ABOUT ME
My name is Max Liautaud, I’m a traveler, photographer, and videographer. Born and raised in France, I grew up with a passion for visual storytelling and a deep desire to explore the world. In 2015, I took the decision to shift the direction of my life, and left my country to travel to Asia overland. I created this platform to share the tales and the photographs of that journey.
The Pursuit of the Horizon stands for the relentless and ceaseless yearning to explore what lies beyond the familiar.
Why did I decide to travel the world?
I worked as a filmmaker and video editor in Paris for a couple of years, until I felt there was more to life and more to the world than I had seen so far. I was 24 years old when I decided to explore what lied beyond the horizon. In August 2015, I took a definite step out of my comfort zone and routine, leaving France with just a backpack, no specific plans, and a rough idea of an itinerary all the way to Asia. When I left, I thought the trip might last six months. It ended up lasting two and a half years.
This incredible odyssey took me through the Balkans, the Middle East, and Asia – moving around solely by hitchhiking, bus, train, and motorcycle – until I eventually settled down in Vietnam.
This trip shifted my vision of the world and my perspective on life. More than any sumptuous cathedral or marvelous mountain, I cherish the memories of the people I met, the inextinguishable kindness of strangers, and the friendships I forged. It confirmed an intuition I’ve always had about human beings: that beyond cultural differences, beyond the artificial borders created to separate us, we truly are all the same.
I pursued my quest to understand what makes us human in this vast diverse world of ours, documenting my experiences through photography and writing. I attempt to capture poetic moments of raw humanity, in a variety of faces and places – celebrating the rich cultural heterogeneity of societies throughout the world. Traveling overland has also deepened my love and respect for the planet we live on, and how culture and nature interact.
THE JOURNEY IN NUMBERS
No flights
Before leaving, I set myself a challenge : avoid planes at all cost. Traveling overland gives you the chance to go through regions you wouldn’t necessarily consider visiting, to go off the beaten track and explore countries and cultures in depth.
Hitchhiking
I had never hitchhiked before this trip, but I always viewed it as the best way to meet locals. And that was the goal of this trip, to connect with people. Hitchhiking is fun, unpredictable, free, and incredibly enriching. And yes, it’s safe!
Going east
Having never been to Asia, I felt appealed by the large and mysterious continent. Following the Silk Road, I experienced an extremely wide variety of landscapes and cultures, faiths and traditions, and fell in love with the Asian way of life.
Where am I now?
After a long time away from home, I came back to France to see my family and friends in 2017. It was inevitable that I’d be deeply changed by my time abroad, and I realized I could not come back to my previous lifestyle.
The longing to see more of the world kept my feet itching. Seeking the sun and the sea, I drove a little vespa from my hometown of Strasbourg to Barcelona, where I lived and worked with the plan to save money to travel to South America.
In 2019, still compelled to avoid flying when it’s possible, I attempted to cross the Atlantic hitchhiking a sailboat. After weeks of unsuccessful search on the marinas of the Canary Islands, I resolved to fly to Colombia.
In Bogotá, I bought a motorcycle and traveled down the continent, living on the road for a year – working in a coffee farm in Colombia, as a guide in the Amazon forrest in Peru, as a tango promoter in Argentina.
I made it to Buenos Aires when the pandemic struck the world. This has forced me to come back to France – a time I now wish to use to reflect on my past travels, to prepare future ones, and fuel new creative projects.
For what it’s worth… it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.