Before I went on my first trip to Thailand I had heard a bunch of rumors about whether or not Thailand would be a good place for vegans. Bangkok was supposed to be super easy. Phuket impossible. It turns out that it actually doesn’t matter what they tell you. When you get there, things will be different.
Why? Because even though there might be a lot of vegan restaurants in Bangkok, if none of them are anywhere near you when you are hungry and getting all grumpy and miserable – it won’t be of any help that some blogger wrote “Thailand is awesome for vegans”.
My experience of “vegan Thailand“
Well, I did my homework and researched a little beforehand. Then I booked a hotel near one of the vegan restaurants in Bangkok. I had heard about the “MANGO Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurant“ before and hence decided to make my life easier and stay nearby. Turns out that it was a really good idea!
I already knew where I was going to get vegan food, which put my mind at rest. I ended up eating there 3 times in two days, just because it was sooooo tasty.
I also tried to get vegan food elsewhere. Of course fruits, smoothies and juices (always say “NO MILK, NO SUGAR!”) and my favorite Coconut Water are vegan! But if you want to eat something else, such as a Pad Thai, you have to make sure that either the street stalls already offer “Pad Thai NO EGGS” or that the cook actually understands your “NO MEAT, NO FISH, NO EGGS” hand signals.
Vegan Pad Thai
From my experience the biggest issue with the street stalls is that they use the same pans for your food as for non-vegan dishes. * IRONY ON * Oh boy, do I love the taste of chicken, fish and shrimp on my vegan Pad Thai. * IRONY OFF *
By the way, dairy products are usually or traditionally not part of the Thai Cuisine. Most Thai people are lactose intolerant! They only added these options to their cooking for us tourists. Too bad they didn’t ask us first. 😉
HappyCow was of great help during my stay because wherever I was I checked if there was a vegan place near me. But I also discovered that a lot of the restaurants are willing to prepare vegan food for you if you ask for it!
Ask, and it shall be given!
In Koh Lanta, for example, my hotel was across the street from “Angel’s” – a lovely, family-run, small restaurant/bar on the main road. I saw that they had put up signs with “NO GMO” and “veg-friendly breakfast” so I went in, had coconut water and started talking to the wonderful lady of the house.
I asked to look at the menu and started talking about vegan options for breakfast. She told me to wait and said she would write a vegan menu for me. So she left, came back 5 minutes later and showed me her draft of a vegan menu. She sat down with me and we talked about how she could turn the non-vegan breakfasts which she offers into a vegan dish and she loved it.
The next day, they had added the vegan meals to their menu. She told me that more and more vegan people come to Koh Lanta and I told her that I would send everybody to her!
Just a little further down the road is the “Kunda Anti-Pop Café”. It is a vegetarian restaurant. Lena (the amazing French-Polish chef) was willing to bake vegan brownies for me. Let’s not even talk about the place itself – it’s gorgeous!
A rule of thumb
I also had no problems finding vegan food and coffee places to go to in Railay for example. On the other hand, Ao Nang, just like Phuket, was a disaster. The restaurants were filled with meat-eaters so they didn’t feel the need to cater to vegan customers. So perhaps we can conclude: The smaller the place, the more willing the people are to go out of their way for you.
I also believe that the places that are known to be more “hippy” and less “mass-tourism” attract more people with animal-friendly mindsets.
The best tip for vegans travelling in Thailand
Alright, are you ready? Because when I found out about this I almost fell off my chair. If had known this my life would have been so much easier. I was at the airport on my way back home when I overheard a conversation between a vegan traveller and a monk. The vegan told the monk how hard it was to find food on his journey and the monk started laughing and told him to remember the word “JAY” for his next trip!
I immediately Googled “jay or jeh” and couldn’t believe what I read.
There are JAY-restaurants all over Thailand.
“Jay or Jeh” is intended to cleanse the body and also one’s Kharma. The restaurants are meant for Jain monks that strongly believe in non-suffering and non-violence. Some of them only eat fruit and beans because consumption of garlic, onions or potatoes will lead to the death of its plant and is thus bad for their Kharma.
You can therefore eat at any restaurant that displays the bright yellow and red JAY sign. (It looks something like a 17.) This is pretty close to perfect!
Apparently most of them are not too expensive either since monks are not usually the richest of customers. Most of the restaurant owners are vegan themselves so it is absolutely safe to eat whatever you find on the buffet there. It’s vegan!
So now I know that travelling in Thailand is not going be that tough next time around: I’ll just follow the monks.
About the author: Barbara is a german Mallorca-based vegan blogger/radio-journalist/ocean lover/traveler. Her blog www.mallorca-talks.com focuses on vegan life and the hidden treasures of her beautiful Spanish home.
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