TOKIDOKI (NOMAD)

A friend took this photo without asking, which is probably why it works.

I’m standing on a Chao Phraya river boat in Bangkok, one hand gripping the overhead rail, my body angled slightly forward like the river itself is pulling me along. I’m smiling—the kind that sneaks up on you when you realize you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.

These boats don’t slow down for indecision. You step on quickly, find your balance, and figure it out. There’s something deeply comforting about that. No small talk required. No performance. Just shared motion.

The river moves past temples, condos, construction sites, old warehouses, new dreams. Bangkok layered on Bangkok. Past and future elbowing each other for space.

This is how I like cities best—not filtered, not curated, not explained to death. Just lived in transit.

I’ve been a nomad long enough to know that the moments that stay with you aren’t the big ones. They’re these in-between seconds: standing room only, a boat engine humming, heat in the air, laughter bubbling up for no reason at all.

One hand holding on.

The other free.

That’s the balance, I think.

Travel. Teaching. Life.

Hang on just enough.

Let the rest move you forward.

January 2026