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.