Dear All,
One of the things I like most about living here is the respect for culture and traditions including, the “Happy Hour”.
In our previous world I subscribed to a more Mediterranean time frame for drinking and dining and had to be dragged from the home before 21:45. Today all that has changed and with military precision I reach for the bugle shortly before 19:00 to promote and then shortly afterwards, proclaim our departure, unfortunately (particularly for our coiffes) by Tuk Tuk.
The tradition in many other countries where I have served or been served is more like “OK Hour” and usually not worth the bother. The establishments are often challenged, the savings governed by complex formulas (buy 4 get the 6th at 20 percent of the 2nd item) and subsequently the joy rather curtailed. Here it is an institution, the 50% savings on all (not just Miller Draft) beverages is significant and like the Yellow Submarine, everyone is onboard until at least 20:00
The publicans play fair too, no reindeer games. Staff don’t hide, struggle with the cash register or scoff when your insatiable thirst for savings or mojitos comes late in the game. Be it the NGO boys and their afterthought of two more Sangria pictures or my wife’s Cappuccino (she still struggles with the true meaning of it all) une heure est une heure. My SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) is to quickly book a return ticket on the “Long Island Express” and once that trip is done, sling out of Singapore or liberate Cuba shortly before it all comes to an end.
Inspired Friday night order restored we eventually return to our waiting Tuk Tuk. As a result of the above it now more resembles a chariot worthy of Cinderella (if she’s stayed out until 05:30am) and without any of the previously mentioned inhibitions, it merrily whiskeys us off to diner. Considering our state, usually somewhere safe and manageable, no Korean “Hot Pot” or Swiss Fondue (an available option), that is for sure...
Cheers indeed,
Mw
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