Traveling Veggie Style- by Alison Ormsby

I'm going to share just a few of the tips I have to offer on veggie travel in general; perhaps in a later column I'll share country-specific challenges and highlights. Keep in mind that these tips apply mostly to developing countries, not to travel in Europe, for example, although I did find Paris to be a bit meaty!

1) Remember to order your vegetarian or vegan meal for the flight. Many of the fascinating remote corners of the earth require looong flights, so make yours more pleasant by being one of those folks who gets their meal first and has something interesting to eat. Most airlines offer a variety of veggie options, and you can choose a cuisine too, such as Indian vegetarian (my personal favorite). I have found that certain airlines are more generous with meals, such as all carriers in Indonesia and India, although they do not always offer a vegetarian option.

2) Do a bit of research before you leave home. Get some guidebooks or check the web to learn some to the typical local foods and make a cheat sheet of phrases such as "I am vegetarian" or "I do not eat meat" (keep in mind you may need to break this down, for example, into "I do not eat chicken, beef or fish") and make a list (in the local language, of course) of the names for a few veggie-friendly dishes you want to be sure to try. Check your guidebooks and the web, or talk to friends who may have been to the same destinations, to find out if there are vegetarian restaurants where you will be going. A good source of up-to-the-minute information is Lonely Planet's website chat area, called Thorntree Posts.

3) Bring snacks. Don't fill your pack unnecessarily, but a few Clif/Luna/granola bars can come in very handy in a pinch, particularly on a long hike or bus ride, or when you are feeling under the weather and need some comfort food. Carry the snacks in a ziplock bag, it will keep them fresh and probably come in handy for another use along the way.

4) Go to local markets. Buy fresh fruit and/or raw ingredients to cook for yourself. But of course always remember and abide by the saying, "boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it." Try local recipes before you go, while traveling, and/or when you return. You may want to visit the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for country-specific recommendations about health preparations: http://www.cdc.gov/travel.

5) Avoid street food. Street food-the yummy-looking (or scary-looking, depends!) items being cooked and sold in carts or open-air markets are notorious for bringing on stomach problems. Unless you watch the food being prepared and it is hot off the grill, don't eat it. Often these vendors do not have access to clean running water with which to wash the dishes you will eat off of, and that other people have used before you. -Watch out for this. Also, beware of ice. In many places, those tasty fruit shakes have ice in them-be sure you feel sure of the way the ice was made (from treated or tap water), and ask if you are unsure. If you want to be most cautious, avoid all ice in drinks. Of course, lots of great local dishes are sold in open-air markets, so do not steer entirely clear of them, just use common sense, which leads to the final tip…

6) Do not be over-cautious. A little about of traveler's stomach is worth the trouble-take advantage of the experience of sampling local food and accept invitations to share meals-otherwise, why travel?!