I went out for a “few drinks” to celebrate a small win at work, and it turned into a 10-hour blackout that resulted in a total stranger waking up in my spare room.
The night started at a craft beer spot in Tanjong Pagar around 6 PM. Three pints in, I met some guys who were doing a bar crawl. By 9 PM, we were at a cocktail bar in Telok Ayer throwing back negronis. That is the last clear memory I have.
According to my Grab history and credit card/bank alerts, the “crawl” ended at a China Pub near Jalan Besar around midnight.
I woke up at 10 AM today in my own bed with the mother of all migraines. I stumbled out to the kitchen to get water, and there was a woman I didn’t recognize casually making tea. She saw me, smiled, and said in Mandarin, “You’re finally awake. You were a mess last night.”
Apparently, I spent four hours at her pub buying towers of beer and expensive flower garlands. When the place closed at 4 AM, I was so incoherent that I couldn’t even book my own ride. Somehow, I convinced her that I lived nearby and she ended up accompanying me back to my place to make sure I didn’t face-plant in the elevator.
I checked my banking app. Between the three bars and the “tips” at the pub, I am down nearly $1,500. I have a massive bump on my head, no idea where my physical credit card is, and this hostess is currently asking if I want to go grab dim sum since she “guided me home safely.”
I’m a grown man with a professional career and real responsibilities. Yet, I’m currently hiding in my own bathroom, wondering how I’m going to get a complete stranger out of my house without making it weirder than it already is.
Don’t bar hop on an empty stomach. Actually, just don’t bar hop for 10 hours straight.