Black fungus wobbled like a fat man’s belly when the server ceremoniously set it before me and stepped back to gauge my appreciation. My upper lip quivered but I recovered quickly and offered him a convincing smile and “xiexie” (thank you) before he turned on his heels and went off to tend to the normal people.
I’ve been traveling as a vegetarian for over 40 years and never regretted it – never found it to be an insurmountable issue. Even when faced with a heaping pile of my least favorite vegetable – jiggling, slimy, black fungus, I thought myself lucky to have something to eat. From the diplomatic banquet to the simplest hole-in-the-wall – I have done it as a vegetarian for over four decades.
It is entirely possible to travel as a vegetarian. It may mean eating French fries and cheese, unfamiliar vegetables, or flatbread masquerading as pizza – but it can be done while keeping your principles intact and enjoying your travels. And by no means do I mean to imply that it is a less-than-pleasing experience. Some of the best meals I have ever had were on the road in back alley eateries in Taiwan or at trendy vegan restaurants in Estonia.
If you are vegetarian or vegan, do not let your diet stop you from traveling – and don’t let your traveling stop you from being vegetarian. Here are my observations on traveling while vegetarian:
1. Research vegetarian eateries in advance of your trip. Plot them on a map so you can check them out as you explore the city. TripAdvisor.com and HappyCow.net often have good listings of vegetarian restaurants by city.
2. Carry a vegetarian snack with you in case you cannot find something to eat when hungry. I carry candy bars, protein bars or packaged cheese sticks with me.
3. Check out apps such as Meetup.com that enable you to find vegetarian meetups in the cities you are traveling to. It is a great way to find great food as well as new friends.
4. If invited to a dinner or lunch always let your dining companion or host know in advance that you are vegetarian or vegan. It is embarrassing to your host if they find out at the last minute that you can’t eat what they have prepared or that the restaurant doesn’t have anything vegetarian. Here is what I usually say:
“Thank you for the invitation. I’d love to have dinner. I should mention that I’m a vegetarian but I’m happy with any dish that doesn’t have meat in it. Salads, vegetables, side dishes – I’m flexible so please don’t worry. I just look forward to your company.”
Even when traveling on business and attending huge formal banquets in places like China I carry a protein bar with me. Many are surprised to find that Chinese banquets can be problematic for vegetarians since Chinese cuisine is famous for its wide variety of vegetarian dishes. But Chinese hosts view a banquet as an opportunity to indulge in the most expensive dishes – almost none of which are vegetarian. For this reason, rice is often served at the very end of the banquet. Every other dish being some form of animal parts. At some point in the course of three-hour banquets, I would excuse myself quietly, sneak off and eat my protein bar before returning to the banquet table.
5. Reserve that vegetarian meal on the flight ahead of time. Every airline I have traveled on offered vegetarian or vegan meals if I reserved it more than 24-hours in advance. That has not always meant they had the meal on board when I asked for it – glitches happen. Thus, I always carry a snack as a backup.
6. Have a translation app on your smartphone so you can look up menu items before ordering. I like Waygo for East Asian languages, Austria-based iTranslate for European languages and Google Translate for most languages.
7. I do not let my diet define where I travel and unless you are an epicure that travels FOR food, I hope you will not either. Sure, I love India, Taiwan, Thailand, and other interesting places that are easy-peezy for vegetarians, but did I hesitate to go to Kazakhstan or Japan? No.
Vegetarianism is not widely understood in some places. Even in New Mexico, I was assured by an earnest-looking fellow behind the counter of a fast-food chicken eatery that chicken was not meat. In Kazakhstan, I was informed by a babushka that it was not possible to live for long without eating meat – preferably horse. In such places, it is best to know what to ask FOR rather than ask for “something vegetarian.” In Kazakhstan for example, I knew to head for the popular Georgian restaurants and ask for khachapuri (cheese-filled bread) or ajapsandali (ratatouille).
If you enjoy tours, there are several tour companies that either specialize in vegetarian-friendly tours or have that as an option for their customers. For tours of South and Southeast Asia, there is VegVoyages at https://vegvoyages.com/vegan-destinations/ I haven’t taken one of their tours yet but I’ve heard good things. In South America check out Veggie Peru Tours at https://veggieperu.com/.
Vegetarian resorts and hotels are a thing now and while they tend to be expensive, they are an option to be aware of. In Thailand, there is the luxurious Paresa in Phuket, in Fiji the Laucala Island Resort, and in on St. Lucia, the Anse Chastanet resort.
Good resources:
Vegan lifestyle and vegan travel website by Randi: https://www.veggievisa.com/
Vegetarian Travel in Mexico: https://www.tripsavvy.com/vegetarian-travel-in-mexico-1588804
Vegetarian Travel in Vietnam: https://www.vietnamtoursguide.com/vegetarian-travel-in-vietnam/
Vegetarian Survival Guide to Central Asia: https://wanderingchocobo.com/vegetarian-vegan-food-survival-guide-central-asia/
The Vegetarian Resource Group: https://www.vrg.org/travel/
