My weekend: So this is what it feels like to have a social life

Friday Night

My throat's been sore all week, and by Friday I was losing my voice.

Catz & I had semi arranged with Michael and Agata to have a night out in Bangkok with them, but then they went and cancelled on us because they were tired. But we still wanted to go out, so I texted half the people in my address book. Then found out it was Steve's birthday. So we went with him and a bunch of others to Club Astra, where while we were waiting for the others to arrive a guy on a motorcycle offered us drugs. We said no obviously.

Eventually got home and fell into bed about 3am.

Saturday

Slept in til about 10:30, which I think is a tiny bit scandalous to the family (once they realised we were in! Two people opened the door during the morning, I guess assuming we weren't home). Then we went shopping and bought new shoes (Merry Christmas to me!)

It's the Christmas party this evening, so we get dressed up nice (I'm wearing my prettiest dress and a big red paper bow in my hair) and head out. Ajarn Uthai has told me that the sorngtao I normally take home from school goes right to the hotel where they're holding the party, so out we go and hop in the next one. So we're driving along, and all we know is that we get out at the last stop – the end of the line. We can do that. And we're driving along, everyone else gets out one by one until it's just us left. And then we stop. Is this the end of the line? How do we tell? The driver gets out. “Where you go? Nonthaburi?”. “Nonthaburi Palace Hotel” (unfortunately I have almost no voice left by now). “Ah, Nonthaburi,” he says, and gets back in the cab. He's going to take us right to the hotel? Cool! Off we go. Wait, wasn't that the hotel? And isn't this the road into town? Er, yup. The dear, sweet driver has driven us all the way into town (guess he figured the crazy farangs got confused). Fine, we can just get a taxi from the pier back up the road to the hotel. We're already late – party started at 6, and it's now nearly half past. So we're looking for a taxi when we spot Murph (buying booze – surprise). He says no-one's planning to show up to the party before about 7:00, so we join him, Alicia and Kerry on the pier for a drink (then some of my students come and sit nearby. Is it at all possible they didn't notice the big bottle of Sangsom in the middle of our group?). [As an aside: the spellchecker doesn't like the word “Sangsom”. Its suggestions include “ransoming” and “boomerangs”. Gotta love it for trying!]

We finally get going to the party, leaving the others on the pier, and arrive about 7. Everyone else is already there – but the good news is we've missed the boring speeches and we're just in time for the buffet! After the buffet: karaoke. We beat a hasty retreat and back to the pier to meet Jess and PK. And then... Khao San.

Oh, bit of drama for the night: about 2:30am, we were in Sunset bar, and suddenly Adam comes rushing over. “Whatever you do, don't go to the toilets for the next half hour or so”. And we're like, “why, what did you do?!” and he tells us a huge fight has just kicked off at that end of the bar between these Thai guys and they'd been chucking chairs around and stuff. Excitement! They end up in a long stand-off in the road, which we watch from our position at the first floor window.

Stayed out til 4am. We're so hardcore.

Sunday

It's Christmas eve! Sleep til about midday (shocking!), then go into town to find some lunch. There are carollers outside the mall singing “Joy to the world” and “Hark the herald Angels” – in Thai! These must be all 20 of Nonthaburi's Christians. They give me a little book about Jesus, all in Thai. Cool.

Home for a nap, then out to the mall to meet PK, Jess and Pete for pizza (yes!) and bowling. I scored 115 in one game – I got two strikes in a row! Yay me.

Home for an early night. Well it would have been, but then we watched “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Ed Wood” on HBO, so not so early. And then while we were getting ready for bed I stubbed my little toe on the corner of the bed. And then it started bleeding and was very painful and I felt rather queasy, so that was annoying.