Best of Times (2009) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Fai rejected Keng's love song because she already had a boyfriend at the time. That boyfriend was actually Ohm, Keng's best friend, who remained completely unaware of Keng's feelings. Fai never learned that Keng was the one who sent the CD until years later when she recognized his signature on the cover.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the story, Keng refuses to tell Ohm who the CD was intended for, hinting at the complicated love triangle to come.

• Fai rejection
• high school love song
• Ohm boyfriend
• CD love song

Keng kept his feelings hidden to protect his friendship with Ohm. When he learned that Fai was dating Ohm, he moved his classes to avoid their social circle and stopped seeing Fai for a long time. His loyalty to Ohm prevented him from ever confessing, even though he never forgot her.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene establishes Keng's silence about who the CD was for, establishing his pattern of hiding his true feelings.

• Keng feelings
• Ohm friendship
• unrequited love
• loyalty

Ohm responds calmly when Keng confesses his feelings because he has already moved on emotionally. He tells Keng he plans to marry again and describes Fai as more of a fun companion rather than a life partner. After their divorce and his new relationship, Ohm no longer views Fai as someone worth fighting for.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Ohm calls his new girlfriend hinting at a fresh start, showing he's already emotionally detached from Fai.

• Ohm reaction
• Keng confession
• Fai divorce
• new girlfriend

Fai adopts the wounded stray dog they found after the DUI incident and names it Saphan-Loi, which means "bridge" in Thai. She brings it to Keng's clinic for treatment and later decides to keep it as her own pet. The dog ultimately becomes a symbol connecting Keng and Fai as they move forward together.

Foreshadowing: The dog's name "Saphan-Loi" (bridge) foreshadows its role in bridging Keng and Fai's relationship.

• Saphan-Loi
• dog adoption
• stray dog
• Keng Fai relationship

Sompit decides to move to the United States with her son Krit and his wife because they are relocating there. Despite her romance with Jamrus and his marriage proposal under the Malay rose apple tree, she chooses to go with her family. However, Jamrus later reconnects with her via MSN Messenger after she leaves.

Foreshadowing: During the Chumphon trip, Sompit learns that Krit and his wife are moving to the US soon, setting up her eventual departure.

• Sompit departure
• United States
• Krit family
• Jamrus proposal

The Malay rose apple tree represents resilience and memory for Jamrus. In 1989, Typhoon Gay destroyed his entire farm in Chumphon, but this one old tree survived. Since then, he has treated it as a family member. The tree becomes the setting for his proposal to Sompit and later symbolizes their enduring love when it is moved to Bangkok and eventually sprouts again.

Foreshadowing: Jamrus's memory troubles at the farm hint at deeper emotional attachment to the tree and past losses.

• Malay rose apple tree
• Typhoon Gay
• Chumphon farm
• resilience symbol

Jamrus is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease after he misses a date with Sompit and is found disoriented at a gas station. His condition worsens, and his adult son decides to sell the farm to fund moving him to a care facility in Bangkok. The decision causes tension as Jamrus resists leaving his farm, but his family believes it's necessary for his safety.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Jamrus experiences memory lapses during the Chumphon visit, foreshadowing his diagnosis.

• Jamrus Alzheimer's
• care facility
• memory loss
• diagnosis

Keng and Fai gradually grow closer through their shared experiences caring for Saphan-Loi and helping Jamrus and Sompit. After a fishing trip where they get drunk and reminisce, Keng reveals that Fai was his first love who he never forgot. Although Fai doesn't reciprocate romantically at that moment, they eventually find a path forward together and decide to keep Saphan-Loi as their pet.

Foreshadowing: Their late-night fishing trip and conversation create the emotional foundation for their eventual relationship.

• Keng Fai romance
• first love
• relationship ending
• together

When Fai realizes Keng is the boy from high school who gave her the love song, he lies and says they only met at Ohm's wedding two years earlier. Keng maintains this pretense because he fears ruining his friendship with Ohm and knows Fai is now divorced from his best friend. He eventually reveals the truth about his feelings later in the story.

Foreshadowing: Keng's initial lie sets up the eventual revelation of his long-held feelings during their fishing trip.

• Keng lie
• high school memory
• Ohm wedding
• pretending

MSN Messenger serves as a symbol of connection across distances, paralleling the film's themes of memory and love. Sompit carefully writes down every MSN step in her notebook, believing it can bridge distances and keep memories alive. After Sompit leaves for the US, Jamrus uses MSN to reconnect with her, sending a photo of his tree sprouting again, showing that love and memory can endure across oceans.

Foreshadowing: Sompit's diligence in noting every MSN step foreshadows its importance in maintaining long-distance connection.

• MSN Messenger
• Sompit notes
• distance connection
• online relationship

Krit, Sompit's son, objects to his mother's romance with Jamrus because he feels she is choosing the relationship over her family. When Sompit decides to stay in Thailand with Jamrus instead of moving to the US with Krit and his wife, Krit becomes furious and accuses her of loving Jamrus more than the family. This conflict represents the generational divide between pursuing personal happiness versus family obligations.

Foreshadowing: The tension is established early when Krit does not welcome Jamrus's invitation to visit the farm.

• Krit objection
• mother relationship
• family conflict
• Sompit choice

Ohm and Fai are divorcing because Fai discovered Ohm was having an affair. After the high school reunion, Ohm reveals to Keng that Fai found out about his infidelity and they are ending their marriage. This divorce sets in motion the events that bring all three characters back into each other's lives.

Foreshadowing: The high school reunion serves as the catalyst that brings unresolved relationships back into focus.

• Ohm affair
• Fai divorce
• infidelity
• marriage breakdown