To answer the most ask question right at the beginning:

“Is it hard to be vegan on your travels?” Sometimes yes, but most of the time it’s just great and pretty easy, you will find plenty of new exciting, delicious and to you totally unknown food, fruits and flavours that will make you feel like an explorer. I think omnivores on travels still mainly eat their chicken, pork or beef (ok, in different flavours, too) but as a vegan you have to dig deeper. And if you dig deeper, you’ll find out, that the most countries and cultures have traditional dishes that are totally vegan. For example, in Russia I found vegan fake kaviar in all supermarkets, in China you’ll have plenty of rice noodle variations, dumplings, grilled mushrooms, vegetables and fruits, plus tofu dishes, in Laos the national dish is sticky rice and woman sell them in bamboo sticks with a coconut flavour out of their baskets, Vietnam is just a vegan paradise with amazing mock meat dishes, in Thailand you find vegan spring rolls and you can order Pad Thai (fried noodles) without meat, in Myanmar their dhal with indian bread, together with samosas makes either a good breakfast, lunch or dinner and in Malaysia and Singapore the big indian population know how to satisfy you. And in other countries, like Mongolia you just have to be prepared if you plan to go out into the nowhere.

It’s defintely possible if you’re determined enough to keep up your vegan diet. But anyway, of course you have to be more careful than at home, where you are able to express yourself (and still some people don’t get it what you want) and you should be prepared that misunderstandings will get you into a trap (and it’s your decision what you will do with the food then – I usually eat non-vegan food as long as they served it because they misunderstood me, but it must be at least vegetarian). Very helpful to avoid this is the “Vegan Passport”, a small book published by the british Vegan Society that explains in 85 different languages (and very very helpful “if everything else fails” pictures), the languages of over 93% of the world’s population, what vegans eat and don’t eat.

Of course it’s always helpful to learn some phrases in the local language. Beside the obligatory “i’m vegetarian” (”i can’t eat meat” works better most of the time) you should learn the words for eggs, milk, beef, chicken and pork and “no, please” or “yes, please” and the words for vegetables, fruits, rice, potatoes, bread etc.

In a lot of countries, like Vietnam and, with restrictions, China, “vegetarian” (or the local word for it) automatically means vegan and they don’t expect that vegetarians eat any animal products. But in other countries it’s easier to say that you’re vegetarian and then specify your nutrition habits. Especially if the restaurant owner speaks a little bit of english he will maybe understand what vegetarian means but most likely never heard the word vegan.

Be prepared to look out for food for a long time, sometimes, too. That can be very annoying for your travel compagnions but you will get used to that. And it sometimes really can be frustrating and boring, especially in very rural areas, but don’t let that put you off from your decision, a day later or two you can have the most amazing food again! Another point you should take care about are invitations. I’m sorry to say, but that’s the real downside. If you’re invited to a family dinner either make VERY clear before they slaughter their only chicken for you, that you don’t eat animal products (they maybe won’t understand why, so “religious reasons” works best for them, even if it’s not true) or politely decline the invitation, as hard as it is. For sure it’s more unpolite if you sit down at their table, they serve you what they can and made a real effort for you and you decline everything, because there’s meat inside everywhere.

Burma/Myanmar
Myanmar is ok for vegan food. In the most cities you will find indian people and indian restaurants who are either totally vegetarian/vegan or have a decent offer of vegetarian/vegan meals. For street food you should be careful because even indian food stalls, especially the small ones and when they are owned by muslim indians, sometimes add fish sauce to their curries or dhals. Ask! Otherwise you will find something. Ordinary noodles or rice with vegetables are widely available, but again, be careful about the fishsauce!

Useful phrases:
I am vegetarian
m/f chuh·náw/chuh·má gá the’·tha’·lu’

Could you prepare a meal without…
… muh·pa·bè pying·pày·naing·muh·là
butter = tàw·ba’
eggs = che’·ú
fish sauce = ngang·pya·yay
meat = uh·thà
meat stock = uh·thà·pyoh’·yay
dairy products = nóh·dwe’ uh·sà·uh·sa
seafood = ping·le·za

Do you have vegetarian food?
the’·tha’·lu’ sà·zuh·ya shí·ţhuh·là

Cambodia
Being vegan in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville or Kampot: No Problem! In this cities you find vegan/vegetarian restaurants and indian restaurants with nice vegan fares. In the countryside it’s more difficult. Cambodians eat a lot of meat and don’t really understand the concept of veganism/vegetarianism. Beside that, tofu is not really popular and not very common, too. Milk is hardly used, but be aware of the soymilk. The imported soy milk from Thailand (like Lactosoy) contains dairy milk powder! Anyway, in the most guesthouses which see westerners more than once a year you usually find a few vegan standard dishes.

Useful phrases
I’m vegetarian. (I can’t eat meat.)
kh’nyohm tawm sait

Can I get this without …?
meat = sait
fish = trey
fish sauce = teuk trey
eggs = pohng moan

China
A good country for vegans! Vegetarianism is more or less unknown and veganism is known. So if you say you’re vegetarian, you will more or less automatically say that you’re vegan. In bigger cities you can find vegan restaurants but sometimes it’s hard to discover them because of the chinese signs. A lot restaurants who are not explicit vegan still understand the concept, but a lot don’t do. You have to be aware of soup stock, which is usually made by animal bones, so better order fried noodles or rice. And keep in mind that China is huuuuge and the food varies a lot from region to region and it can be easier or harder to find vegan stuff, it just depends on the area. In supermarkets you find a huge selection of cheap mock meat tofu and other things. If you eat on the street, point to vegetables and make clear you don’t want eggs, meat etc. In Southwestern China and there especially in the areas around the foothills of the Himalaya you find a lot of potatoe dishes that are sold on the street. Together with fried Tofu an ideal snack. Sometimes the communication is a little bit difficult when nobody speaks english and you can’t pronounce the words in their dialect (otherwise they don’t understand ) so have it written down in chinese signs. Oh, and there is no “Yes” and “No” in the chinese language, that makes it a little bit difficult to make clear that you want no meat etc. But you will find ways.

Useful phrases
I’m vegan
我吃素的 wŏ chī sù de

I can’t eat…
我不能吃… Wǒ bùnéng chī…

eggs = 鸡蛋 jīdàn
fish =鱼 yú
chicken= 鸡 jī
pork = 猪肉 zhūròu，or sometimes simply ‘肉’ ròu.
beef = 牛肉 niúròu
milk = 牛奶 niúnǎi