hey E, if its a weird allergy type thing ...thats just you (BTW what reptiles do you eat...?)

Ive just met so many people in my life on my travels who say theyre a veggie cos it sounds like theyre a cool hippie dude, but then they eat flesh & make excuses then still say theyre a veggie, when theyre not.

Just eat what makes you feel good mate...

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Originally posted by Court:
Czech Republic was a bit rough for being a veggie. I'm a little interested to see what it will be like when I go through Eastern Europe.

Court

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yes me too, I will be there this summer. I am not vegetarian since I eat some seafood and dairy but I'm not really into seafood from landlocked post-soviet industrialized nations either.

potato anyone?

Like another poster, I also gained weight in Belgium; beer, crepes, cheese and bread... and chocolate... and yes I would do it again ! lol...

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Originally posted by stiv:

Ive just met so many people in my life on my travels who say theyre a veggie cos it sounds like theyre a cool hippie dude, but then they eat flesh & make excuses then still say theyre a veggie, when theyre not.

Just eat what makes you feel good mate...

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there is one of you in every online post about vegetarianism, you know that right? If it makes me feel good to be MOSTLY veg, what is yer gripe?

I've been vegan for about 8 years, and traveled the world for 5, remaining vegan all the time and loving it. True, some places are easier, some are harder, but I haven't been to a place where there would be only meat (or animal products) - true I haven't been to Mongolia for example, but in all the places I've been to it was rarely a problem.

In Laos - loved the sticky rice and green papaya salad!

In Mexico - tortillas & Guacamole

In South America - rice and beans (yes, I love simple food)

In Taiwan - eating out in all the Buddhist restaurants (they're all vegetarian) - especially the delicious all-you-can-eat buffes

In China - rice and sitir fried goodies (green leaves, tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, been sprouts, whatever)

I could go on and on...

And most of all - all those colorful, juicy, aromatic fruit that I had no idea that existed before!

All of that a much more appealing than the alternative of local delights of fried chicken feet, some unidentified creature intestine soup, etc...

i've traveled in costa rica as a vegetarian and ecuador as a vegan. i've found that being in rural areas helps a HUGE amount. but there was definately a hazy concept of vegetarianism/veganism in ecuador... i went through what all i didn't eat and then what all *would* be on the plate many times, at least to end up with a big hunk of chicken in the middle of the rice, even after all that. in any event, i was able to find something everywhere i went.

I met a guy who referred to himself as a "practical vegetarian" - he would endeavor to stick to a vegetarian diet, but would eat meat if he was in a place or situation where trying to stick to a purely vegetarian diet was impractical.

I met him during a trek to hill tribes in Laos, where the dishes the villagers prepared for us all contained some kind of meat or meat byproduct (e.g. fish sauce). It would have been an insult to refuse to eat the food, so he ate the meat, and didn't feel bad about it. And when he was in Argentina, he found it near impossible not to eat beef there. When he returned home, he continued with his vegetarian diet.

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Originally posted by Gordon C.:
Hey Kdees -

Vegan food was no problem to find in Laos and Cambodia? I find that hard to believe - they are Buddhist, true, but Buddhists in Cambodia eat everything - including meat. My gilfriend and I have been in Cambodia for 2 years and find even simple vegetarian food hard to come by, thank god she's not a vegan or she'd starve to death.

If you really know of some places, please let me know.

Thanks.

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Hi, I'm Bubbha (formerly Kdees):

My travel buddies, both vegans who my wife and I travelled with in Cambodia and Laos, managed to find plenty of food suitable for vegans. Mostly it was vegetable noodle soups, salads (with no fish sauce), fruit, fruit salads, vegetable sandwiches, and they even had some oven-baked vegetable pies. Places where lots of backpackers go usually have some places serving vegetarian food because of the high proportion of vegetarians among backpackers.

Happy Phnom Penh Pizza - on the waterfront in Phnom Penh - served us vegetarian pizzas. Khmer Kitchen in Siem Reap had a selection of vegetarian food, as did other local restaurants. The noodle stands often served vegetable noodle soups. We had vegetarian Chhnang Dae in Phnom Penh, on the main road just to the south of the Tat Guesthouse. Usually it took some asking around (and they knew how to say "I'm a vegetarian" in Khmer, but they managed to find vegan food without too much of a problem. In Sihanoukville they subsisted mainly on fruit and coconuts, but they found a vegetarian restaurant there.

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Originally posted by crackerjillian:
(....)Thank god booze is always vegetarian.

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That's not completely true. Some wine for example is 'cleared' (don't know the right English word for it..) with restproducts from meat industry.

and lots of beer has gelatin in it--so depending on how strict you are...

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Originally posted by rockrockon:
and lots of beer has gelatin in it--so depending on how strict you are...

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aaaaaaah! Say it aint so!!

I have seen chocolate biscuits with beef fat listed in the ingredients, soy cheese with casein (dairy product) in it and a brand of veggie prepared foods was sued for having meat products in them. I have realized that if I am going to eat prepared foods, I am probably going to eat something that came from an animal at some point, most likely without my knowledge, but sometimes I intentionally ignore it (I eat most kind of cheese, for instance). Beer and wine are still on my list of things I will consume...

I am vegetarian and I've travelled all ovr South America. the only times I had problem were in real backwooods areas where options were limited and I couldn't buy my own food - a lot of eggs. No idea what a vegan would eat. But if you're in the cities, look for Hare Krishna places - usually just open for lunch, but always a veggie meal.

NYC is ridiculously easy to eat vegetarian food in, even in Greenpoint.

Another thing - I knew the bit about animal products being used to clear wine, but beer? What gelatin is in beer? Details, please...?

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Originally posted by Kwon:
Another thing - I knew the bit about animal products being used to clear wine, but beer? What gelatin is in beer? Details, please...?

Isinglass is the pure form of gelatin derived from the bladders of fish and is used in beer and wine (for clearing). Egg albumen, casein and chitin are sometimes used as well. Some imported Vodkas (mostly Eastern European) are also filtered through bone charcoal. A lot of vegetarian-friendly alcohol is now labeled as such on the label so keep an eye out.

also have been vegetarian for 8 years now, and find it relatively easy in most places. europe, no problem and central america was do-able if you like eggs (not so great for the vegans out there) however, after just spending two weeks in malaysia i must say that was not so easy. peninsular malaysia was ok if you went to some more pricey places, the cheap local stalls often had only meat dishes. the hardest was when we stayed for a week with an Iban tribe in their longhouse. they didnt really understand why one would be vegetarian, and after two days of eating rice and vegetables i did eat a little fish that my friends had caught in the river, mainly to maintain some health. after all, we all have different reasons for not eating flesh and mine exist because i refuse to support suffering and torture, as most "meat" experiences. animals are not a commodity, they are living creatures and all living things deserve respect. (Check out the book "Animal Liberation", by Peter Singer, he discusses the idea of "speciesm." which i find quite interesting.

also, very much worth checking out is

www.animaliberation.com
(be forewarned, very graphic, hard to see, but we must)

and this to STIV when he says that you should "eat what makes you feel good." some of us can not do that if what we eat was tortured or suffered greatly. most people would not eat the meat of a slaughtered human just becaue it simply tasted good. we must try and do our small parts to ease some of the suffering so many in the world experience.

"Animals are my friends, and i dont eat my friends." George Bernard Shaw