Za-Le-Te Chalet

A CONVERSATION

“Dad, most of our trips were beach trips, I think we should go somewhere else so that our kids can experience something new. What do you think?”, Mum started the conversation with a plan in mind.

“OK, you find the place and go ahead.”, Dad agreed.

“What about Tung Dok Kra Jiew in Chaiyaphume during June to August?”, Mum revealed her idea.

“Then, we should go there at the beginning of July when they are in blossom. Is there any nice place to stay?”, Dad was unsure.

“I found a newly built one on the Internet, called Za-Le-Te chalet. They have only 3 chalets without air-con but it seems to be the nicest one with very good weather due to its location.”, Mum was convincing Dad.

“OK, we can try.”, Dad concluded.

CHALET 3

“Dad, all rooms were fully booked on other Saturdays in July. There is only 1 chalet left on Saturday the 9th of July. It is Chalet 3, the newest one with a bathtub for Rak and Rome.”, Mum omitted her question.

“OK, booked it.”, Dad answered Mum’s missing question.

“Already booked, we have to pay the full amount within 3 days. I will transfer the money tomorrow.”, Mum smilingly told Dad what she did and what she planned to do.

“How much?”, Dad asked an important question. “Two thousand and nine hundred Baht.”, said Mum.

“OK.”, Dad sounded really relieved.

BIG DAYBED

“Nong Rome, come inside to see the room with P’ Rak and we can swing on the hammock again later. Come quickly!”, P’ Rak asked Rome to come in.

“P’ Rak, let’s see Mickey Mouse. I brought a lot of CDs in my backpack.”, said Rome.

“Dad, is there any cartoon channel? Can you help me, please?” asked Rak.

“I want some milk! Mum, I’m hungry.”, it’ was about Rome’s milk time.

“P’ Rak, can you sleep here with Nong Rome? There are a lot of nice pillows. Mum and I will sleep in the bed. OK?”, asked Dad but with no answer.

Finally, that night Dad and Rome landed on the pink daybed.

Mum and Rak were in the big white bed.

KID’S ROOM AND MUM’S WORK STATION

“P’ Rak, Nong Rome, come here! See, a big bathtub for both of you. You can also play with the rainwater up there.”, Mum introduced a hidden room.

“Can we play in this bathtub? Look! Nong Rome, we can see the trees outside too.”, Rak asked Rome to join in.

“What is this?, asked Rome while playing shampoo bottle.

“Dad, there is a table here too. I can do my translation work here tonight.”, said Mum.

“This room is so pink.”, commented Dad.

WALKING AROUND

“I will go to see the rooftop.”, announced Mum.

“P’ Rak would like to see it too.”, said Rak.

“Nong Rome too”, said Rome.

“I can go up by myself!”, Rome did not want Mum to hold his hand.

“Wow!, we will have dinner here this evening. See, there is a BBQ oven too. We can grill some sausages together!”, Mum had an idea.

“Really?”, P’ Rak sounded excited.

“Nong Rome, don’t climb, you will fall down. See, we are on the top of the hill. Look at the other chalets and the flower fields.”, Mom was trying to stop Rome from climbing the railing.

“P’ Rak, call Dad to take the photos here.”, said Mum.

“Dad, come up, please.”, Rak followed Mum’s instruction.

DINING OUT ON THE ROOFTOP

“P’ Rak, sit down, it’s time to eat. Look at Nong Rome, good boy, he can eat by himself.”, Mum wanted P’ Rak to have dinner just like Nong Rome.

“Can I have only pork omelette without rice?”, Rak tried his first shot. “Nope”, answered Mum before Rak finished his sentence.

“Can I have only fried chicken first and followed by a mouthful of rice?”, Rak tried his second shot with success. “OK”, said Mum.

“We should order some BBQ too. We have a BBQ oven, why don’t we use it?”, asked Mum

“I don’t think we can have a real BBQ dinner with these two monkeys.”, Dad said with his worried face.

“We should try.”, Mum insisted.

“Let’s finish what we have now first and think about the BBQ later.”, Dad tried his best to convince Mum.

“OK”, Mum had nothing better to say.

Finally, we finished our dinner without BBQ.

HAPPY HOURS

This is a very quiet place without the sea, swimming pool, playground, kids club, nice restaurants and air-con but we had a great time.

Rak and Rome had fun in the bathtub for an hour each time. Instead of the sea view as other trips, they could pay more attention to the pine trees, different kinds of flowers and snails.

In fact, where we go or where we are is not the most important factor, but the heart of the matter is how we use our time as a family.

Kids’ happiness is reflected in parents’ smile and vice versa.

We had a lovely cool night without air-con. In fact, we had to use a blanket before dawn.

GOOD MORNING

The first thing in the morning for Rak and Rome was to sit and play in the hammock. Rome packed his bag and wanted to go home because he missed his grandpa. Once Mum persuaded him to go to have breakfast, he changed his mind. We had breakfast at the owner’s house. There were another 2 groups sitting at a big balcony. We arrived late and had to sit in the house.

After breakfast, we walked around, up and down to take a breath of fresh air.

TUNG DOK KRA JIEW

Here, at Tung Dok Kra Jiew, Dad and Mum realized that Rak and Rome have very strong legs. They could walk and run up the small hill non-stop. We brought an umbrella from the chalet but did not really make use of it except having it as a prop in our photo.

HOW HAPPY FLOWERS ARE

“Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars… and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful.

Everything is simply happy.

Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance.

Look at the flowers – for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are.”

by Osho