Part 3 of a mini-series of my short getaway to Batam.

The event was a birthday party for a really rich man. And my job was to make straight up drinks (Bacardi with Coke or orange juice) at the reception and mojito at the dinner buffet.

CliffsNotes version of the party:

1. Themed party “Indiana Jones” style.
2. Realistic props and setup with fake entrance of cave to large pythons on trees to real snakes and an eagle to fire torches to fire-eater-shaman. Quite Survivor-elimination feel, if you know what I mean.
3. Drinks reception at The Island Bar with waiters and waitresses dressed as… I have no idea what they were dressed as with sarongs and cloths.
4. Sketch on improvised Indiana Jones (which includes “flying” across the waters to a huge rock in the middle of the sea).
5. Flying foxing across the dinner tables to the stage as a continuation of the sketch during the reception.
6. Fireworks.

While the party guests danced to the band and singers onstage, we started to relax and admired Mervin and a local bartender flairing empty Bacardi bottles and boston shakers. When we were free to leave the party, we headed to our rooms to wash up and rest.

At about 2 in the morning, we ordered for a cab to take us to the city where we got free entrance to a discothèque. (One of us befriended one of the local bartenders who got us in.) The moment I stepped into Planet Discotheque, the strong smell of medicated oil and loud hard techno music greeted me.

It took me awhile to lighten up because I spent the first hour worrying that someone might spike our drinks when no one was paying attention. So after we finished our jugs of beer, I got onto the dance floor with them and started dancing.

I guess either the beer or the music must have some control over my body because the next thing I knew was that I started shuffling for the first time. After a couple of hours, Mervin noted that the style I was shuffling in was—apparently—the malay-style. I had no idea since I was trying to learn this dance move via YouTube and I guess my shuffling was nowhere near compared to the real shuffling style.

I tried explaining to him that I do not know how to shuffle, that it was the first time I displayed that on the dance floor, and that whatever he saw was the beer. He gave me the finger and it took me a long while to realize that that meant that he did not believe me when I told him that never shuffled before instead of him realizing that I did not know how to shuffle after I told him it was my first time shuffling. (Confusing? I don’t blame you. I spent 15 minutes trying to type that out.)

I was truly exhausted after I left and slept soundly during the ride back to the resort.