Vegan Traveling

The Topic: Traveling vegan on a budget with Associate Editor Jennifer Chen

The Dish: As I write this, VN Publisher Joseph Connelly and VN Associate Publisher Colleen Holland are traversing thorough Thailand with 20 VegNews readers on VegNews first-ever Food Lover's Tour of Thailand. Now this may sound like bragging—I swear I'm not trying to make you feel bad—but I recently went to Kauai, Hawaii, for vacation with my hubby. It was my first real vacation in a long time, and while it was a celebration of our wedding anniversary, I still hate being too extravagant. A real splurge to me is the vacation itself and seeing as much of the beautiful island as possible. There are times to splurge (massages on the beach!) and times to save, so here are my tips for enjoying your vacation on a budget.

Peanut butter. I always like to carry a jar with peanut butter with me. This is leftover from my college days when I backpacked through Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. I usually pick up a jar wherever I am and paired with a loaf of bread, I have an emergency meal handy. A box of crackers or pretzels also works well. 

Airport eats. If you ever get to travel to San Francisco International's Terminal 2, consider yourself very lucky. It's a vegan haven. You can get a fresh green juice from The Plant Café. There's a whole section of vegan and raw snacks at Napa Farms Market. And if you bring your own water bottle, you can fill up at the filtered water stations. But since most of us aren't traveling through SFO Terminal 2 (darn!), here's what I do when stuck at an airport. Search for the nearest Starbucks. Not every airport will have vegan-friendly eats, but every airport will have a Starbucks. Now, I love supporting my local coffee shops, but I can count on Starbucks to have vegan meals like fruit salad, oatmeal with dried fruits, and bagels. For more travel-friendly eats, check out our web article on that very topic.

Free travel advice. I usually peruse through Lonely Planet guides before I end up at my destination and I love the in-depth information, but I found two great free resources: friends and travel brochures! Before I left, I asked friends on Facebook what I should do while I'm in Kauai and I got a lot of great tips on places my guide book never even pointed out. And the airport was teeming with tons of free travel brochures. While most of them are advertisements, I grabbed a few dining and activity guides and was able to find several health food stores and places that specifically listed that they were "vegan friendly." I found Island Tacos though an ad, and tried cilanto-lime tofu tacos that still haunt my dreams. 

Local health food stores. Like I mentioned, the travel brochures led me to several health food stores on the island. While not everything there is cheap, I was able to pick up dinner for two nights. The great thing about Hawaii is how culturally diverse it is—you can find Korean, Filipino, Japanese, and traditional Hawaiian foods. Health food stores are always guaranteed to have some vegan food. I sampled Korean scallion pancakes, chocolate silk tofu pie, and Vietnamese summer rolls from Papaya's Natural Foods. Compared to a fancy dinner out, my to-go meal was inexpensive.

Farmers' markets. I was surprised to find that Kauai has daily farmers' markets all around the island, so I made sure to hit one. I love fresh fruit and since Hawaii has so many fruits I can't have on the mainland, I went a little nuts. I got starfruit (three for $1), papaya ($1.50), pineapple ($4), Tahitian limes (four for $1), and a giant avocado ($1.50). I sampled a vegan coconut tapioca pudding made from a local bakery ($3) and a dark chocolate-covered banana topped with coconut shreds and nuts ($3.50). One thing I learned from a local farmer is that agricultural theft is a big problem for farmers, so when hitting a farmers' market she cautioned me to steer clear of anyone who doesn't have signage. The vendor may have stolen the fruits and veggies from a hard-working farmer for re-sell at the market.

The Final Word: If I've made you green with envy by now, my sincere apologies. But what I can offer is that you deserve to travel to awesome destinations (like the VegNews Vegan Yoga Retreat to Mexico). Create a savings account just for vacations and then travel to those must-hit countries and states on your bucket list. And when you do fly to a fancy destination that is a paradise through and through, it doesn't have to mean throwing frugality out the window.

The Veggie Awards!

The Topic: VN's Annual Awards and Amazing Prizes

The Dish: Shameless self-promotion time! In case you've somehow missed the announcement, VN's 2010 Veggie Awards voting is in full-swing. Our annual awards honor the best veg people, places, and products of the year, and we couldn't do it without you. Voting for readers' picks has opened, and you have until August 31 to make your voice heard. Whether it's vegan cheese, cookbooks, or blogs you're passionate about, you have a chance to show your support by voting. The competition is already heating up, so rally your friends and get your favorites a Veggie Award!

So what does this have to do with being savvy? How about the seriously amazing prizes we're giving away just for voting? Believe me, if I could enter to win, I would've done it days ago. Just make sure you fill out at least 50 percent of the survey, as well as your contact info (we've had potential winners in the past who didn't even put their name or email—devastating), and you could take home one of these prize packages:

• Grand Prize: Global Getaway. Join VN for a free VegNews Vacation of your choosing! We're headed to India in February, and will announce new tours soon. Take me with you, okay?
• First Prize: Year Supply of Daiya Cheese. Think of all the pizza you can make. And quesadillas. And lasagna. I'll stop now.
• Second Prize: Vegan Marshmallow Smorgasboard. Sweet & Sara make some amazing gourmet marshmallows, and this package has not only all of the flavors in mass quantity, but also other delicious marshmallow-y treats.
• Third Prize: Veg Cookbook Collection. I love Robin Robertson, and this set of five cookbooks authored by the former Veggie Award winner is a must-have for anyone.
• Weekly Giveaways: TofuXpress. Don't laugh—this kitchen gadget will change your life. And by life, I mean the quality of your next stir-fry, which is essentially the same thing.

The Final Word: Again, voting closes on August 31, so do it now before you forget! If the prizes aren't enough of a reason, do it for me. As a friendly reminder, if you win the supply of Daiya, I expect some sort of cut.

Guest Post: Cheap Traveling with Laura Beck

The Topic: Tight-Budget Traveling

The Dish: Today's special guest post is brought to you by everyone's favorite—and VN columnist—Laura Beck. To be honest, I go to her with the majority of life's tough questions, including where in San Francisco to get the best deals. She mysteriously knows all (which explains her gig as VN's prized advice-giver in "Ask Laura"), and is ready to share a bit of her travel savvy with you.

I’ve made it a habit of living beyond my means for as long as anyone can remember. My mom says I came out of the womb waving a platinum Am-Ex, and I haven’t looked back since (because ew, gross!). However, having chosen a career in non-profits that doesn’t exactly leave me living la vida Scrooge McDuck, I’ve had to curb my spendy ways. It sucks. The only place where I refuse to compromise is traveling for vegan food. If I can’t have road trips to Portland or weekends in New York City, I’ll seriously go Firestarter on everyone’s asses. I’ve found the best way to eat tons of food in exotic (to me) locales is travel on the hella cheap. The more you save on travel and accommodations, the more you can spend on Seitan Chimichurri at Candle 79, you feel me!?

Here are some ideas in list form because I am very helpful.

1. Sign up for TravelZoo’s weekly Top 20. You’ll get a weekly email with all the steal and deals for getting pretty much anywhere in the world. I’ve seen $600 Round Trip flights from SF to Tokyo and $100 4-star hotel rooms in Chicago on this thing. Seriously, the deals are ridiculous.
2. Kayak is a search engine that scours hundreds of travel sites at once. No more going to Orbitz and then Priceline and then Expedia, ad infinitum. Kayak takes care of them all in one click of the button. I love technology.
3. A great site that’s specifically for plane flights is AirfareWatchdog. It keeps you up-to-date on the lowest cost flights everywhere. Bonus: sign up for the newsletter, which gives you the latest info on cheapy flights leaving from your closest airport. Right now there’s a round trip flight from Portland to Maui for about $300. Let’s go!
4. The freaking coolest thing on the planet right now is Airbnb, an online marketplace allowing private residents to rent their homes (or lofts! Or apartments!). So cool. You can find deals that are way cheaper than most hotels and you’re staying in someone’s adorable home. To lessen the sketch factor, people can leave reviews of their stays. That way, you won’t be tricked into a staying in a shit box with the Manson family! You can search by price, space, and location to find your perfect home away from home. Looking for a loft in LA? Or a bungalow in Oahu? Airbnb will make it happen! Hotels are so 2009.
5. To go super cheap on accommodations, there’s always couch surfing! CouchSurfing is a pretty rad service that hooks you up with folks in other cities who are willing to let you crash on their couch (or floor, extra bed, etc.) for free. You can also pay it forward by offering up your couch too. The best part is, you can search by specifics, so you can even find fellow vegans to stay with! It’s even been known to breed love—the couple behind Cinnaholic met through CouchSurfing! True story.

The Final Word: Now, go forward and conquer the vast world out there, fellow vegans! Spread your message on compassion throughout the world (or just eat all the delicious vegan food! Whatever, I’m not judging you!). Just don’t forget to bring me back some vegan doughnuts from Ronald’s in Las Vegas (eclairs, preferably).