KEY POINTS:
It's the start of the night and Emma, Nicola, Alex and Imogen are drinking at Irish pub O'Hagans at the Viaduct because Imogen got a new job and because, well, "it's Thursday".
They're on the beers and wines at the moment but the night has the potential to
go "down the tequila road".
Three of the women, aged in their mid-to-late 20s, are from England. They don't think Kiwi women are promiscuous, Imogen (the only Kiwi) can remember only one embarrassing moment in the past 10 years.
The girls drink because they want to loosen up.
"I'll drink to get drunk if I know I don't have anything to do the next day," Imogen says. "And I like to dance. If I'm sober I probably wouldn't have enough courage to dance. When you get a bit pissed you have a good time." Across the room, Nicole, 37, and Lizzi, 30 are having wine celebrating a friend's 30th birthday.
The well-dressed pair have both recently given birth so nights like these are rare.
They used to pull all-nighters in their "wild days" but their husbands are home with the babies so tonight won't be a biggie.
The Auckland University of Technology lecturers flatted together in the city and would often be seen on the Viaduct drinking wine or vodka.
Further up town on Queen St, a man in a T-shirt with scribbling on it is being held up by his mates as they stumble down the road. Turns out it's the 32-year-old's stag do and he's collecting signatures and kisses from unsuspecting women.
He did not want to be named out of fear of retribution from his wife-to-be.
The group of about eight had started out at the best man's house with an innocent barbecue - or so the groom thought. Next thing it had led to one-too-many Jagermeister shots and a dare to see if he could collect 100 signatures by sunrise. The kisses were a bonus.
The group heads to Showgirls strip club on Customs St. They'd better not go to Rex's bar. The burly bouncer is checking IDs at a nearby club.
He says he makes people stand on one leg and count to 10 if he suspects they're too drunk.
"If they can't do it then they're out. But you only get two or three a night that are off their face."
Meanwhile, Rory and his flatmates are ready to head home after having a few "quiet ones" at First Base Bar & Nightclub on Fort St, because they have work tomorrow.
They're in Burger King having a late-night snack.
But hang on, are these guys beating teenage stereotypes and are not keen for an all night bender? "Oh believe me, we get rowdy," Rory says through mouthfuls.
"Wait til Saturday, that's our big night. We cause havoc. We'll be the ones pulling down street signs and jumping in waterfalls."
And the culprit: Heineken. Rory drinks about four boxes a week.
"I mostly drink in the weekends but I enjoy a good brew after work to wind down, get out of work mode."
The boys, however, wouldn't be caught dead at the Viaduct. They call it the meat market - where you go if you want to get laid.
You only have to sit in Burger King for 15 minutes to see the calibre of people who get the munchies after drinking.
One straggly-haired dude, who looks far too young to get into any of the bars, enters with a boom box and bursts into an impromptu breakdance on the tiles in front of the counter.
It's 11pm, and outside, Charlotte and her gaggle of scantily-clad, barely 18, blonde friends stumble out of a taxi because "you have to drink your bottle of wine at home so you're already drunk before you go out, plus it's too expensive to buy drinks".
"Although," she says, "guys buy girls all the drinks anyway, if you're nice to them."
And does accepting a drink guarantee a goodnight kiss? A phone number at least?
"No way ... unless they're hot, but hot guys don't usually buy drinks for girls." Several males snigger at the loud group.
"You can spot the teeny-boppers from a mile away," says one of them. "They drink to get drunk, they wear enough make-up to paint a fence with and wear skirts as short as belts. They make you think you're in with a chance but when they get their Vodka Cruiser they'll bugger off and look at you weirdly if you try to approach them again. They're teasers."
Is the 30-something-year-old bitter about his own advances going wrong?
"They're just immature little girls that can't handle their piss. We don't care about them."
