This is a passion project I have carried with me for a very long time. I always wanted to sit with local people and listen to their stories, their backgrounds and the moments that shaped their lives. Every person has something beautiful to share. In this series, I will speak with handpicked characters whose stories are worth slowing down for, worth sitting together for a real and honest conversation.

My curiosity for people and their stories started long before I ever lived in Thailand. Back in the days when I worked as a driving teacher I had one or two new students sitting next to me every week. Because of the big technical university in my city we had many foreigners coming in and after a while I realised I was the only driving teacher who could speak English. So every driving school sent their English speaking students to me. It was a challenge because communication in a car is everything. You can not tell someone after the lesson how many red lights they missed. You need to explain things in the moment, clearly and calmly, even when the car is rolling in the wrong direction.

But it became one of the most interesting times of my life. So many nationalities, so many mentalities, so much culture sitting right there in the passenger seat. Every lesson felt like a small cultural exchange. Some students even brought homemade food which was always incredibly delicious. I learned more about the world in that little car than in any classroom.

I heard stories from Medellín during the time of Pablo Escobar with bomb attacks happening almost daily. I learned about the political system in China from a student who could speak freely, only outside the car while the phone stayed inside. I met a student from Syria who escaped the war by walking to Germany. A woman from Ghana filled every lesson with the best energy and made the car feel brighter the moment she stepped in.

Later in my career when I worked as a process manager for Cronimet and visited our European subsidiaries, the curiosity continued to grow. Each country gave me a new story. Proud Basque colleagues explaining their identity, an ice hockey coach in Sweden, a Polish colleague who brewed his own beer, tips on how to survive winter in Luleå, the tough cold in Paldiski where you can do ice fishing and an Italian colleague who spoke about football with such passion that it felt like a movie scene - and here just imagine - he didnt speak English and I can not speak Italian :D. In the UK I ended up showing my colleagues a good fish and chips place instead of the other way around which became a running joke. The hospitality in Turkey was on another level. Every meeting ended with food and I probably ate more delicious dishes there than anywhere else.

This and many more trips had the same pattern. No matter the country, people were open friendly and genuinely interested. There was never a dull moment and every destination added a small piece to how I see the world today.

All these moments shaped the way I see the world. They made me realise how much depth every person carries and how many stories hide behind a quiet smile or a tired face. It is this curiosity about people, their culture and their past that inspired this project.

This will not only be about Bangkok or Thailand. Every time I travel, I want to bring home at least one or two new stories. People I meet by chance, moments that stay, conversations that open a window into another world.

I hope I can bring a little of this passion to you through the stories that are coming. These stories deserve to be shared - stories about real people, real lives and the beautiful details that connect us all.