Last time I travelled on business with colleagues, I was 6 months sober. It wasn’t a glamour destination although it was where I’d gone to Uni, and I hadn’t been back since the 90s. I knew my colleagues drank, but I didn’t know it was that much! We started in a pub (well they started, I just watched) before adjourning to what was a very good and authentic Chinese restaurant. An unknown trick from living in Asia is to order Chinese tea and when you want more, leave the top off the teapot - the staff know you want a refill, and it’s free! Despite being seven beers down, my colleagues noticed and all ordered a tea! After the meal, they went, not surprisingly, to another pub! I made excuses and walked across town to my old Uni and ordered a non-alcoholic drink in the student bar - the students must’ve thought I was some lost mad professor, but I’m sure I enjoyed that drink way more than my colleagues’ beer(s) back at the pub.
These colleagues weren’t doing roadworks or such, they were supposedly professionals doing defence-related work. You’d think such trips would be a trigger, but if anything, I wanted to drink even less after witnessing that evening.
Have a good trip, Forwards 👍