Description
In Southeast Asia from 1971 through 1987 arguably the best-known civilian establishment catering to U.S. military personnel and contractors, construction and oil workers, and some others whose occupations and affiliations were less clear was Lucy’s Tiger Den in Bangkok, Thailand. Among them were many members of China Point 1 and Alban “Tiger” Rydberg was a Senior Vice
Commander – China Advisory of the Post.
In his autobiography “The Tiger of Bangkok” Tiger Rydberg describes how an Indian Army invasion of what became Bangladesh encouraged him to take a break from his project there and visit Thailand.
In the “Land of Smiles” he woke one morning after 54 days of patronizing Bangkok bars to find that he was married to a Thai lady named “Lucy” and that they now owned one of those bars. Their bar, which they aptly named “Lucy’s Tiger Den”, was originally located on Silom Road. However, they moved to a
much larger space on Surawong Road that accommodated their growing number of customers. Among the amenities at Lucy’s was the Hobo’s Roost, a loft where Tiger’s famous bean soup was always available. However, the leading attraction at the Tiger Den was Tiger himself who had a welcoming greeting for every customer. Tiger needed no prompting to recount all the chapters of an amazing life. In 1987, Lucy’s Tiger Den went dark to be replaced by a shopping center. Tiger’s health had deteriorated to the point that he elected not to relocate the Tigers Den. Tiger later moved to the Philippines where he passed away.
This plaque is 7.5 inches high by 9.5 inches wide. It will certainly be a collector’s item as only a limited number of them will be cast and there will be a limited number of other “Watering Hole and Safehouse” plaques in the set.
