Sitting ringside on the Thai island of Koh Phi Phi, Chops yet again states “I’ll have the guy in the red shorts” (I should probably clarify that this was a statement of where he would be putting his money and not one of sexual preference). A few minutes later as a pair of red shorts and their occupant are lying on the floor of the ring Chops is handing over more lost Bahts and we are heading back to the bar. An unusual promotion of “Free buckets at midnight” means that I don’t even have to spend any winnings on these evil concoctions of Whisky, Thai Redbull, Coke and god knows what else (not necessarily in equal quantities!). Four drunken Englishmen is the inevitable result.
On how many other nights out can you take in the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and the Sphinx, whilst still finding time to ride a Venetian Gondola, watch a pirate ship battle and receive free drinks from blinging waitresses? Joining us on this twelve-hour bender were three other English girls (Sara, Zoe and Leanne) as we head up and down the strip in search of our fortune. $10 on black…no red…no wait…..doh!
To celebrate the birth of niceness 22 years earlier we hit the hostel bar for some beverages. Many Tsingtao’s later and we are all merry (apart from Chop’s who has gone off to phone Lou…well he wouldn’t want to actually turn up for a birthday celebration now would he?). I even gave Dave a lovely present of a seven-balling to celebrate the occasion (I couldn’t possibly have not mentioned that now, could I?). There were some rough faces (and stomachs) during the next morning’s trip to the Great Wall though!
Now this one is very hazy. Our New Orleans Night Out included an Aussie, a German and a guy from Miami. There were definitely Hurricanes involved (the local cocktails of mysterious content) and there was a lot of live music in the bars of the French Quarter. Also, we have vague recollections of a wicked Piano version of Suspicious Minds and the Aussie guy walking out with the High Queen of Biffonia (even more amusingly, we found out the next day that she had ditched him outside!!!). Many thanks to the hostel owners for allowing us to bum around feeling rough, and trying to recall how we got home, till about 6pm the next day!
The Goatman’s last bow before heading off to Los Angeles (and then home) was spent on the streets of New York City. Heading down to ‘the village’ for a Thai meal, we then amazingly put our trust in the Lonely Planet to find us a bar. Even more amazingly, we put our trust in Chops to locate it. Whatever next? At least two encounters with absolute loony women follow, all rounded off with flying elbow drops on a foetally positioned Goatman just off Broadway at 4am!
Having blown all our Kiwi dollars on adventure sports we were only able to muster one night out in New Zealand and this was reserved for the big mans send off in Queenstown (well at least we wouldn’t have to try and get through airport security with him anymore!). Special guests for the evening’s curry and beer festivities are Clare and her boyfriend (daughter of Gerry from New Plymouth and Watson family friends). Yet again the night ends with a parting wrestle from the big man but luckily all our shins remained intact!!!
Now at this point I have realised that basically there were far too many nights out and so I am doing the only thing possible to try and fit as many as possible into this top ten…I am cheating. Hence the fourth place on the list goes to all the Sydney and Melbourne nights out. There were several Victoria Bitter fuelled affairs which featured special guests ranging from Karl Kennedy and Joe Scully right through to Hull University Graduates, Levo, Lauren and Trav as well as many others. It’s all good.
All aboard for the unofficial night tour of Bangkok. Anton (a friend of the Big Man’s who works over here) will be the guide for the four of us along with his brother Ben and friend H. What follows involves full on violence, naked women, a lot of alcohol and all rounded off with kebabs. Hang on a minute, maybe this should be number 1??? Unfortunately, things go sour as the Big Man is relieved of his wallet and glasses by some delightful individual, which doesn’t really give the night the best of endings.
Arriving on the Thai Island of Koh Phan Gan five days in advance of Friday’s Full Moon, we find ourselves with just enough time to make a bunch of new friends in Chokkana resort before the partying gets underway. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are all spent in the company of our large group (including Nicol, Sara, Shai, Niso and many more) on the beaches of Hat Rin. Mr Chang and Mr Singha also put in quite a few appearances as well!
The streets of Cairns were packed with St George’s Crosses on flags, faces and shirts. Amongst them we were decked out in full colours with a combination of Beckham Mohawks, painted faces and Chops even sporting a cross shaved into his head (well he’s always been a huge football fan!!!). The hill of our resident pub is packed with people who all promptly go nuts as England’s Captain hits a penalty into the back of the net and then again as the final whistle goes to confirm the victory over Argentina. Partying galore follows and, with even more beer being drunk and tables danced on, an all night celebration gets underway. The next morning is an ugly affair. Mohicans lop-sided, face paint smeared and Gareth still sporting the now blurry 1-0 score prediction he had written over his chest sometime the previous afternoon. Always trust a goat!!!