Although I took this photo in 2011, I actually associate the Florida Hotel with my time in Bangkok in late summer of 2000. I had completed my Asian travels, and had already met Kade. I had returned home briefly to visit family and make arrangements to move to Bangkok, where I ended up teaching English for a few years. Once I returned, Kade had lined up this hotel (semi-budget) for me. I stayed here for at least a week. The name caught me by surprise. I don't recall seeing anything inside that explained how it got this name. And not long before that, I had stayed in the Atlanta Hotel, off of Sukhunmvit Rd. Bangkok is funny and very eclectic, in this way. At some point, you stop shaking your head and asking questions. One thing I do remember about the Florida Hotel was the restaurant. On occasion I would eat breakfast there. Other times, I would eat dinner. I clearly recall seeing the cook in the kitchen slicing up a papaya. It was the sweetest papaya ever. And although I had already eaten papaya quite a bit in Thailand, in my mind, this was the best. For a nice-sized plate of papaya, it was about 25 baht (60 cent usa). There was a slice of lime, too, which was to squeeze over the papaya. I never did that. I just like the papaya, straight up. It was that sweet. And as I ate it, I felt like had discovered the most magnificent joy. I had traveled already quite a bit, but there was a special love for Thailand. Of course, I was also in love with the girl that would later become my wife. It was a double high.
Long before there were selfies, we could just use timers to take photos of ourselves. Believe it or not, I actually took this one of me while in my room at the Florida Hotel. I was so happy and excited, and this captures it.
This video should start at the Florida Hotel. You can learn about the Tampa Cafe.
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