Interesting - I winter amongst the North American cane fields (US Mexico border) and cane burning is one of my worst times - have had to bow out of outdoor activities on low pressure days when the smoke lingers and retreat to filtered air indoors.

Symbicort (or the generic) is my go-to inhaler twice a day always, and up to 4 times a day in a flare. My pulmo actually discourages use of levalbuterol inhalers - says if my wheezing/coughing/shortness of breath is that bad, to neb levalbuterol and budesonide 2-4 times a day in addition to the Symbicort. At our clinic (my kids and grandkids see the same docs, and we have varying severity of asthma plus my bronchiectasis) here is the asthma protocol -
Mild - requiring meds less than 5X per week or only during illness or heavy exertion - SABA (short-acting beta agonist) like albuterol or levalbuterol inhaler as needed
Moderate - using meds more than 5X per week or with mild exertion -
one of the following combo long-acting beta agonist plus inhaled corticosteroid - LABA/ICS like Symbicort OR long-acting beta agonist plus long-acting muscarinic agent - LABA/LAMA like Anoro Ellipta
Moderately severe - add the other "leg" of the trio above either ICS or LAMA - alone or in a 3-part combination like Trelegy
Severe - the above plus possible oral steroids and biologic medications.

Due to hassles with my health insurance, last winter I ran out of Symbicort for a few weeks. It answered my question as to how effective it is for me - my sob increased while I was off it, and my mucus really increased. I think in my case it truly points to the inflammation being a factor in mucus production.

I hope you are enjoying your travels. Since it seems to be effective for you, if it is offered, you may want to consider continuing Symbicort in the long term.