The beginnings of Arasia-Shop

Thailand

It all started in 2005, when during my first trip to Asia, I fell in love with Thailand!

Bangkok by night

This country is also known as “the land of smiles” and it was not a metaphor at the time. Victim of its tourist success, things have changed somewhat since…

I was seduced by the beauty and diversity of the landscapes and by the warm welcome of the inhabitants. From there was born my passion for Asian culture, the finesse of its craftsmanship, the kindness and spiritual wisdom of its inhabitants, as well as its incredible culinary richness, its spicy and tasty dishes…

So I naturally wanted to create Arasia to share all my discoveries with you!

Cambodia

After several months in Thailand with Jérôme, the co-creator of Arasia, we continued our adventure in Cambodia.

After an incredible journey in a dilapidated coach, we visited the sumptuous ruins of Angkor. Then we continued to the capital Phnom Penh, then the seaside resort Sihanoukville. Finally we discovered “Rabbit Island”, a quiet island without any civilization, road or means of communication near the Vietnamese border.

Cambodia is a very poor country, with a very violent history, which has deeply affected us.

Indonesia

During our second Asian trip in 2008 we landed in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. We suffered an impressive cyclone following which the city was largely flooded for several days. Everything stopped, there was no longer any means of communication and it was almost impossible to leave the city.

Once things were back to normal, we headed to Bali, “The Island of the Gods”. I had my second crush, for this island full of charm, traditions and spirituality!

Malaysia and India

We visited modern Kuala Lumpur, then crossed northern Malaysia by bus to the Thai border. From there we flew to South India with Chennai, Pondicherry and Auroville, then Mabalipuram, Cochin and Goa.

I discovered India, a fascinating and refined country, with millions of Gods and facets!

It is quite naturally that we came up with the idea of setting up a website offering articles from these countries! Now Jérôme has left Arasia and I continue to manage the shop with as much pleasure as at the beginning!

It’s a job that suits me very well and that gives me many opportunities: to meet interesting people, to travel, to visit places outside the tourist circuits, and to combine business with pleasure 🙂