Staying awake with the blood from a snake's gall-bladder?

Factual Questions
1

I’m reading this book called “Mr. Nice” written by Howard Marks, convicted drug smuggler. Non-fiction, it’s an autobiography. He’s in Hong Kong one evening, working some deal and totally exhausted. He can’t seem to stay awake. He’s hanging out with a couple of “high-class” prostitutes and they have just the solution: blood from the gall-bladder of a snake. :confused:

They go to a snake merchant and they argue about which type of snake is suitable for a white guy and eventually pick three snakes (no mention of the type) and “surgically remove” the gall-bladders, squeeze the thick green blood into a brandy glass, add brandy, and the guy drinks it.

He’s totally wired and can’t fall asleep until the following night.

Writer’s embellishment or non-fiction? Has anyone ever heard of this? Allegedly it cost $3000 Hong Kong dollars, or about $450 US dollars.

At that rate, I’m guessing that they don’t have any Starbuck’s in Hong Kong! :stuck_out_tongue:

2

The green stuff is bile, not blood.

My host put a few drops of snake bile in my drink at a banquet in China once. It didn’t keep me awake and nobody told me it would.

I don’t know of anything in bile (from snakes or any other creature) that would keep one awake.