Moving is bittersweet. With the excitement of new people and a new place to explore comes the sadness of leaving everything that has become home in the last few months. Only two and a half days back from Vietnam, we were packed and ready to make the adventure to Ayutthaya.
These are some highlights of my time in Mooban Setthakit.
In our last two days, we ate at “The Family” at least three times. Fittingly, visiting “The Family”, as Sean and I dubbed them, marked my first and last meal in Mooban Setthakit. This young couple with their two
boys (one is a year and a half and the other is four) has a small and simple restaurant in front of their house about a block from our apartment. With a menu written completely in Thai, we would order what we were in the mood for, and they would make it for us. Each time we would sit down for a meal, the dad would man the wok and the mom, infant in one hand and butcher knife in the other, would chop the vegetables and prepare our plates. They were an efficient team, looking after their kids while making the best Pad Thai and Kao Pad (fried rice) anywhere in the Mooban. During our last meal, we told them kru nii Ayutthaya (teachers in Ayutthaya) and that we would visit them on wan yut holiday.
Where to even begin with the infamous Ms. Cheu…
Ms. Cheu owns the shop across from our apartment and has become our Thai Grandmother. Dressed every day in a floral moo-moo, she patrols the streets of the Mooban, stopping traffic as she walks. She is the
gossip queen; she knows where everyone is at all times. You cannot walk into her shop without walking out with some sort of treat. Sometimes it is a delicious mango or a piece of chocolate, othertimes it is durian cake. Tasting is always a gamble, but it is the thought that makes her such a wonderful lady. The day before we left, she made sure to warn us of the flooding, as we were not aware of the severity. We still decided to make the move and within 24 hours of us being away from the Mooban, Sean got a call from Ms. Cheu making sure we arrived safely. What a sweetheart.
Mr. Jumnong (Sean’s landlord), as you might remember from my Taxi-from-hell story, is an extremely
stubborn and blunt old man, but equally lovable. Each time you sit down to have a beer with him, he will undoubtedly tell you who he likes, who he doesn’t, who drinks too much, who is fat, who is beautiful, who is stupid, who is clever… the list could go on forever. The conversations mix Thai, English, a dictionary, and a lot of laughs. In the last two months I have lived at Baan San Oun, it has become apparent how much Mr. Jumnong cares for all of us. When Sean and I told him we would be moving out on Tuesday, hearranged for a private van to take us to Ayutthaya. When that option vastly exceeded our budget, he got on his cell and negotiated with a mini-van driver to take us there for 300 baht (about $10). He also insisted that we call him as soon as we got to the van to make sure they were not trying to overcharge us. We ended up paying more, but we didn’t have the heart to tell him. On our last night, the three of us sat on our balcony while Mr. Jumnong repeated over and over “you are good man, you are good lady.” Around 8, he announced pom mao (I’m drunk) and turned in for the night. It was the perfect send off.
Mooban Setthakit is a place that not many foreigners will ever visit. It truly represents Thailand and the lifestyle of Thai people. I already cannot wait to visit.
Only in Thailand... 