Day 2: Speak Easy Homestay

Today was my best day in Bangkok so far. I checked out of my hostel near Suvarnabhumi Airport and took the BTS lines to Speak Easy Homestay, my new home for the next 2 weeks.

I was too stubborn to take the bus to Speak Easy from Krung Thon Buri station and walked the slippery pavement. My shoes are in such poor shape that I was slipping on flat portions of the sidewalk.

A Bangkok threatening to rain again. Looking East from Krung Thon Buri station.

On the way the skies decided to once again unleash wet fury upon the earth and I waited out the downpour for a short while.

I had to walk past Speak Easy once or twice, but I eventually found it along Tha Din Daeng Rd. According to the owner (An American who married a local Thai), Tha Din Daeng is one of those "best kept secrets" of Bangkok that not even the guidebooks tell you about. And after walking along it for only a few minutes, I have to agree. The street is absolutely stuffed with food carts on one side and cafes, boutiques, and restaurants on the other. There's hardly a farang in sight, partly due to the homestay's location west of the Chao Phraya river. But the location itself is near perfect. A 2 minute walk and 3 baht ferry ride will get you to the other side of the river and into Chinatown. A short bus from Chinatown will get you to nearly all the major temples. And all of this happens in 30 minutes or less from the moment you step out the sliding front door.

The homestay itself is home to many (I'm not sure the exact number) rescue cats that were saved as kittens on the streets of Bangkok. You can even adopt one and bring it back to your home country, if you want -- some guests have done it before. There is a fun mural in the lobby commemorating most of the main characters.

Cats from left to right: Onyx, London, Kabuki, Rudy (on tree with coffee), Snowball (with halo), (not sure, white cat), Gollum, Crystal, Brass, Copper (on tree with coffee on head), Ninja. The real Crystal is lying on the very right.

Every cat has their own story. Onyx is the oldest. London wants to kill Rudy (who is the flabbiest of them all) and the two must always be kept seperate. Kabuki was brought up as a young kitten and will instinctively nurse herself on your shirt. Snowball was run over and killed by a motorbike. Gollum meow'd so incessantly on the streets for her mother that her vocal chords were torn and now has a raspy voice. Crystal is the bitch of the bunch and will sprint for the open door and up a tree if given the opportunity. Copper is the alpha cat and sometimes gets nasty cuts when battling the neighbor cats. Ninja is always jumping on things and causing trouble. The cats love to lounge around the hostel all day and rub up against you for occasional pets.

The owner, Aaron, has been living on Tha Din Daeng Rd. for the past 5 years. He seems extremely knowledgeable about what there is to see, do, and eat around Bangkok. He told me he could find me a good ladyboy "if you're into that kind of thing". His wife (who I have not yet met) just had their first child a day or two ago. They are thinking about buying land in the pacific northwest and founding an ecovillage. I had a great time relaxing in the lounge and listening to Aaron's stories.

Another delicious, cheap (70 baht, $1.95) meal