5+2 alcoholic drinks you could try this weekend

1. Disco Gin, India. The blinding cousin of Bombay Sapphire smells like catfish and boasts a rare oily texture. No mixer in the world will soften the blow. Dance steps recommended when you have to make a run for the bathroom.

2. Dynasty, China. This red wine can be distinguished by its unique bouquet which gives a whole new meaning to the word "stale". The imaginative makers of this wine must have been inspired by the dryness of the Gobi desert and the thinness of the finest rice paper. There is no way Dynasty could be served in France without the sommelier facing 2 years behind bars. Thank God it used to be so expensive one could only afford it once.

3. Bia Hoi, Vietnam. As featured in Wikipedia: "The beer is brewed daily and each bar gets a fresh batch delivered every day in plastic jugs. It is a very light (~3% alcohol) refreshing lager at a fraction of the cost of draft or bottled beer in the Western-style bars. Bia Hơi production is informal and not monitored by any health agency." Best to be consumed in gallons (in the pic on the left) while sitting on kid's sized plastic chairs by the road side. Taste, texture, and smell vary from endearing to somewhat odd.

4. Cachaça, Brazil. This rum like liquor made from fermented sugarcane juice is best known as the basis of the popular drink caipirinha. Should you like to be different this weekend try this: Buy the cheapest bottle of Cachaça somewhere in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro's slums. Carry it to your home country. Consume it like the Brazilian alchies, straight and luke warm. Bonus prize: There's a fair chance that you'll pass out in the subway.

5. Slivovitz, the Balkans. If consumption of this plum brandy is began in early teen years, chances are that by the age of 14 the future bum can boast a skin free of zits and his first wrinkles the following year. It's also known from Swedish musical contest Melodifestivalen, where the brilliant group Andra Generationen performed a song called "Kebabpizza Slivovitza."

+ 1 Red Horse, Philippines. I've praised the world's most sympathetic beer earlier here.

+ 2 KLB Rasberry Wheat, Ontario, Canada. I wrote about a travel disaster related to world's most refreshing beer here.

Increasing country count: How to collect flags quickly?

Collecting flags by traveling to as many countries as possible is probably just as senseless as collecting stamps. These days though, when no one asks "how was Thailand" out of interest in the country - nothing new there - but out of politeness, it does however bring you some leverage in a bar chat if you get to tell people that you've already been to, let's say, 50 countries.

That would mean that one had been to about every forth country in the world.

(United Nations has recognized 192 countries. In addition to that there are a few countries which have proclaimed themselves independent, but which have yet to be recognized by the international community.) To most people at least that's more interesting then having stamps from 50 different countries, unless of course all the those countries were ruled by blond Amazonian Xena - warriors who in their free time like to flash their grape fruit sized tits to unassuming dolphins, making Paris Hilton gulp in awe of their imagination.

So if you don't have a billion dollars and a private jet, here's what you can do to increase your country count, and see a bit of the world in the process, while staying in budget.

1. Travel Europe, but plan well. With the strong euro Western Europe is probably dearer than ever. Instead, book a no frills flight to Split, Croatia (www.airberlin.com, www.easyjet.com), or Belgrade, Serbia (www.germanwings.com) and tour the Balkans. All the former Yogoslavic countries are rather small, so getting around does not take much time. I spent three weeks traveling Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia. Ad two weeks to that and see Montenegro and Macedonia, from where you can easily make it to Albania. That's seven countries in five weeks. Doable, if a wee bit rushed.

2. Hop on an overland truck in Africa. As Africa tends to be awfully expensive, overland trucks are a cheap way to collect a few flags. Taking a truck tour usually means lodging at campsites and participating in cooking and shopping food. This crazy-ass tour for example at African Trails takes you to 29 countries such as Burkina Faso and Malawi in 43 weeks and costs around 7000 euros, including meals (cooked by you or your fellow travelers) and accommondation. There are shorter tours as well of course. And if you hit Kenya in the fall you can witness the wildebeest migration which is so much more hip than any lion will ever be.

3. Skip India! You'll only get stuck. For monetary reasons skip Oz and US.

4. Central America is packed with small countries. Choose them instead of Brazil.

5. Travel to any country that is in the verge of splitting up and then decide that if you've been to the territory it counts as a country even if it wasn't at the time of visit. A Soviet Union trip added Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaidzan to my country count in 1991, a few years after the trip.