Wednesday, July 19

 

Ning, who works at a restaurant next to Baan Chan Phu Hotel, told us about a Japanese man who used to live in Dansai and run a Japanese restaurant. The restaurant had been closed because of COVID, and neither Ning nor Pu knew where he was now. His name is Akira, the same name as Ryu's father. Ryu-san and I were very surprised at such a coincidence.

​

Beer's blue car picked us up and headed to Uncle Chalat’s house. I asked Beer about Uncle Chalat in the car and he answered, “(Uncle Chalat) is well over 60 years old, but very energetic. He is a pro about organic farming and so charming." As soon as we arrived at his home, Uncle Chalet greeted us  "I've been waiting for you!" with a friendly smile. He immediately asked us "Do you want to go see the bamboo shoots first? Or vegetables? The bamboo shoots are a bit far. The vegetable is right there. So go for vegetables first. Let's go!" We were completely fascinated by Grandpa Chalat's energy. 

In front of a rambutan tree, he enthusiastically said, "Don't hesitate. Just eat it, eat it." I didn't know how many rambutans that we ate. In addition, he gave us a huge amount of bamboo shoots and galangals as souvenirs. Thank you so much, Uncle Chalat. 

From the viewpoint of Dan Sai city, I asked Beer, Som, and Priew what they liked about the town. Beer said, "I would like to say everything here, but first the weather, second the people who live here, and third the culture." Som said, "The peace," Priaw said "Moograta. Moograta of Dansai is the best." 

Som and Beer once left Dansai and came back.  Ryu used to work in Tokyo but returned to his hometown last year. Priew has just returned home for an internship but she wants to study in China after graduation. So she won't be back in Dansai for a while. As for me, I am still in Tokyo, having left my parents' home 15 years ago and moved to Tokyo, and to be honest, I can't imagine returning to my parent's home. I'm not sure if I will go back someday, or if I will not go back at all. I don't know if I want to go back or not.

 As I stood on the hill waiting for the sunset, Beer said to the sky, "Bye bye sun, see you tomorrow” That's it. On days when I don't know the answer, standing on the hill makes me feel a little bit better. Following Beer's lead, I said out loud, "Bye bye sun, see you tomorrow”.