We managed to stay up all night, experiencing all the ups and downs one could expect. The high point: my friend Phil winning over 5,000 baht on a single pull of the slot machine lever. Can you believe that?! The low: me losing nearly 2,000 baht in all of ten minutes. I swear Cambodian blackjack dealers have all the luck.

After wreaking havoc on the breakfast buffet, we staggered out the door with our tails between our legs, crossed back over into Thailand as soon as the border opened, and hopped on the first bus back to Bangkok. I managed to be back in my bed sleeping it off by 11AM.

All in all, while it’s no Vegas, Poipet is a pretty outrageously good time. All it cost me was a few thousand baht and a little bit of pride. A small price to pay for fun, I’d say.

“Is it true that your brother used to grill snakes when he started here?”

“Yes, yes. When he first opened, he would get snakes at the market and grill them for the guests,” says Satit Bootkrajang the owner and operator of Bangkok’s famed expat watering hole, Cheap Charlie’s.

Satit is a quiet man with a friendly, open face, and upbeat demeanor. “He mostly keeps to himself… and keeps busy,” says Adam, a regular. For the past twelve years since the little “kiosk bar’s” namesake was passed on to him, Satit has spent most nights serving up cheap drinks in a tradition started by his eccentric late brother.

For nearly a quarter century, Cheap Charlie’s has become an institution among Bangkok expats. So famous is it that the name gets regular mention in several international guidebooks, and tourists are known to show up straight from the airport for a beer and a few snapshots before heading out on their holiday.

Six nights a week, come rain or shine, Satit serves a clutch of regulars and an ever-changing kaleidoscope of curious tourists in a relaxed, unpretentious environment. Cheap Charlie’s always seems to be in high season. “Does it ever slow down?” I ask. “For a little while, at the end of the rainy season,” says Satit. Given its outdoor venue in a small alley off of Sukhumvit Soi 11, this makes sense. But the rest of the year, except Christmas, New Year and “big Buddha holidays,” Satit, his “team” of one other, and a handful of regulars are busy holding up the bar.

There are a few rumors about the place, which seem to enhance the pub’s reputation. The tallest tale is about Charlie himself. I asked Satit if the gruesome story is true: “Did you really bury your brother underneath the bar?” Satit laughs. “No,” he says. “But look,” as he points up to the top of the kiosk where a skull and crossbones hang above ordering patrons. Painted onto the large femur, the words read: “Mr. Charlies is watching you.” I look up, look back at Satit, back up to the bones, then eye Satit suspiciously, “Those aren’t really….”

“No, no,” he giggles. “It’s a joke. Charlie isn’t here… but maybe he is watching,” he muses with a grin.

What makes this place so popular? Is it simply that beers are cheap? Is it the friendly people, the funky “décor” (often interactive – trust me, for some unexpected surprises, experiment with some of the items sitting on the bar) gathered from around the world, or is it the omnipresence of Mr. Charlie’s spirit?

“Everyone says ‘hi’ to each other,” answers Satit.

“Don’t mention my real name,” says ‘Maggie Thatcher,’ “but I’ve been coming here for 18 years now, and I’ve made all my friends here!” She and a collection of other Cheap Charlie’s regulars are a very friendly bunch, not a cliquish bone among them. Imbibers new to the scene aren’t just accepted but openly invited to join in the conversation and then introduced around.

“This is a great networking place,” says Sam from Australia, “with people from all nationalities and races coming by and talking to each other.”

It does seem to be the regulars who make this little outdoor pub a success, and Satit has now opened a small resort in Hua Hin designed with these folks in mind. Cheap Charlie’s Resort has three guest houses, each with two rooms, a swimming pool, hot water, air-con, outdoor barbecue, and, of course, plenty of cold beer at Cheap Charlie’s II. He also offers a minivan shuttle that leaves Bangkok every Friday and returns every Sunday evening. It could very well be the start of a new tradition. Now, just need to start up those Charlie “rumors” there.

For a cold, cheap beer or cocktail, friendly conversation, or more information on the resort, check out Cheap Charlie’s after 5pm, Monday-Saturday, Sukhumvit Road, Soi 11. Coming soon, you can also visit Satit’s website at www.cheapcharlies.com.