TEXT & PHOTO: NATHANICH CHAIDEE
(For Thai, press here)
The journey to visit a childhood friend from elementary school (Anothai Oupkum – curator) who has temporarily relocated to Akita prefecture of Japan, introduced a new travelling experience where the absolute seclusion made it feel like there were only two of us roaming places.
In the beginning of March last year (2019), we travelled from the city center to Akita’s famous milk onsen. Normally, there would be a bus that would take us from the station to the destination. But for some reason, the bus we were on that day needed to make a stop at Lake Tazawa. While my friend had been to the onsen a couple of times herself, this was the first time she visited the stop.
There were only the two of us and a couple of men and women who got off at this particular spot. Even as the prefecture’s popular lake, the point we got off was far from being a landmark on the tourist map. The excitement of making a surprising detour, the view of the mountain resting beautifully before our eyes, the crystal clear water of the lake, the thin layer of snow coating the ground’s surface, and of course the conversation between long lost friends has been imprinted in our hearts.
After going over the photographs, we noticed a connection between various geometric forms, serenely intertwined.
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Born and raised in Chiang Mai, Nathanich Chaidee moved to Bangkok to pursue her studies at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University. Her interest later shifted to design, following by the decision to study and eventually earn the second bachelor degree, this time in interior design, from Bangkok University’s Faculty of Architecture. Chaidee is currently a freelance writer with the area of focus in architecture and interior design, and still enjoys film photography, which has long been her favorite hobby since middle school.