Drunken antics

First night in Shianikville. I wanted to detox down while down at the beach asit seemed we'd been doing nothing but drinking in Pnom phen.

We eat dinner at Utopia's bar and the bar chick comes to see if we'd like a drink. Jo grabs a beer while I decline. I decline at least three more times over the course of the next half hour! I also explain I'm in detox. Then happy hour begins...

The bar girl comes over again and asks if I'd like a drink yet. I say no but she then explains how it's happy hour, the beers are only 25c and asks how I can possibly say no to that? Next thing I know me and Jo are chugging through the beers along with a couple of the guys around us. This included a giant of a kiwi - 6 foot 9 - and his 5 foot 2 french-canadian girlfriend.

We drink up (also get offered jobs at the bar) and then move on down to the beach. Here we play a bit of pool with the Kiwi and his girl and order some Mekong buckets (actual buckets of booze; whisky and mixer). We have the first one, complain it wasn't strong enough and get another. We complain this one tastes like lollies and demand yet another one - but stronger! This happens twice more with each time us asking for a stronger one until he finally just tips a whole bottle of whisky in for us.

Needless to say we were drunk as a skunk with six legs by the end of it!

We go to pay at the end and he tells us that we can pay now, tonight, 2moro or not at all (this is the owner and he's drunk as too). We naturally decide the last option sounds like a good choice and do a runner to the next bar.

Here Jo and I decide a swim is in order. We also decide to try and get everyone we can to join us. We strip down and then go 'collecting'. Picking girls up and carrying them in with us (none really minded) and the water was soooo good. Great times.

We then realised we were drunk, called it quits and headed for home - followed, and surrounded, by a group of Cambodian girls.

On the way a guy grabs my shirt and drives off on his motorbike - as a joke. I ran after him but I had no chance. So Jo jumps on some other guys motorbike and gives chase. So there is Jo, drunk as, driving a manual motorbike for the first time, chasing a guy who drives motorbikes for a living down a very wet and slippery road. i watch them reach the first corner and head out of sight. Or the Cambodian does anyway.

Jo just crashes straight into the gutter. He comes up unhurt though and only has to pay $2 to fix the gear lever on the bike which bent. The guy then gave my shirt back and off we went again, back to Utopia.

We finally reach the Guesthouse but find the gates closed and locked and there's an imposing 7 foot high fence surrounding the place with spikes all over it. With no other option open to us, we scale the fence and drop in. I land on the guard dog who promptly bites my lip and we then learn there's a security guard who lets you in when you knock - could have told us! Jo heads off to bed but I decide I am a little pekish and join a Cambodian guy for a quick midnight feast across the road.

We go in and I order a noodle dish for me and a beer for him. I then find I have no money (lost/stolen at the beach). The guy tells me not to worry and pays for my dinner! Awesome. The bar girl then gives me a beer. I explain I have no money but she says not to worry and they start giving me more beers and bottles of water for free. They're also cracking up and I'm guessing that me eating noodles with chopsticks is not the smoothest of operations when drunk.

After a bit I started getting the feeling they were trying to get me wasted and that the guy next to me wasn't straight. I freak and run back to the guesthouse. Forgetting about the guard, I climb over once more, this time ripping my shirt in the process.

Next morning we also find that Jo has lost his shirt and shoes on the way home. We also have no idea where our dignity ended up.

But it was fun and I wouldn't trade the night for a whole packet of gum!