I’ve been a vegetarian for over 20 years – a combination of factors such as animal welfare, the environment, health and because Morrissey told me it was murder. Everyone in my house is vegetarian (apart from the cats). Being a vegetarian in the UK in 2015 is a doddle* just about every cafe and restaurant has at least one veggie option and supermarkets have plenty of choices and of course if you cook at home you are in charge.

But life on the road, and in countries where the concept of vegetarianism is alien might be difficult and needs some planning and research. From what I’ve read so far I will need to get used to eating lots of starters in Turkey and Iran and need to be prepared to go hungry in Pakistan, but by the time I get to India… it’s the world capital of vegetarians – with over 350 million vegetarians in the country:

• What do I know about veggie food in these countries?
• Useful links
• Useful words & phrases

Veggie Balkans
http://balkansveggie.tumblr.com/
Sarajevo http://www.myconsciouseating.com/2010/09/vegetarian-travels-to-sarajevo-groping.html?m=1

Veggie Turkey
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/details/Food/vegetarians.html
http://www.thevegetariantraveller.com/a-guide-to-being-vegetarian-in-turkey/

Veggie Iran:
LP https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/middle-east/topics/vegetarian-food-in-iran
Happy Cow (Tehran) http://www.happycow.net/asia/iran/tehran/
Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g293998-i9139-k6830113-Vegetarian_food-Iran.html

Throughout my trip I’ll be posting and tweeting about veggie life on the road.

[* “Being a vegetarian in the UK in 2015 is a doddle” says the man who’s been veggie for 20 years, if you are a new veggie, veggie-curious, aren’t sure or need help check out the Vegetarian Society – they’re great https://www.vegsoc.org ]