived in Phuket, I had no job, little money, and no connections. I stayed at a small guesthouse in Patong Beach and wrote letters to every hotel in Phuket. Eventually, I got a job as a Guest Relations Officer at the newly opened Banyan Tree Resort in Bang Tao. My salary was 12,000 baht, and street food became part of my daily life.
While working at the hotel by day, I designed logos for local businesses at night, especially diving centres. Within a year, my design work surpassed my hotel income, and I launched my own company, Andaman Graphics, specialising in logos and website design. This led to an invitation to join Asia Web Direct, where I helped develop travel websites like Phuket.com and Bangkok.com. Expedia later acquired the company, and I stayed on, gaining experience in UX and SEO over two decades.
Creating Phuket 101
Phuket 101 started because I wanted to share what I knew with other travellers. At the time, many websites about Phuket were either too formal, hard to navigate, or too niche. I wanted to create a guide that was helpful, visual, and easy to understand, based on real experiences. All content on Phuket 101 is original and written in-house.
Photography and Equipment
Photography is a lifelong passion. Apart from hotel photos, every image on Phuket 101 is taken by us. I mostly use a Sony Alpha 7C with a 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens, a Canon EOS R, and occasionally an iPhone. I also fly a DJI Air 2 and DJI Mini 2 drone for aerial views of Phuket and beyond. Always looking for new angles and places to document.
Media Mentions
Phuket 101 has been featured on CNN and in Thailand’s national newspapers. I was interviewed on French TV for a documentary about Phuket’s recovery after the 2004 tsunami and appeared in Netflix’s “Chefs Uncut” series in 2024, alongside Chef Ton (watch here).
Languages: French, English, conversational Japanese, conversational Thai
Based in: Phuket & Bangkok, Thailand
Current focus: Photography, travel writing, content strategy, SEO, and UX design for travel platforms