What's the craziest drink you've had?

Horror holiday hangovers

HOW did you get the hangover from hell on your overseas holiday when you only had a few drinks?

"Every culture has its own potent brew," says Dr Tony Gherardin, National Medical Adviser to The Travel Doctor group. "In Bali it might be arrack, which is akin to straight vodka. In China, it's a Mai Thai which smells like kerosene.

"But because your body isn't used to it, it's going to affect you differently. And where the locals would have maybe a small shot, after a meal, we go there and drink in much larger quantities."

One such cultural brew involving a preserved seahorse was the undoing of Mark, 35, while holidaying in Hanoi, Vietnam.

"There were vendors at little tables on the streets with jars of liquids with things submerged in them – apparently that was the national liquor.

"We sat at one of the stools and drank shots out of one promising looking jar, which had preserved seahorses floating in it. The guys serving us told us it was made from quality rice from a local village.

"It was pretty raw – but after a few shots my throat was anaesthetised enough for it to go down without too much trouble.

"After a few hours I made it back to my hotel, not feeling too tipsy at all. But the next morning was another story altogether. Head spinning and pounding, stomach churning, I had to travel 500km south to Vinh, squashed into a four wheel drive with half a dozen others.

"I found out later that the stuff I'd drunk was made from cassava not rice, and with all sorts of additives, seahorses the most benign. I made it through the day, dry retching in the car. I was sick the next day too. Being offered cold steamed sheep's tripe for breakfast didn't really help."

"Cultural brews" are pop luck

So what is it that you are drinking?

Arrack, Mai Thai and Jungle Juice are just some of the generic names given to the mysterious potent cultural brew whose ingredients change depending on the vendor, their budget, locale and maker. The truth is, you don't really know what's in them.

Dr Gherardin says this is the most likely cause of those hellish holiday hangovers – not knowing what is in your drink.

As Mark discovered in Vietnam, you may be getting cassava and a dead seahorse when you think you're getting rice.

Be careful, and as Dr Gherardin warns, "be particularly wary of home-distilled spirits from friendly hosts. These can contain methanol instead of ethanol, which can make you go blind."

Hangover cures

And how do you deal with that hangover from hell?

Drink lots of water, says Dr Gherardin, and replenish your glucose levels by drinking cordial or juice.

Make sure you travel with electrolyte sachets on hand to mix with water, according to Louisa Comito, a naturopath based in Melbourne. She also says black coffee can take away the pounding head, if you can stomach it.

"Hangovers are the result of your body being poisoned, so you need to flush out the toxins. Lots and lots of water," Comito says.