Saturday 27/6/15 - Perth airport, Phuket & Bangla Rd

It had been almost 3 years since I had been on a holiday. I had been working pretty hard and needed some time away from the computer. The last holiday I had gone on was to Phuket (big surprise) in November 2012. I went with Will, Toby, Sull and Chesty and soon after arriving back from this holiday I had to face some big changes. The changes were: leaving our beloved house in Wattle Grove; and biting the bullet and finding a full-time job as my days as a Toll drifter were coming to an end.

Jas and I had been discussing holidays for six months or so and this would usually only happen when we were out on a Saturday night. Life was busy and you don't always have time to talk during the week. Jas had suggested destinations such as Morocco and Russia - these were not practical and not what I was looking for. We had discussed places close as well like South-East Asia so Phuket was definitely on the cards.

One night we were out and we were with two guys we new from footy and from the many nights that we spent at Yaya's Bar in Northbridge. They had gone to Phuket a few weeks earlier for a 30th birthday and liked it a lot and were considering going again sometime soon. We considered the idea and decided to meet up at The Royal two Fridays later to discuss details. We followed this up and the morning after our Rendezvous we booked our flights.

Saturday 27/6/15

Our flight was early so Dad dropped me off at the airport by 0730. Jas and I both had suitcases but CK and LV both only had backpacks. Kelmar was also hungover and sleep deprived from the night before; Jas, LV and myself were all feeling pretty good. 

My excitement didn't kick in until after we checked in and started browsing through the various duty free stores. I am normally a zen master but I felt inclined to purchase something as the merchandise and the store fronts are always so inviting. I didn't need anything but when there are that many bottles of alcohol and cologne together, the urge is just too overwhelming. I purchased a one litre bottle of vodka in case I needed some courage before heading out onto Bangla Rd at night. A younger SD would have had no problem consuming this but I had a feeling that I would never actually drink any. My gut was right.    

6 hours later
We were getting close now and we were all feeling more alert and lively. There was a middle aged man sitting next to me so I couldn't quite see out of the window. I caught glimpses of the many small islands and they were looking green, the water, viridescent. There were the small fishing boats too so I knew we were getting close. 

Touchdown, 220pm Phuket time - warm and humid. The sun was intense too so I had to take my jumper off. We were the first through immigration so all we had left was to grab our luggage (well at least Jas and I did). This is where I started to get excited.

We grabbed our bags and headed out of the airport. We went out the front and it was fairly humid and somewhat busy. Kelmar had organised a taxi with a local he knew from earlier. We jumped into the taxi and left. The journey to our hotel was fairly quiet; perhaps because it is not always that comfortable (I get motion sickness) and took about 45 minutes. We drove past the golf course and all the smaller villages which brought back many forgotten memories of the times when we had come here in the past to have a few drinks and take it easy. I realised that a lot had changed since then. Back then we were primarily interested in drinking and going to nightclubs every night until the early hours of the morning. They were good days but I knew that that time had since past.

We arrived at the hotel about 4pm Phuket time. The weather was nice, a little humid and about 31 degrees. I didn't realise our hotel was actually in Patong - when I had done my research before we left, I was viewing the website of the wrong hotel. The hotel was very large and the lobby was at the top of a large set of stairs which go down to the road which runs perpendicular to Bangla Rd. We sat down and had our complementary beverages and paid for our accommodation. We were then ushered up to our rooms on the fourth floor. It was a Saturday afternoon and it was a nice feeling to be in a new place without the distraction of work or the other usual burdens.

Our room was nice and overlooked the pool. Jas' focus shifted to the free wifi and he was eager to connect his phone to check out Facebook and Instagram to check the boys in. I couldn't get on the internet but I didn't really care anyway, I did however need my phone to take photos to prove that I was actually there.. quite the dilemma. I turned on the tv; I was very excited. I was not disappointed. 80 channels would do the job. I left the tv on one of the music channels (it was probably Fashion TV) and started to unpack and freshen up. It must have been about 430pm Phuket time by now which means Saturday night footy was about to start. The plan was to head down to the Aussie Bar on Bangla to grab something to eat and watch some sport.

We left the hotel and walked down our road for about 800 metres or so. It wasn't busy but it was certainly busier than I had anticipated. There were the usuals i.e. older western blokes, quite tanned and wearing singlets with slogans like "Sherpin' n sheilas - Welcome to Bangla" (these guys are always funny to watch as it as if they are in heaven. There were some younger people too similar to our age or slightly younger. Many with the attitude "I'm in Phuket and I can do whatever I want", they are usually quite tanned and often wearing bright colours. The locals and merchants were friendly like always and they liked the look of me as they thought I was an easy target.. they might have been right.

We turned right on Bangla towards the Aussie Bar which is about 60% of the way down. I was harassed by several sunglass salesmen whilst I was looking for a pair of cheap sunnies to wear. I purchased a paid of Prada glasses and paid a fair amount for them because they need the money more than I do. They followed us all the way to the Aussie Bar as they were under the impression that I was going to let them borrow my real sunnies so they could replicate them. We walked up the stairs of the Aussie Bar and grabbed a table. The place had not changed since the first time we came year back in 2010. The place was fairly busy, 90% occupied by other Australians as you would expect. Aussie wearing singlets and drinking beer and also watching sport. I watch a lot of sport so I was quite content, I couldn't get over though, how many people were playing on their phones. Literally two thirds of the patrons there. Each to their own I guess.. right? Soon it was time to leave so we could get ready for the night ahead. The atmosphere had picked up and Bangla was starting to fill up. I noticed that our old friend Seduction had moved across to the other side of the road and it had become quite conspicuous. Gee, this was an old throw back.

We arrived back at the hotel and went for a quick swim. The pool was enormous and unoccupied as it was about 830pm. Everyone else was having or already would have had dinner; I guess you could say this was the time when hotels can become quiet. The pool was amazing and relaxing but we were running out of time so we got out and had a proper meal at the nightly dinner buffet. It was Asian themed night and there was a lot of food and no one left there to compete for it except for us. This was a good meal. We got ready (rushed albeit) and finally headed out to Bangla Rd to see where our night would take us. It was about 10pm at this time.

It was dark and warm and Bangla road was quite lively.

The tuk-tuks were pumping dance music as they drove around and everyone was upbeat as it was a Saturday night. There were some new places on Bangla which I wasn't aware of and then of course there were the places which were still running strong. When I was younger, we went to Seduction a lot. I wasn't sure if I would want to go back or if there would be other places to try. Kelmar and Vesper strongly suggested we go into Seduction, Jas liked the appeal (it was the most popular club), I said "okay".

We headed in. The nightclub had only one level but you have to go up stairs to get to it. It is fairly big with an outside balcony as well. The music was loud and there was lots of second hand smoke. Anyway, we were given the ticket / promo card for the unlimited drink re-fill special. I chose to drink from a bucket instead of a small cup, bad move. I got the bucket filled with vodka & soda. The place was pretty busy so I got carried away and drank my first bucket fairly quickly. More and more people started to come in and I kept on drinking. I was wary that I had past my normal quota of 4-5 drinks and I was starting to feel it. I decided to go back to the hotel and change my shirt. I left Seduction and jumped on the back of a moped and asked the driver to drop me off at the hotel. I put on my long-sleeve cricket shirt which I've had since I was about 14. This shirt had a high comfort level and was very versatile. I had been wearing it around the house for the last 12 months and I felt that I could wear this in Phuket without judgement and nightclub bouncers etc wouldn't care. I left the hotel and walked back to Bangla Rd. I went back inside Seduction and had some more to drink.

I was wary that the sherp would hit me soon so I decided to stop drinking. I was enjoying the night, I hadn't really been in many nightclubs for a while except Tigerlil's which is not as big and not as loud or busy. 

LV paid for me to funnel a Bacardi Breezer. Part of me wanted me to walk away as I don't really drink RTDs anymore and I had already drank enough, the other part encouraged me to challenge myself and skull the drink. I knelt down and funnelled the Breezer.

I was way past my quota and had pushed my liquid intake to the limits. I purchased a bottle of water and drank that quick to offset the other alcohol. I then purchased another bottle. Vesper challenged me to skull the bottle of water and he would skull the rest of his drink; it was difficult to say no. Both of us shouldn't have done this. After all liquid I had just consumed, I knew I had gone too far. I had no other real option but to use the technique my brother had taught me in a nightclub in Florence over 7 years earlier when I was only 19. I went to the toilets and made myself vomit up as much as I could. It worked well.

I had just vomited (tactical albeit) so I decided to call it quits and leave. It was late and I was tired so I decided to go home (it was about 1am). I woke up with a hangover the next morning but it was only really a headache. The following morning was one of the two mornings I woke up with a respectable hangover (I only had a headache) but I still made breakfast. Jas wasn't too bad; the other two, Vesper especially were not too good.

Sunday 28/6/15 - Patong & Bangla Rd

Sunday 28/7/15

It was a Sunday and 9am at that. I awoke with a headache from the night before, even after I had taken 2 panadols before I fell asleep. Jas was awake too so we headed downstairs to have some breakfast and build up our energy. I thought we would see the two others there but this would not be so. The breakfast room was next to the far end of the pool and not far from the gym as well. It was a big room with a lot of food to choose from. I kept to my vows and had my standard breakfast of rice-related products, a few eggs and fruit etc. It was quite busy but not many of the crowd were of similar age (maybe one or two groups). Most of the people there were Chinese, Arabic or young Aussie families. Jas and I would have been there for a good 40 minutes and then headed back to the room.

Jas wanted to go to the markets so we left the hotel and went for a walk. It was 10am, overcast and a bit humid. This was one of the few times I'd actually been on the streets at this time in the morning. In earlier years when I had come to Phuket I was still in bed at this time as I used to drink more at that stage of my life. We walked all the way to Jung Ceylon which was not yet open but there were quite a few people standing out the front waiting to go in.

We walked further down the road, past many places which we had visited before. There was the place where I had gone before to get facials - I liked this experience because it was so relaxing and revitalising. We went into the markets - we used to come here to buy clothes, handbags (mine was for my mum and not me) and check out sunglasses too. Between each row of stalls were small bars - these could get quite busy at night (and even during the day) with men who just wanted to drink beer and relax. These bars were not seedy but they were always interesting to watch.

We crossed the road to The Hard Rock Cafe which was a revered place which we had patronised on the last night of each visit. It was starting to get fairly hot now so I had to load up on more sunscreen. We were finally on Phuket Beach road now and it seemed to get a little busier. We could see the ocean now and we started to pass other places of importance i.e. Hungry Jacks (Whoppers), The Holiday Inn (we had lunch there once with two other Perth locals), more and more markets and then we reached Banthai. This was the hotel we used to stay at and we all very fond of this hotel, not just because of the memories but also because it was just such a great location.

There was Banthai which was at the end of a driveway off the main road so it was quiet and also inconspicuous. Then at the front there were Starbucks, McDonald's, a Mexican restaurant, a steak house, a pharmacy, a franchise pizza shop, an Irish pub and an outdoor cocktail bar. I liked the vodka bar the best: it was small and simple but it was my favourite place to have a cocktail each night before heading onto Bangla Road.

We kept walking and passed Banana Bar which was a lone nightclub across from the beach. It was from enough away from Bangla Rd that it didn't attract the attention of some of the roudier types. This was the first nightclub I had ever been in Phuket. 

Soon we turned onto Bangla and then soon we were back at Jung Ceylon.

Jung Ceylon hadn't changed much since I had been here last but I still liked it and it was still the focal point of Patong (during the day anyway). It is always so lively and there are many places to eat. Jas and I didn't buy anything, only looked around and soon headed back to the hotel to see if the others were awake. 

Time lapse - 6 hours pass (sleep, tv, Aussie Bar, food, pool and gym)

The second night soon arrived. We had spent a bit of time in the pool during the evening mucking around until it became dark. This was a big pool and I guess it is really the focal point of the hotel (Yes I know I've used this term twice in the last two paragraphs). People always come and go and all have their own routines, dictated by time or habit. You get to see a lot of people though and you can get an idea of the type of people who are staying at the hotel.

We had been in the pool for at least an hour; it was getting dark and most people were having dinner or were getting ready to head out. There was one, strange Iranian boy who had been causing trouble in the pool by approaching others and mumbling incoherent noises. We referred to him as "Golem" and he had stolen a lot of the balls we were using to play basketball with. LV launched a ball at him as the whole pool watched... he was startled and soon left the pool. This would not be our last encounter with Golem. 

It became dark and the pool was being closed for the night so we headed back to our rooms to get ready for the night ahead.

Jas turned all the lights off in our room except for the flourescent ones which made our room look like a nightclub. Fashion TV or one of the music channels was on the tv in the backround. We had a shower, I put on some fluorescent Phuket shorts and a generic Phuket tee-shirt. Vesper and Kelmar were both ready so we met outside our rooms and headed to the lift. We got out of the lift and walked through the lobby and down the stairs and onto the road. The atmosphere was lively again and it was warm but not too hot. We walked past all the usual Thai people on the road (i.e. the ladies who worked in the massage parlours, the men offering Tuk Tuks everywhere and the merchants trying to sell you clothes and souvenirs).



We went to The Pizza Co. for dinner at the top of Bangla Rd and across from Jung Ceylon. I don't really eat pizza anymore so I only had an appetiser. After dinner it was about 930pm and it was time to walk the gaunlet that is Bangla Rd. We walked halfway down it and turned left down one of the small side roads. I was hungry so I made everyone wait whilst I had a Thai curry for dinner. So we had all finally had dinner and were ready to "hit the sherp", so to speak. Kelmar and Vesper had convinced Jas and I to play beer pong for pre-drinks. I had never played this game before. We continued further down the alleyway which seemed vaguely familar but I wasn't sure why. At the end of the road on the left was a Swedish bar called "Stockholm Syndrome". We went inside and it was empty except for a few young Scandanavians and a bartender and English club promoter... I had to think for a second but then I realised that this was the place that use to be called "The Viking Bar"... no way! The same place that we had spent a lot of time at three years earlier! This was so strange.

It was getting close to 1030pm now so it was time to leave. We walked back to Bangla where I was harrassed by a Burmese tailor who tricked me into coming back the following night to buy a suit as I am a man of my word. We kept walking and ended up at Seduction again and did the drink special as we had done the night before (and would do for every other night for the rest of the trip). This time I opted for the cup option instead of the bucket; I think Jas chose the bucket. This was one of the times when I stand there drinkin' my sherp quietly, I wait there until I see an opportunity to leave and go somewhere else.

My night was short-lived. I had told Jas that I was going to go exploring for a while and come back to Seduction later. When I left the other 3 had followed me. I didn't really have a plan and was just walking around seeing what was out there. We ended up going into a Russian stripclub for a bit. The dancers were hassling us for money and people started to get angry. I did the polite thing and had a lap dance from one of the women. It was good. We left. The crew headed back to Seduction for the late run, I was fair dinkum sherp'd off so I just went back to the hotel. I watched some tv and my night soon ended; I fell asleep. When I was awoken late in the night, Jas was in a bad way. The next morning would be a challenge for him.

2016: Jan - April

It was that time of the year again between Christmas and New Year's when you never know exactly what to do with your free time. Old habits die hard and back when I was a shiftless uni student I would spend much of this time (the night portion anyway), on the internet or watching Foxtel (occasionally I would go for late night run or bike ride as well). Foxtel seemed like a good option even more so because of the four rounds of EPL over the Christmas period. I was looking forward to it, however, I had realised that all of Arsenal's fixtures were early morning so I had to record them and speed watch them the next morning. This was disappointing. NYE soon came around and I was wary not to make the same mistake as last year. I would actually do something this year and head out.

New Year's Eve

It was a Thursday night and like any other Thursday night I was on the prowl, but for what? The game plan was to catch the train into the city and meet up with the other boys. I fulfilled my end of the bargain and waited patiently across the road from Tigerlil's. Soon I was joined by the gang and there were whispers of a high potent bottle of alcohol which I would be encouraged to drink. Conjecture soon past and I was able to evade this ominous challenge.

The streets were quiet and I begrudgingly paid the $100 VIP entry fee at Tigerlil's for the NYE beach cocktail party. Expensive perhaps, for unlimited punch and some inauspicious food. I paid the bill and headed south. It wasn't busy at all but I certainly wasn't complaining as there is normally no room to move. Some of the food was good I must admit and I enjoyed the punch.

We had been hitting the sherp so to speak, and we were all enjoying the unusually quiet surroundings. Soon the punch was gone and I started to panic. I drank what I could and stayed clear of the beer. Time passed quick and soon it was midnight. The atmosphere loosened and the drinks became abundant whether I liked it or not. One or two of the boys disappeared but there were still four of us; Snr, Sull and Vesper. It was around 0130 and we kept on drinking but I was feeling fairly tired and also quite drunk so I decided it was time to make my move. I walked out onto Murray St and headed up to West Perth to freshen up and charge my phone at work before catching the train back to Fremantle. I was struggling to stay awake whilst my phone charge and almost gave up.

I kept pushing on and caught a train back to Fremantle. I couldn't wait to jump into a taxi and to head home but there were none around so I had to line up with all the 18 year olds at the taxi rank outside of Metros Freo. The young blokes were talking about getting sherp'd, chasing sheilas and mates who dog each other. It had been so long since I had waited this late at night for a taxi and especially for one outside of Metros. The taxi dropped me off on Cockburn Road and I walked a few hundred metres until I got to our house. It was after 4am and the sun had started to come up.

My drinks dossier from NYE

It's safe to say that I was fairly hungover / tired the next day but definitely not as bad as the night at Tigerlil's three weeks earlier.

January 

Two days later it was time for Goat's engagement party at his new house in Wembley. Goat's house was very nice and I very much enjoyed the night.

I went back to work on the Monday. I started running in Kings Park one night a week after work. I started doing this because I had been seeing recurring numbers every time I checked the time on my phone or looked at a clock. I didn't know what this meant but I thought I would start running.

Australia Day

It was a Tuesday and the plan was to go to Sull's for lunch, a drink or two and FIFA. I wore some old clothes and made the journey north. This is what we mainly did but to my surprise there were a few other people there and I was not appropriately dressed. Jas and I ended up on the foreshore in Burswood and played soccer until it was time for the fireworks. There were a few bogans there and also a conspicuous pair from Armadale. Their intentions were good but the bloke caused havoc and the myopic patriotism from the bogans was not well received. I enjoyed the show (both of them) but I knew the real event was about to start. I left the crew at 2025 and ran to my car. I was apprehensive and slightly scared. I focused the whole way home and managed to avoid all of the traffic which could have ruined my night. I did well.

February

Nothing overly exciting or unexpected happened, just the usual i.e. work, study, exercise, eat, sleep, tv (only in moderation), go out every third Saturday when Sull is back to the races followed by Tigerlil's / Lost Society etc. Jas, Sull and myself did discuss our America trip (more of a Vegas trip judging by our discussions), nothing really eventuated though.

March

Probably slightly busier than February and the weather was more forgiving. Dad discovered a staircase nearby called Manning Steps. I started running there once a week late at night.

A couple of nights out with the gang and I slept in my car for the second time this year and third time in the last three months. I slept outside of Sull's this time as opposed to outside of work in West Perth.

April
Work had become increasingly busy and that accompanied by the notion of study made for a stressful month. I hit the sherp twice in April, first for Mal's bucks party - a good day at the races followed by a night drinking watching sport in Northbridge. The following Friday was take two - Mal's wedding. The wedding was at Joondalup Resort and it was a really nice day / night. I managed to catch a lift back to Como / Applecross where I caught a lift home with Dad. I consumed a reasonable amount of vodka towards the end of the night but luckily I wasn't too hungover the next day, just tired.

The following week I had study leave for a tough exam and my parents are in Europe so I also had to prepare food for myself. Time will tell if my intentions were true but I do hope that I did not fail this exam again.

2015 - A year in review

2015 is soon to pass. A year of consolidation. Highlights include resting and takin' it easy (perhaps too easy i.e wknds). Let me start from the beginning.

January

As mentioned before in my brief Facebook summary, I ended last year by trying to sleep through all the commotion and anticipation of New Year's Eve. This proved more difficult than I expected. 

January brought another night where I was sleeping in my car. This time it was South Perth and I had been playing the water challenge at Tigerlil's the night before. My vigilance had paid off and my hangover was minimal.

The weather was hot and I spent a few prolonged work nights hanging around the Perth station waiting for the train home after going to the cricket.

February 

February is always an interesting month. Not always enjoyable despite being the month of my birthday. I do not recall any spectacular moments. I must have been working hard.

March

Autumn at last as the old saying goes. I was studying a CPA unit at the time so that was my primary objective. 

April

This was the month that I faced the tough decision regarding the future of my footy career. Tough indeed and I believe I played the "don't do anything and see how things pan out" card. I did not receive the call up.

May

The cold weather was a welcomed change from the balmy nights and hot days of the preceding months. Jas and I started going out most Saturday nights; I no longer had to study and the EPL started to dry up.

May is a month I have started to like. The festivities of the summer months have long since past and the new financial year is not far away.

This was also the month we decided to go to Phuket.

June

Spending too much of my time watching footy on Saturdays; a mistake I will not make again.

June 27 - time to go to Phuket. This was a good and relaxing holiday and my first in a long time (read my upcoming Phuket posts for more detail).

July

Nights - gym and watching Tour de France

Days - hitting 3 to 4 chargeable hours a day at work

August

Work picked up and I started playing ressies again. CPA study started to drop off. Optimism levels increasing.

September 

A good month of sport indeed. No more footy for me so one or two quiet drinks on a Friday night had become a possibility. 

October 

Catch up on study, so lame! 

November

After a few months of not going out or drinking, it was time for a change. Venues like the races, Tigerlil's and mid-week vodkas for lunch became the norm (I might have only done each one of these once).

I also went to the cricket.

December

It had been arguably 13 months since my last serious hangover. I had forgotten the pain and misery of my once nemesis. We would soon meet again.

It was the second Saturday of December. When I left home late that night I had brought with me my sleeping accessories. This was a bad move. I let my usual wariness slide and before I knew it I was smashed. I stumbled back to the office by around 2am, brushed my teeth and moved my car to the quasi driveway behind the office. I fell asleep quickly and awoke later on in the morning sherp'd and in really bad shape. The next 24 hours were perhaps the toughest I had faced during the year (this wasn't really saying much to be fair). It was a difficult process but eventually I climbed my way out of the abyss.

Other highlights from December - losing motivation for work and going out for work lunches every 3rd day.

Conclusion

Ironically or not, it is now 1630 on New Year's Eve. A full year has almost passed and I am about to head out for a few drinks (no more than 5) and hopefully shouldn't be home too late. Tomorrow is a new day and I plan to enjoy it with full capacity.

Stay tuned

Saturday 12/6/15 - Murray St and Hay St

It was a Saturday night and there wasn't much sport on Foxtel, so I had to leave the house. I'm 27 now so it can be a challenge to find someone who wants to go out and hit the town. Most of my other friends have a partner or a house so they stay away from these places on a Saturday night. Luckily Jas was bored and keen to go out for a bit. Jas goes out most weekends but not as often as he used to.

Came back from the gym, got ready and jumped in the car. By this time I'm pretty sure it was about 10pm. Kiel was also in the city so it looked as if we would meet up with him as well so there would be three of us. Eventually turned onto the Kwinana Fwy and drove all the way up to West Perth and turned off onto Murray St near Parliament House. West Perth was dead again like every Friday and Saturday night so you can park wherever you like. Parked my car around the corner from work and Harbourtown (Watertown now) and walked down Hay St to meet up with Jas.

Jas was in his car in the car park next to Tigerlil's. We met across the road from Tigerlil's; it was busy. I'm not sure why but Tigerlil's has become busier on Saturday nights and the line is often 30 metres or so long. Lots of younger people lining up. I'm not sure why this is but it is becoming common. We had both driven in so hadn't planned to get too sherp'd. Jas was messaging Kiel as that was the premise for him coming out in the first place; there would be three of us. In one of his messages Kiel had said something like "I'm at the George... don't come here". This was strange but I laughed. We stood across the road from Tigerlil's for awhile and then decided to walk through to Hay St (near Lost Society) to see what it was like.

Lost Society didn't look too busy but everyone around there looked fukn sherp'd or as if they were planning to get fukn sherp'd (we've all been there). We hadn't planned to have more than two or three drinks so I'm not sure Lost Society was really an option. We stood on Hay St for awhile trying to contact Kiel, he wasn't being very accommodating so eventually we decided to do a lap of the block and head home. We walked down Hay St towards the King St intersection and we turned left at King St. There were only two people on the road; a guy and a sheila. The guy was Kiel (or "The Big Fella" as he likes to be known)! Kiel was with a sheila and facing in the other direction from us. This is obviously why Kiel didn't want us to know his whereabouts.

This was one of the few times I had seen Kiel since November last year, when I slept in my car after a big night at YaYa's. So it was Kiel and a sheila and they were doing the rounds (walking around the block and talking). Jas and I instinctively split up and hid so we weren't seen. I went down an alley way and Jas back down Hay St towards Lost Society. I thought if I follow the alley way all the way around I would be behind Kiel and his acquaintance as they had turned back and started walking down King St towards St George's Terrace. After coming out of the alley way I realised that I had lost them. I was disappointed so I walked back looking for Jas on Hay St. I stood on the corner trying to contact him. I turned around again and there were again only two people on King St behind me and I was surprised as they were Kiel and the aforementioned woman.

Haha oh shit, they were looking at me too but I don't think it would have clicked as I stayed calm and slowly walked off. They walked all the way down King St to St George's Terrace and I continued to follow. Eventually I saw Jas walking back down Hay St but there were two drunk colonels that were trying to talk to him. I watched to see if anything would happen but as I did, I lost contact with Kiel. Jas eventually saw me and we walked down to St George's Terrace for a bit but then we let it go as we couldn't see them anywhere and decided to head home. I got back to my car about 1220am or so and then drove home. Kiel called me later on when I was watching TV to see if Jas and I were still in the city but we were not. We talked for a bit but then the conversation had to end as my ear was hurting from the phone.

I didn't drink any vodka this weekends as well. Was a good night.

Friday 8/5/15 - Not much just Rubix with Trav

Another Friday afternoon in the office where it is difficult to do much work because everyone else is talkin' turf instead of working. I sat at my desk from about 430 - 520 trying to get another chargeable hour in but it was too hard to concentrate so just chucked some admin onto my time sheet then tried to decide what to do.

I was meant to meet up with Trav at 5pm but it was 530 by this time so obviously that hadn't happened. I also realized that it was Mother's Day on Sunday so I didn't know what I should do for a present. I sat at my desk waiting for the decision to work itself out (sometimes someone will text me and tell me what to do).

I went out the front of the building towards Harbourtown and just stood there for a while. Then I turned around and walked around the corner to the Red CAT stop but then decided to go to the convenience store on Hay St in West Perth to grab some bananas. I had 2 bananas and then caught another Red CAT to the city.

By this time it was about 615 and I thought Trav would have just have gone home as he would have been waiting for over an hour. Turns out the big fella had hit the sherp pretty hard and was still lurking somewhere around the city. If you catch the Red CAT from West Perth into the City on Murray St, it is always very slow after 430pm and even more so on a Friday. You don't move very much so you are actually better off walking the entire way (it takes about 12 minutes).

I thought the big fella (Trav) might have left as the bus was barely moving and I would just have to catch the train home from the city. The bus finally made it adjacent to Rubix.. I was against the window so stared inside to see if it was busy. To my surprise, the big fella was at the bar and he saw me too. I gave him the arrow (a click to a thumbs up and pointed index finger) and Trav knew the deal. He ordered a vodka and soda for me (also called a frosty), the sheila prepared the drink and money was exchanged.

It still took nearly 5 minutes to make it to the CAT stop at Rayne Square and walk up back to Rubix. I saw Trav, we had a couple of drinks. It was quite lively. He had already consumed a few pints. He also had footy the next day. It was a good atmosphere. We sat outside by the road.

Some people on a Friday who frequent these bars after a long week at work, generally knock back multiple beers and try their luck with the sheilas. They get sherp'd every Friday because that's the way it is. If you wanna be top dog this is what you have to do. And the big fellas will try to convince you this is what life is all about; work hard, get the sheila and then get the promotion. I like just having a couple of drinks (sometimes) and not waking up on Saturday feeling unwell. I'm usually pretty tired so I enjoy going home anyway.

It was Trav's last day of work at this job so I probably won't see the big fella for Friday drinks for a while. We had two drinks, talked for a bit and then departed ways and headed home. I caught the train to my car and then drove home. Probably no more drinks with Trav for a while but it was good while it lasted.

Friday 10/4/15 - West Perth, East Perth and Voodoo Lounge

It was a Friday (big surprise there). My boss was on leave so I was in charge of advising clients. Not sure what I did that morning but the grad accountant in our other team was leaving so we were going out to lunch. I had submitted about 8.5 hrs of work for Thursday's time sheet so I would only have to make up about 1.8hrs the following week (Mon, Tues and Wednesday). 

Left the office about 115 and went to a deli around the corner and bought some bananas before we had lunch at 130. We went to Black Tom's again as there do not seem to be too many restaurants nearby which would be practical given time constraints. I suggested The Melbourne Hotel as it is situated between a Red CAT stop in each direction.

Lunch was okay but not many people from the office came this time (maybe 16-20 people). It was nice and relaxing. I had two vodkas. People started leaving to go back to the office or to head off and go home. The last 5 of us left just before 5 and waved goodbye to Alison as she got on the green CAT and went home.

Got back to the office just after 5 and brushed my teeth and filled up my drink bottle. The plan was to meet up with Trav at The Royal in East Perth (it was his birthday). I caught the Yellow CAT from Harbourtown and got off in East Perth.

The Royal was good and not too busy. Birdy was also there and I hadn't seen him very often since we went to Phuket the second time back in September 2011. Quite a long time ago. Jas and another of Trav's WASM mates rocked up and we conversed and watched the footy. I had 2 vodkas there also. 

The Royal had a nice ambience. I liked it. I had planned to catch the train home to Fremantle but my brother had messaged me saying our uncle's bucks party had just made its way to Voodoo Lounge in Northbridge. Voodoo Lounge is a strip club for those of you who are not familiar with the name.

We all left The Royal probably around 940. Jas dropped me off on Aberdeen St in Northbridge and I walked to the Gentleman's Club to say "G'day" or "Hi" to everyone. I brought my hand bag in but it was recommended that I leave it in the cloak room. I found the girl working at the cloak room to be attractive. 

Some of the dancers were desirable and also friendly. I stood in the middle of the walkway and ate the ice from my glass of sherp.

I was approached by some of the models. I wasn't really in the mood to talk or to pay them so I tried just standing there but they seem to be accustomed to that type of behaviour. The last time I was in a strip club was in 2013. I was in there for about 20 minutes and spent $200 on lap dances and then went home. I saw a scruffy looking slugga playing with one of the dancer's hair without her permission; she didn't like that.

Before you knew it, it was time to go home as someone had been asked to leave the club. We Caught one of those English Cabs back to Port Coogee (the ones where you have to face backwards); I get carsick so it was tough.