Oz party! Oi Oi Oi!
So, I went to this Aussie birthday party at a bar yesterday night. Nothing fantastic, but I learned quite a few things about the tradition here.
Firstly, the organiser said that the party starts at 7, so I got there early, being used to what comes from in Singapore. Moreover, it was straight after work, so I changed from my work uniform into my party gear and headed there.
Only to look like an idiot as the organiser arrived past 7, and people slowly streaming in. At 10, people were still slowly streaming in. At least me and my co-workers got there a little early and had a few drinks to ourselves.
Secondly, where if you go to a birthday party, you would be expected to bring a birthday gift for the birthday person. At least, that was the case in both HK and Singapore. Here, presents were given rarely. Moreover, people just appear, say their greetings, and buy a drink for themselves, or get a fairly cheap drink for the birthday person (Vodka sunrise? >_> C'mon... Go Martinis!)
Thirdly, people who come in usually stick to their own groups. It was a fairly large party at the club, but people simply mixed with the people they knew. When everyone was trying to mix together, the table was pretty dead and silent. No one buying drinks, no one doing anything. But once the woolworths crew arrived, things finally started heating up (for me, at least) as everyone seemed to have relaxed more as cliques are formed.
Insanely, people here can drink very well. In fact, a little too well. Where I am used to a maximum of 3 drinks a night out (in 3 hours, no less), people here down their drinks in a space of 5 minutes. Forty dollars, which would usually survive any night out, didn't last long there. It was beer, rum & coke, beer, and it kept going on. If you held on to your drink for too long, you got some explaining to do as to why you are taking so long to drink it. Not to mention that the drinks at the bar (Regatta) was crap and hella expensive. The martini was only a double shot, and the rum with coke had almost 85% coke. It felt like I was drinking water half the time. In the end, I had to settle for a Heineken because that's what I call real stuff down here. While there are some really good bars out there (Myer's center is pretty good), that bar just didn't cut it. No idea why everyone keeps going there though.
But it was nice to see the working crew relaxing for a bit with drinks and stuff. Still, it's not exactly my kind of thing, this insane drinking thing.
Lessons learned:
-Arrive late. Not too late, but late is cool. Around 1 hour plus would be fine.
-Save the birthday gift for a drink. Even if it's for a girl.
-Bring cash. Lots of it.
-Eat before going to any drinking party. No one is going to buy food for you.
-Bring more cash, if you are intending to stay.
posted by NightFalcon at 9:46 pm
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