Travelers put a lot of thought into the things they take traveling—whether they’re high-tech gadgets, fancy clothes, or other people. But the best, most affordable, useful and reliable travel companion? There’s only one. 

The only thing worse than a hangover is a hangover in Southeast Asia. Thanks to soul-sucking heat, sweltering humidity and the unbridled commotion of daily life, all of the regular symptoms are made infinitely worse. Dehydration? Worse. Headache? Worse. Sensitivity to light? Worse. Anxiety? Don’t even mention it. The only good thing hangovers in Southeast Asia is that, by and large, they’re cheap.

And so it is as I awaken, gruesomely, in a hammock on a remote beach in the Philippines, moments from death, and with only 20 minutes to get myself together before I’m due to rejoin my crew (the instigators of this hangover) and sail on to our next destination.