My journey, between France and Indonesia

I was born on February 25, 1992, in Le Mans, France. I have a genetic condition affecting my retina that left me partially sighted until I was seventeen. At that age, I lost what little vision I had left and became completely blind.

After a few difficult years during which I struggled deeply to accept my disability, I discovered Islam. The way the Muslim faith frames the world helped pull me out of that depression. Believing that a God was behind the creation of the universe around us, and that nothing happened by chance or bad luck, was a real rebirth for me. Instead of dwelling on dark thoughts and picturing myself as the unluckiest person alive, I became convinced that my difference was a challenge set before me by a higher power. All that was left to do was fight to rise to it.

I discovered Indonesia after watching a documentary on YouTube in early 2016. The richness of the culture, the beauty of the landscapes, the exoticism of the food — everything drew me in. A few weeks after watching that video, I met a young Indonesian woman online. Together, we took a big 30-day trip across the island of Java. Our goal was to meet local visually impaired people, learn about their lives, and identify their needs. The idea was to later set up a humanitarian project to raise funds and help them.

For various reasons, that humanitarian project never came together. My Indonesian partner and I did get married, though, on July 20, 2017. The ceremony took place in her small village of Gandrung, a charming little town in the hills above Bandung, at an altitude of 1,000 meters.

After we got married, my wife and I tried to open a French restaurant in a working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Bandung. It was a resounding failure — we were young and seriously lacked experience.

In 2021, we had a lovely house built in Gandrung, right next to my in-laws' home. We lived there for a year with our one-year-old, then moved back to France as money grew tight. We wanted our child to want for nothing, and it was easier to make a living in France than in that poorer corner of Southeast Asia.

Today, I'm launching into the Java Horizon adventure. My dream is to guide groups across this fascinating land I'm endlessly passionate about. I know dozens of authentic spots well worth seeing, restaurants that will blow you away, and genuinely wonderful people worth meeting. Trust me, and your next trip to Java will turn into a rich, immersive experience you won't be ready to forget.

My Indonesian adventures, told in podcasts

Since 2020, I've hosted a podcast called Les Voyages à l'aveuglette ("Travelling Blindly"). I invite visually impaired travelers to talk about their adventures abroad, and I share my own too — in French. Here are a few episodes: