What is the Asian medical infatuation with the IV drip? I got a headache in Phnom Penh a few years ago that didn’t go away for a couple of days and I went to the local clinic to see if I could get a prescription for something, um, stronger, and within two minutes I had a needle stuck in me with a bag on the other end of it. I have no idea what the bag contained. It was too clear to be marinara sauce, but I wouldn’t rule out anything else. When the bag was empty they let me get up, wrote me a prescription (which I later learned I didn’t need, heavy drugs being widely available there) and sent me on my way, my headache intact.

And, in fact, when I showed the scrip to the pharmacist, he said, “Have better” and gave me some pills that had me about twelve feet above the floor for a couple of days. In fact, that was almost four years ago and I haven’t had a headache since.