The Hardships of a Vegan Traveling in the Meat-lovers' Paradise of the Philippines

OK, so to be a vegan in the Philippines is not an easy thing to do but the good news is-  it's not impossible! The local diet is definitely meat-based and I'm talking breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even just being a vegeterian is hard- for example there are many pizza chains in the big cities but it's hard to find a pizza without ham, chicken or pork on it! In local eateries and street stalls it is very rare to find vegetarian or vegan options among the heaps of pork, chicken, fish balls, hamburgers etc but the the restaurants that cater to tourists will usually have a few veggie (easily-turned vegan) options. After a month-long trip in the Philippines I have some helpful advice and useful tips for the vegan traveler:

Transit Cities - Water-Wars in Bangkok and Couchsurfing in Manila, April 12-16 2015

After saying our goodbyes to India we hopped on a flight to Bangkok, Thailand (Indigo Air 74$ per person) and headed to the over-touristic Khaosan area to stay our two transit nights until our flight to the Philippines. We settled in K.C guesthouse (450 Baht per night with attach bathroom) on a quiet street near Khao San Road.

Oh Calcutta! or "Jews for Jesus" March 26- April 12 2015

After a hot 17-hour drive across NH2 in Ronen's non-AC yet funky van we arrived in Kolkata or Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal and the third most populated metropolitan in India, around 10 pm only to find out that all the budget guesthouses on Sudder Street, the backpacker area, seem to be full and the only one that had vacant rooms for us was Paragon, rightfully described by Lonely Planet as "deeply depressing" and shamelessly charging 450 Rs for  a tiny, dirty (there were actual stains on the bed sheets!), rather jail-like room.

Babas and Boats in Holy Varanasi - March 21-26 2015

In Varanasi formerly known as Benares we met our good friend from home Ronen who also happens to be a talented photographer (he photographed our wedding!) currently on a photographic journey in India, driving across the nation in his own funky van!  Do yourself a favor and check out his truly wonderful photos here.

Sexy Temple Heaven in Khajuraho - March 18-25 2015

Khajuraho is home to a famous group of impressive temples which are one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, their fame mostly due to the erotic carvings featured on some of them, and they are often referred to as the  "Kamasutra temples". Due to their remote location in the state of Madhya Pradesh, these unique temples survived the many Muslim dynasties that ruled in the area and desecrated many Jain and Hindu temples over the years.

The Two Laid-Back Towns of Pushkar and Bundi - March 10-17 2015

We started our journey to Bundi with a local bus (190 Rs, 4 hours ) from Udaipur bus station that dropped us off at Beejoliya junction where we hitchhiked on the back of a pickup truck (0 Rs 10 Min) to Beejoliya bus station and from there took another local bus (38 Rs, 2 hours) to Bundi. In hindsight we realize it was probably a better idea to take a train from Udaipur like people suggested to us (but it arrives late at night so we decided to go for the bus option, oops).