A tourist is amazed by Australia’s drinking culture after his trip to Sydney coincided with Mardi Gras.
American traveler Chris Zhou, 35, took to TikTok this week after his short outing to watch the event turn into a weekend-long party to ask, “When do people sleep here?”
The content creator, who appeared blurry and exhausted in his video, disagreed that his followers failed to warn him of what lay ahead.
“I’m shocked I’m alive because you my friends didn’t warn me about Mardi Gras… This isn’t just any party,” he said.
He added that what would be considered a pretty big party in the United States is only a fraction of what he experienced in Australia.
Chris Zhou from America talked about his Mardi Gras experience and wondered if he still had the energy to be gay
Thousands packed into the CBD for the massive celebration last weekend (Photo: Sydney Mayor Clover Moore during the parade)
“You know that when you have a party at home, it starts at maybe 11 p.m. and ends at about 5 a.m. and that’s considered a pretty wild night?”
‘Here? No no no. You have a pre-party at someone’s house, and then you have a day party that starts at 2 or 3 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m.,” he said.
At the time, he said he was looking forward to ending it and going to bed early.
‘But no, no. Then you have a night party, which starts from 10 p.m. to about 5 a.m. and then there’s an after party at someone’s house that ends at about 9 a.m.’
Then there’s brunch! When the hell do these people sleep?’
Chris had assumed he’d have a nice week-long break between Mardi Gras and the 2023 Sydney WorldPride celebration, but the final straw was when he learned the two were pretty much one big party, triggering his TikTok meltdown.
‘Apparently all Australians outside of Sydney knew about this because they’re all running out of the city now, they’re all going home.
“But my friends and I are stuck here for another weekend for WorldPride and I don’t know if I still have that much Pride left in me.
“After this trip, I don’t know if I’ll be gay,” he said, bursting into tears from exhaustion.
Commentators on his video assured him that he would only need a day or two to recover and that he would be fine – with a good story to tell.
“That’s get the drinks ready, pre’s, the actual party, the after party, kick-ons, and brunch.” That’s how it goes… you’re welcome!’ one person said.
“It sounds fantastic, but I’m going to take a nap now after hearing how exhausted you are,” added another.
“Hahaha, I visited from Melbourne, the city was poppin’,” a third added.
The party continues throughout the week and will merge with WorldPride Celebrations this weekend
Oxford Street was overrun with revelers after the Saturday night parade
About 12,500 demonstrators on 200 floats danced, sang and celebrated as they commemorated the return of the parade.
Many parade attendees later migrated to the Mardi Gras celebration in the Entertainment Quarter, which was followed by the Mardi Gras Laneway in the early afternoon.
The event – ‘the epitome of kick-ons’ – started as a portable speaker on a milk crate. It has since grown into a party with multiple dance floors and an open-air stage that can accommodate 10,000 ticket holders until early Monday morning.
WorldPride has one more week before it ends with a historic march across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, where 50,000 people are expected to join in a call for global equality.
WorldPride has been dubbed Sydney’s largest event since the 2000 Olympics and is expected to welcome more than half a million people at its approximately 300 events.
