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Uncle Drunk - Death of a Bangkok Speakeasy

Posted by Lance Powers

I am reclining on my beach chair in Koh Chang when I get an urgent call from key operative Muay reporting that 'Uncle Drunk' or 'Leung Key Mou' has finally been raided by those pesky fecal coloured corrupt coppers. For over 2 years I have been frequenting this after hours piss shop and had built up a staggering repuation as a true Sangsom swilling veteran and dancing machine.

For those not familiar with the operation I will shed some light. Drinking after hours never used to be a problem. However recently all of the great places to get sh*tfaced in after 2 o'clock have been systematically closed with the emminent and redundant peepee tests. Typically these places were filled with dodgy sweaty farangs and some really loose women - Most of them were no real secret, and filled with flesh tourists and lame-asses.

Drunk Uncle was not for everyone. If your into Qbar, Spasso, or Bed SC, you may as well stop reading right now. I used to use it as a place to scare tourists I had wrangled from Khao San or even better, Patpong. It worked like a charm and many times I got to hear those coveted words laced in a drunken UK accent: 'hey this place is really fu*ked up, let's get out of here!', or maybe 'hey this Thai dude wont stop staring at me!', or my personal fav 'Hey thanks but I am seriously scared s*itless and where is my hotel from here?'.

I don't know if it was the crooked casino operating out of the guys toilet, the sullen stares from meth fueled off work motorcycle taxis, or the dreaded 1000db Chinese speed techno - But either way you sliced it, as the name implies 'Drunk Uncle' had only one purpose, and it served it very well. On a Saturday night toward its demise the place was full on packed and pulling some interesting and often sexy crowds. The food was also quite killer and the liqour cheap to boot.

If anyone is interested DU operated out of a back soi near Suk 103. Yep, may as well be in the countryside. You couldn't miss the place as the soi had a beautiful neon sign at its entrance proudly displaying the 'Drunk Uncle' text in both English and Thai. I seriously met some completely wicked people there who I am friends with to this day, including some well known, ahem, 'superstars'. Some of the most debaucherous nights I have had in Bangkok originated in this spooky unsuspecting hole in the wall and being a heavy tipper when mou I was always afforded top shelf service. It will be sadly missed.

Chances are good DU will be up and running again before the weekend once the dust settles. DU = RIP? I can taste the SS + Soda already.

Posted Jul 14, 2004 at 09:37 AM | Permalink |