Some places are just a quick escape, but others feel like crossing into a new reality. Wonderfruit was the latter, a world where the sun seemed to hug you, the fields stretched out in welcome, and every smile felt like a long-awaited greeting.

Marking ten years of music, art, and community, Wonderfruit was a soul’s playground, quietly inviting you to wander and discover.

The Fields at Siam Country Club in Pattaya, Thailand, unfolded like a welcome mat. Expansive meadows, winding paths, bamboo towers rising like sacred sculptures, and distant pools of light beckoned you onward.

Every step revealed a new scene, dancing, laughter, rhythms, flavors, movement, and color. The entire space pulsed with the confidence of a dream that had found its purpose.

I spent three days there, and it was as if time itself melted. Maybe it was the music, maybe the people, or maybe the particular freedom of sharing a sunlit field with thousands who weren’t just celebrating a festival, but the wild joy of being alive.

The people were a highlight for me. Everywhere I looked, strangers from Thailand, Japan, Brazil, France, South Africa, Vietnam, Mexico, and beyond drifted together in a gentle, effortless current.

No stress, no ego, no awkwardness, just playful, curious souls, open and wonderfully authentic. I chatted with people I may never meet again, but for those moments, it felt like finding long-lost kin.

And the music; wow, what an experience. Sometimes the bass made the earth itself vibrate, sometimes gentle melodies floated over the fields like a secret wind, and sometimes dancing felt as natural as breathing.

At night, the stages shimmered like living beings. At sunrise, the sky blushed gold while a DJ spun tunes that made you remember how quietly beautiful life can be.

Art lived everywhere. Huge bamboo sculptures rose out of the earth and stretched into the sky. Little installations hid along walking paths, waiting for you to stumble upon them. At night, they glowed, reds, blues, greens, soft lantern light, guiding you through the fields like friendly spirits. Everything was built to be touched, climbed, entered, or stared at for a little too long. It made the whole festival feel alive, like it was breathing with us.

And the food—oh, the food. Thai flavors that made you pause and savor, coconut drinks that tasted like a cosmic reminder to hydrate, vegan bowls so delicious you forgot what they were, and desserts that felt like edible love notes. Even the coffee had its own charm. Every hour brought a new culinary adventure, with more treasures always waiting.

But what moved me most was Wonderfruit’s wellness side. Sunrise yoga in the open field, everyone flowing together as dawn broke. Breathwork that felt like a gentle cleanse from within. Sound healing that sends soft vibrations through your bones. Sitting in quiet with strangers and feeling seen. It was as if the festival quietly reminded us: have fun, be wild, but remember to care for your heart.

That blend—freedom wrapped in care—was Wonderfruit’s secret. People danced like comets but paused to pick up litter. They reveled under the stars and greeted the morning with quiet rituals. They shared space, water, smiles, guidance, and kindness. It was beautifully messy, yet bound by an unseen thread of respect and responsibility.

One moment I’ll never forget: sitting on the grass during golden hour, the sun glowing soft and warm, music drifting from somewhere far but close enough to wrap around us. A group of people I had just met sat with me, we talked, laughed, listened to the wind, and it felt like we had known each other forever. The whole field shimmered with that kind of magic, like the world had paused to let us breathe and actually feel alive.

At ten years, Wonderfruit doesn’t come across as a festival throwing a grand birthday party. It feels like a place completely at ease with itself—playful, warm, imaginative, earthy, and open-hearted. Its sustainability inspires rather than instructs. It is a gathering that reminds you how wonderful people can be when they are both free and rooted.

After three days, I left with that familiar festival fatigue, but also with something lighter—gratitude, gentleness, clarity. Wonderfruit offered more than music or fun. It gave me space to pause, connect, breathe deeply, and savor being part of something bigger than myself.

It revealed a world where celebration and mindfulness coexist. Where strangers become friends in minutes. Where art belongs to the landscape, not as decoration. Where food is crafted with care. Where wide fields remind you that life is for living with both joy and purpose.

Wonderfruit is not just a festival you go to. It is a feeling, a landscape, a vivid, glowing dream you wander through for a few days and then carry in your heart long after.

A decade on, Wonderfruit continues to blossom. I am grateful to have experienced it—barefoot, heart wide open, among people from every corner of the globe, all celebrating life beneath the same vast, inviting sky.