Mixing alcohol and kava (I know, I know) while traveling in Fiji.

[Pacifico]

I booked a ticket to Sydney today. I am likely doing a four-day side trip to Fiji. I will be with a friend that has never drank kava before. We will be traveling for two weeks and likely doing some boozing like we always do when traveling. I know that this can end up being all kinds of bad but I don't know how to go to Fiji without having a little kava there. My first instinct is to just go out for kava on the first night and take it easy. Has anyone been in the same situation?

 

[wormwood]

Putting the two together could really dehydrate you to a very large degree. That would be my concern, moreso than any liver issues etc.

 

[Pacifico]

Putting the two together could really dehydrate you to a very large degree. That would be my concern, moreso than any liver issues etc.

Yeah... not on the island long enough to lose my liver. I am assuming that we will be dehydrated no matter what. When we are having a good time at night, we always joke that the reef will dehydrate us in the morning.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

If you're of good health, it probably won't be too bad, if you only do it a couple times and keep the dosages of one or the other on the lower side. Most important, would be the distance you put between them. Getting trashed on alcohol for days on end and then jumping into a full on kava session could be rough. I've done it in the same day a few times, where I'll be at a friends house and have a few drink (alc.) then go home several hours later and have kava. There were a couple times where those few drinks were also preceded buy a heavy night of drinking(alc.) and the following days kava felt distinctly more harsh, nauseating and all-around less pleasurable. Definitely inadvisable.
If your Fiji portion of the trip is in the beginning, I'd personally suggest doing 2 nights (or more) of full on kava sessions. Then when you get to Australia you can start in with the Ethanol. If the trip is in reverse, it might feel horrible to abruptly stop a week or two of boozing and suddenly switch to kava.

 

[Pacifico]

If you're of good health, it probably won't be too bad, if you only do it a couple times and keep the dosages of one or the other on the lower side. Most important, would be the distance you put between them. Getting trashed on alcohol for days on end and then jumping into a full on kava session could be rough. I've done it in the same day a few times, where I'll be at a friends house and have a few drink (alc.) then go home several hours later and have kava. There were a couple times where those few drinks were also preceded buy a heavy night of drinking(alc.) and the following days kava felt distinctly more harsh, nauseating. Definitely inadvisable.
If your Fiji portion of the trip is in the beginning, I'd personally suggest doing 2 nights (or more) of full on kava sessions. Then when you get to Australia you can start in with the Ethanol. If the trip is in reverse, it might feel horrible to abruptly stop a week or two of boozing and suddenly switch to kava.

Those are good thoughts. I am trying to think of a "beer before liquor, you've never been sicker -- liquor before beer, you're in the clear" thing to say in terms of kava and alcohol. Everything I come up with in my head sounds really lame.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Its;
"If in the same day, stay away"

 

[Pacifico]

Its;
"If in the same day, stay away"

Get krunk, get drunk, but don't get krunk drunk.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Get krunk, get drunk, but don't get krunk drunk.

That works too
I might alter the look a bit...hmm...:
"Get krunk, get drunk, but don't get krunk drunk."

 

[verticity]

...but I don't know how to go to Fiji without having a little kava there.

If you're in Fiji, you must drink kava. How often do you have an opportunity to have fresh kava in a place where it is traditionally consumed? Just don't drink alcohol on Fiji. Save that for Aus.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Most of Fiji drinks dry powder. But if you found a farmer, perhaps you could get some fresh.
That would definitely be my goal.
Goals:

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

I have used Kava to reduce my alcohol intake by more than 80% of what it used to be. In order to do this I have used Kava and alcohol in close proximity to each other. I can say that once you ingest the alcohol, it will wipe out the good that you've felt with the Kava so it will be a waste of Kava and do more potential damage to your health if you mix them. Drinking Kava after alcohol will likely just make you feel sick. The side effects of both are amplified when they are mixed, for sure. Unless you're using Kava to stop drinking alcohol, you will enjoy both much more if you don't consume them together. Make one night Kava night, one night alcohol night, etc. If you can't have a Kava night without including alcohol, there is a problem, though I do not think there is an issue with using a light Kava during the day and having a few drinks at night after the Kava has run it's course. I've done this daily and liver tests show normal function (obviously everyone's body and situation will be different).

 

[TheKavaSociety]

When I was in Port Vila I noticed that some young people drink booze after kava. And not just a little beer or two, but there are guys who go for vodka after kava. Nobody seems to think it's a wise thing to do, but young guys just want to get "really drunk". I guess young men are the same everywhere. Older guys just stick to kava.
In New Zealand some people use beer or wine as an after-kava-session chaser.

I personally hate mixing the two. I like enjoying pure kava effects. I also avoid drinking caffeinated drinks before or after my kava sessions. I guess mixing booze and kava (i.e. on the same night) might not be very healthy, but it's highly unlikely to be seriously dangerous. It's just bit pointless as you get the worst of the two substances.

 

[Pacifico]

When I was in Port Vila I noticed that some young people drink booze after kava. And not just a little beer or two, but there are guys who go for vodka after kava. Nobody seems to think it's a wise thing to do, but young guys just want to get "really drunk". I guess young men are the same everywhere. Older guys just stick to kava.
In New Zealand some people use beer or wine as an after-kava-session chaser.

I personally hate mixing the two. I like enjoying pure kava effects. I also avoid drinking caffeinated drinks before or after my kava sessions. I guess mixing booze and kava (i.e. on the same night) might not be very healthy, but it's highly unlikely to be seriously dangerous. It's just bit pointless as you get the worst of the two substances.

I believe all that you are saying. In my mind, mixing the two don't make a ton of sense, like Big Macs and Diet Coke I suppose. The thing is that I don't know anything about the itinerary, I don't know what my travel buddy wants to get into. I also don't know who we will encounter when we get there. I guess it will have to be played by ear. If I can talk my friend into drinking kava the whole time, it would work out just fine. There is plenty of beer in Australia.

 

[-33-]

If you're in Fiji, you must drink kava. How often do you have an opportunity to have fresh kava in a place where it is traditionally consumed? Just don't drink alcohol on Fiji. Save that for Aus.

I was just thinking the same thing... you've got an oppurtunity to get kruuuuuuuuuuuunk on the freshest/best kava in the world & you're wondering what you should ingest?
Skip the liquor... unless you're planning on wrecking the Dartmouth fair lol

 

[Deleted User01]

Back in the old days, I remember having a cold beer after my kava. Maybe 2 occasions. I didn't die, I'm still here. I would say that you can do both "On vacation" only but use a little common sense. A few shells of kava and a few beers. If you go overboard on one or the other, then I imagine you will be sorry the next day. It's actually dangerous. Don't go to bed until you sober up. Kava is a sedative and alcohol and sedatives can kill you in your sleep if you are not careful. I sure wouldn't be tossing down tequila or vodka. Ice Cold Beer to help with the dehydration would be my choice. Lite beer even better.

 

[verticity]

Back in the old days, I remember having a cold beer after my kava. Maybe 2 occasions. I didn't die, I'm still here. I would say that you can do both "On vacation" only but use a little common sense. A few shells of kava and a few beers. If you go overboard on one or the other, then I imagine you will be sorry the next day. It's actually dangerous. Don't go to bed until you sober up. Kava is a sedative and alcohol and sedatives can kill you in your sleep if you are not careful. I sure wouldn't be tossing down tequila or vodka. Ice Cold Beer to help with the dehydration would be my choice. Lite beer even better.

Gatorade!

 

[Pacifico]

Gatorade me, Bitch.

 

[nabanga]

I would definitely try to convince your friend to stick to kava - its only a few days. Fiji has very little fresh green kava available unless you know a grower, but the dry powder itself is fresh - it hasn't been sitting in a warehouse for months before grinding.
Many people in Port Vila will have a "kali" after kava - one or two beers - which can temper the kava if it is a bit overpowering, slow it down if you have had too much or been taken by surprise with the strength. Anything stronger than beer or maybe wine after kava I would say a big no to. A couple of beers after kava wont do you much harm, but beer before kava or during kava (some expats do this) is pointless.

@ Henry - yeah some of those Vanuatu kids go well out of their way to get wasted cheaply. I remember the small bottles of industrial cleaning alcohol (Accool a bruler) that cost a dollar mixed with orange juice was a payday favourite. Also young men used to die every year by drinking the liquid from boiling used batteries, boiling cut-up old car type pieces & drinking the "soup", and on special occasions like weddings drinking a whole 3 litre box of cheap wine in one go, having a fight, then passing out. And there they are surrounded by the best kava in the world.

 

[-33-]

I would definitely try to convince your friend to stick to kava - its only a few days. Fiji has very little fresh green kava available unless you know a grower, but the dry powder itself is fresh - it hasn't been sitting in a warehouse for months before grinding.
Many people in Port Vila will have a "kali" after kava - one or two beers - which can temper the kava if it is a bit overpowering, slow it down if you have had too much or been taken by surprise with the strength. Anything stronger than beer or maybe wine after kava I would say a big no to. A couple of beers after kava wont do you much harm, but beer before kava or during kava (some expats do this) is pointless.

@ Henry - yeah some of those Vanuatu kids go well out of their way to get wasted cheaply. I remember the small bottles of industrial cleaning alcohol (Accool a bruler) that cost a dollar mixed with orange juice was a payday favourite. Also young men used to die every year by drinking the liquid from boiling used batteries, boiling cut-up old car type pieces & drinking the "soup", and on special occasions like weddings drinking a whole 3 litre box of cheap wine in one go, having a fight, then passing out. And there they are surrounded by the best kava in the world.

What substance is achieved by boiling car batteries???

 

[tomkrat]

yea, i've got a pile of them in my front yard and i've been absolutely dying to put them to good use