By The Hunger
Whether I’m in Sydney or anywhere else in the world, hangovers still feel like previews of hell. Hangovers in foreign countries have all the makings of the home-grown version, but laced with exoticism. Sometimes it’s more alien than foreign.
I’d like to meet the person who said, “You don’t get hangovers when you’re on holiday’’. I’ve had hangovers abroad that Amy Winehouse would have been proud of. Maybe this guy came from the bad part of Mogadishu. Or maybe some people just feel so good to be out seeing another page of the world they are oblivious to the bad parts.
Drinking Culture
Each country has engineered a respective Drinking Culture. Economics, logistics, politics, religion are just a few of the forces that combine to affect how, how much, what, when and why people drink what they do. Why is it that wine is rarely drunk in Asia? Why do the Dutch prefer small beers and the Germans big beers? Even drinking the same drink, pints and pots, shots and steins all distinguish different drinking cultures apart.
Guinness tastes different in different countries. Marlboro tastes different in different places. How you get drunk varies from climate to climate, especially when you’re surrounded by foreigners doing the same thing. The same factors also contribute as to why a hangover could register better or worse.
- Climate
- Local beer quality
- Local glass size
- Free pour versus laser measurement
- Smoke inside
- Altitude
- Local drinks
- Ambience
- The cost
- Drinking speed
I believe climate is the umbrella under which all other factors fall under. Some climates are better for drinking beer, whereas others may be better for rum, or raki or gluhwein. These climate specific factors even change within a country; I bet the local drink in Alaska is not the same as Hawaii.
People feel different in different countries. Naturally, if it’s a different version of drunk, it’s going to be a different version of hangover.
This week, I arrived in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The drinking dynamics of the previous night’s festivities will affect what type of mental labyrinth I’ll walk around the next day. The input affects the output.
Are the girls I meet on holiday the same as if I met them in their home country? Does a flag change its colours when it’s in a different place? Do flags shine brighter in their home country?
I had an encounter the other day that began with a look and ended with a flag showing me her true colours. I was out with some buddies from the hostel and I got to talking with a Cuban girl bizarrely named Nairobi, and her friends. We hit it off from the start and whilst communicating in my limited Spanish, she gave me her phone number.
My Spanish became really good; however, when she asked if I’d pay for her and her friends’ drinks, I got up, placed a 5 euro note under my glass, and “Buenos Noches Senoritas” as I left.
I don’t know much about the Drinking Culture in Cuba – maybe the comrade thing has come and gone – but expecting to be bought drinks is not sexy, and women from all countries are prone to think they deserve free drinks from guys to be in their company. Where do they think they are, a Las Vegas blackjack table where you get free drinks only if you gamble? I shouldn’t have to buy drinks for girls in order to speak with them. This is one number I won’t be calling.
Meeting people is great when you’re abroad. Foreign hangovers remind us that we are mortal. Put on your best performance and let’s hope people remember the best part of your flag.
i found out that drinking at high altitudes gives you massive hangovers even with moderate drinking. In Bolivia now at 3800 meters.