Bangkok street markets at sunset. Orange light bouncing off temple gold and vendor stalls. The smell of pad thai mixing with incense from nearby shrines.
First time in months I left the laptop behind. Really trying to just be here, you know? Watch people instead of analysing them for characters.
But my brain won’t switch off completely.
Watching a monk buy street food from a vendor who’s simultaneously texting and stirring noodles. There’s something fascinating about these tiny human rituals we do without thinking.
Made me wonder how an alien would process this. The way we eat with strangers on plastic stools, the chaos that somehow works perfectly. All these unspoken rules about personal space and ordering food that we just… know.
Been carrying this idea around for weeks. An alien tourist studying human emotions. What would they make of New Year fireworks? Or the way people smile at their phones?
Thailand feels like the perfect research lab for weird human behaviour. Yesterday saw someone taking selfies with a Buddha statue whilst eating mango sticky rice. Cultural layers stacked on top of each other.
The heat here makes everything slower except your thoughts. Sitting in temple courtyards watching people pray, light candles, make wishes. Universal stuff but expressed so differently.
My alien character is starting to take shape. Not the typical distant observer type. Someone genuinely curious about feelings, about connection. Maybe someone who wants to understand rather than just study.
This trip was supposed to be pure rest. Instead it’s turning into research for book four. But honestly? Best kind of research there is.
The chaos makes sense once you stop trying to organise it. Maybe that’s what the alien learns too.
Daria Ryzhikova Writer