Vegan Backpackers Eat Their Way Around the World (Interview)

Jill and John describe themselves as "two vegans from Canada who are eating their way around the world in 2010." To share this adventure, they launched a blog called Vegan Backpacker.

"For the last few years, my husband and I had been dreaming of taking a big trip around the world," explains Jill. "We'd gone on a few vacations but two or three weeks never felt like enough. We put off traveling for awhile, thinking we had to keep working and saving money, but eventually decided 2010 was as good a time as any. At first, I didn't plan to blog about our vegan eating adventures. But by mid-January, after eating at a few places in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I knew I wanted to share my experiences and photos with other vegans. With a lot of help from John, who just happens to be a professional web designer, I launched the blog."

Sounded like a perfect Planet Green interview to me...

WATCH VIDEO: G Word: Keep it Vegan

Jill's Five Tips for Vegan Travel

1. Make a List of Places to Eat
2. Connect with Other Vegans
3. Carry a Food Stash
4. Know the Local Lingo
5. Make it Easy for Others

My Conversation With Jill

Planet Green: What are you hoping to accomplish with Vegan Backpacker?

Jill: My main goal with the blog is to debunk the myth that it's hard to travel as a vegan. Or that vegans don't get to eat anything fun while traveling. People think vegans don't enjoy local foods or traditional dishes but that's not true. There are often vegan versions of traditional meals, as well as interesting local vegetables and fruits to experience. And, every once in awhile, local favourites are vegan. For example, we had white wine sorbet in Argentina, acai na tangela (blended acai berry with banana and granola) in Brazil and huminta (corn patties) in Bolivia. After we left Buenos Aires, Argentina, I continued to blog about every destination we visited, writing about our eating adventures in Uruguay, Brazil and Peru. I also started inviting other vegans to contribute articles about the places they visited and their experiences finding vegan food. After South America, we stopped in New York before flying over to Europe. These days the blog is showcasing all of the amazing vegan food you can find in eastern Euro with posts about the Netherlands and Belgium.

PG: What came first, your veganism or your interest in the outdoors?

Jill: My first trip outside of North America was to Bangkok, Thailand. Before visiting Thailand, I didn't have much interest in traveling. John had visited a few months before and convinced me to go. In Bangkok, I fell in love with the feeling of being in a new, bizarre place where everything was different from life in Canada. I loved the culture shock. I was a vegetarian during my trip to Thailand and found food with little difficulty. It took a few lessons in basic Thai to communicate that we couldn't eat fish products, but we made it work. I became vegan a year later and continued to travel. After transitioning to a vegan diet, John and I traveled to Spain, France, Austria, Japan, and Costa Rica. We found vegan food everywhere we went. We knew our year long adventure would also be filled with lots of delicious vegan meals.

PG: What has surprised you most during this adventure?

Jill: Two things:
1. Vegan food is everywhere. It seems obvious but it never ceases to surprise me when it turns up in an unexpected place. There's always something to eat, and 9/10 it's more exciting than a salad.
2. The People. Eastern Europe is an expensive area to travel around and we really could not have stayed here for so long without the kindness of strangers. We use Couch Surfing to organize hosts in each of the cities we visit and have been greeted with nothing but kindness from everyone we've met. People have been so willing to welcome us into their homes, share meals, and offer advice on what to do and see in their city. We've made so many great friends along the way.

(Some of Jill and John's favorite vegan street art)

PG: What’s the secret to ordering vegan food at any restaurant in the world?

Jill: Knowing the language and being able to communicate what you want is the key. If you don't know how to ask for a vegan option, the Vegan Passport is helpful. It's also a good idea to start off by choosing a restaurant that has something on their menu that sounds like it might be vegan (e.g. vegetable soup) or could be made vegan (e.g. vegetable pizza) with a small adjustment like removing the cheese. It's also important to be very clear about what you can't eat. If you simply ask for no cheese on your sandwich, you may end up with an unpleasant surprise. It's worth mentioning you also can't eat eggs, butter, mayonnaise, etc. It sounds like too much information but there have been a few times when I've asked for one animal ingredient to be removed and another appeared in my dish even though it wasn't listed on the menu. One time in Bolivia, a vegetable sandwich with no cheese turned out to be an owlet sandwich.

PG: How can Planet Green connect with you and keep up with your travels?

Jill: To read about our vegan eating adventures as we travel around the world, visit our blog, join our Facebook group or follow us on Twitter.

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