30th
The Hell of Vegan Travel
I discovered a blog called World Travel as a Vegetarian/Vegan. It hasn’t been updated in a year, but the core issue of the blog - traveling as a vegan - doesn’t change.
A semi-famous example of the trouble of vegan traveling is the story of Mark Boyle, a British vegan who planned a walk from the UK to the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. He began his journey without any money, intending to rely on the goodwill of people he met along the way. He got as far as France before he had to turn around because he couldn’t speak French and wasn’t able to find any vegan food.
Most vegans aren’t planning anything that dramatic when they buy a plane ticket. Yet leaving home at all is an ordeal for the vegan. Even if a vegan lives somewhere that is “not very vegan friendly,” they at least have figured out all the restaurants around them that have something they can eat, and the grocery stores that have a decent amount of vegan products. Once they venture out of familiar surroundings, their sustenance is at risk. Things might turn sour as soon as they step into an airport - “Oh shit, I forgot to order a special vegan meal for the plane! Why did I embark on this insane adventure?!”
The primary concern of a globetrotting vegan is always “where will I eat?” Before they leave for their trip, then, vegans make a list of all the vegetarian/vegan type restaurants in the vicinity of every stop they’re making. The website HappyCow, a listing of such restaurants around the world, assists them in this endeavor.
Hitting all of these restaurants is often the top goal of a vegan’s vacation. They plan their activities around where these restaurants are, often shying from more venturesome outings that might strand them in spots with no assured source of vegan vittles. Food is always on their mind: even if they have just satisfied their hunger, they now must consider where their next vegan meal will come from. Often, their trips are mostly spent marching from one vegan restaurant to the next, while happening to catch sights along the way. They would rather miss seeing something spectacular than miss a vegan bite.
Vegan restaurants in a foreign locale don’t just keep the vegan energized. They help to humanize the city for the vegan. A strange new city with an abundance of “vegan options” is convenient for the vegan, sure, but even when they aren’t eating, the whole city just seems somehow… nicer. And if they happen to accidentally run into vegetarian restaurants where they didn’t expect to find them, then my god, what a glorious town!
If a city has few or no vegan options, well first of all, a vegan probably wouldn’t go there. But if they do somehow get dragged to one of these blood-thirsty burgs, and it happens to be a lovely place, vegans will find it difficult to fully appreciate it as others would. It’s not just crankiness from a lack of vegetables and brown rice - they just can’t avoid thinking that all the “beauty” around them was built on the backs of animal corpses. A city that isn’t veggie-friendly emanates a slightly sinister hue.
Since vegans often find themselves in countries with a national cuisine that isn’t particularly vegetarian, vegans almost never eat the national cuisine of whatever country they’re in. Instead, they look for reliable standbys, like Indian or Ethiopian restaurants. Or they find purely vegetarian/vegan restaurants, but these restaurants are almost never influenced by the country’s national cuisine. Vegan and vegetarian restaurants around the world are all pretty similar. No matter where vegans go in the world, they basically eat the same food that they get back home.
Anyway, let’s hear “Maria G”s take on all this. The following are excerpts from the two most recent entries on her site “World Travel as a Vegetarian/Vegan”:
“The final leg of my 2006 South American journey brought me to Bariloche, Argentina. Apparently there are two vegetarian restaurants in this town. However, they were not within distance or timing of my arrival. I did find a restaurant that served vegan pasta and a cafe where you could design your own sandwich. At least, I did not starve. :)
“The following morning, we flew to Buenos Aires. There are several vegetarian restaurants in this cosmopolitan capital city. However, again I was limited in time between tours so I had to dine at a close by cafe prior to my tour. They made some vegetable side dishes for me, so again I did not starve. Its not the easiest city to find vegan options, but if you have time and look hard enough, you can indeed find some.
“In the morning our group hopped on another plane and arrived at our final destination, El Calafate. Much to my surprise and DELIGHT, my hotel was almost next door to a fabulous gourmet, veggie-friendly restaurant! This is right in the middle of gaucho (cowboy), beef country. I don’t recall what I ate there. However, I recall that the appetizer, beverage, entree, and dessert were spectacular! The restaurant is called ‘Pura Vida.’ They serve a lot of whole grains and pumpkin dishes. It was delicious. I highly recommend this restaurant!
“Santiago, Chile… This city is known for fish and seafood, like most coastal regions. My tour group actually stopped at the popular indoor fish market called ‘Mercado Central’ which contained many cafes and restaurants serving seafood. It first appeared that it would be impossible to find vegan fare here. I walked through cafe upon cafe, row upon row in the central market and no veggie-friendly fare in sight! FINALLY, I found a small restaurant there which served a few vegetable dishes. The meal they served me consisted of several veggie-friendly side dishes which were indeed tasty and filling. YAY! In the evening, I ate dinner at one of the city’s vegetarian restaurants ‘El Huerto.’ The meal was wonderful and vegan!
“The next leg of the tour was the visit to the southern Patagonia region of the country. Lucky for me, the town had a Govinda’s restaurant. This is the popular restaurant that serves mainly Indian food. I filled up on vegan soup and veggies. I love this place in every country I’ve eaten there.
“Chile surprised me with its vegan dining options and breathtaking views of the Patagonia region!”
If you feel like depressing yourself further, read more here.
