Welcome to the veggie bus...
A bunch of hardcore vegetarians travel the world (well Asia to start with) seeking the finest (and cheapest) veggie cuisine from China, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and many more. The bus will dodge dog in China, drool over curried banana in Sri Lanka and avoid the dreaded fish sauce wherever it may land... Welcome to the adventures of the Veggie Bus.
Read more about the Veggie Bus here or go straight to our country pages now (these will be updated and added to as we travel)!
Read more about the Veggie Bus here or go straight to our country pages now (these will be updated and added to as we travel)!
What it's all about...
Steamed dumplings in China
So why the Bus? If you've travelled at all in Asia you'll know that it's sometimes hard being understood as a vegetarian. While India and Nepal are abundant with spicy veg dishes, a lot of our favourite South East Asian cuisine includes chicken or fish in most "vegetarian" dishes, and mention you don't eat meat to a Chinese person and they'll probably just point and laugh at you. The concept of vegetarianism differs massively among cultures and countries. I once mentioned in Thailand that I didn't eat any meat, not even fish and the reply was, "but you eat chicken yes?". And in China eating meat has become a status symbol so they find it very confusing if a Westerner refuses meat, and sometimes they try to sneak it in anyway! Our aim is to build this website as we travel creating useful information for vegetarians everywhere who have struggled to maintain meat-freeness whilst travelling in Asia.
On the country pages you will find:
A Stow Away (Not Just for Vegetarians)
The Veggie Bus is not exclusively for vegetarians. In many regions of Asia the meat is of very bad quality and is often left out un-refrigerated in the hot sun which can lead to some serious food poisoning. So often it's better to eat veggie and be safe. A few hours after the Veggie Bus had set off on the veggie world tour we discovered that we had a stow away in the boot. It was Carnivorous Carl from down the road; he smiled sweetly and we decided to let him stay aboard, however he did annoy the Bus with his carnivorous gluttony in China. It took three accounts of serious food poisoning attributed to bad meat, and a Tibetan Buddhism course at the Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu before he saw the error of his ways and turned to vegetarianism. We hope other meat eaters will follow his lead.
Useful Links
Here's some links we found useful when planning our veggie adventure...
http://www.veganbackpacker.com - a travelling vegan shares her experiences, with loads of useful tips and guest posts.
http://www.serv-online.org - a useful discussion about Vegetarianism and the worlds different Religions
http://www.vegtravel.com - vegetarian travel specialist includes a list if veggie b&b's across the world
http://www.ivu.org - International Vegetarian Union lists local veggie resturants and organisations around the world
http://www.vegeats.com - database of veggie resturants across the globe
http://www.vegetariansabroad.com - useful but limited resources for travelling vegetarians
http://www.happycow.net - reviews of veggie restaurants from around the world
On the country pages you will find:
- Information about the country cuisine and tips for eating out
- How to say 'I am vegetarian' in the relevant languages
- Information about tried and tested local dishes
- Useful links and restaurant information complete with reviews
A Stow Away (Not Just for Vegetarians)
The Veggie Bus is not exclusively for vegetarians. In many regions of Asia the meat is of very bad quality and is often left out un-refrigerated in the hot sun which can lead to some serious food poisoning. So often it's better to eat veggie and be safe. A few hours after the Veggie Bus had set off on the veggie world tour we discovered that we had a stow away in the boot. It was Carnivorous Carl from down the road; he smiled sweetly and we decided to let him stay aboard, however he did annoy the Bus with his carnivorous gluttony in China. It took three accounts of serious food poisoning attributed to bad meat, and a Tibetan Buddhism course at the Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu before he saw the error of his ways and turned to vegetarianism. We hope other meat eaters will follow his lead.
Useful Links
Here's some links we found useful when planning our veggie adventure...
http://www.veganbackpacker.com - a travelling vegan shares her experiences, with loads of useful tips and guest posts.
http://www.serv-online.org - a useful discussion about Vegetarianism and the worlds different Religions
http://www.vegtravel.com - vegetarian travel specialist includes a list if veggie b&b's across the world
http://www.ivu.org - International Vegetarian Union lists local veggie resturants and organisations around the world
http://www.vegeats.com - database of veggie resturants across the globe
http://www.vegetariansabroad.com - useful but limited resources for travelling vegetarians
http://www.happycow.net - reviews of veggie restaurants from around the world
