AD-This post contains a sponsored mention but is all my own words and tips.
If you’ve been following this blog since it began, you might know I actually started writing when I was living in China.
It was called ‘Healthy Globetrotting’; since I had just been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and was due to travel all around Asia-to places such as Bali and Thailand. I’d decided I’d try to create a blog about living with the condition, the practicalities of traveling (from finding hospitals to sorting your visa), and trying to find healthy food along the way.
When I moved back home in 2015, I revamped my blog since I was no longer traveling but I still have readers on my blog posts about Bali or my tips on traveling with Crohn’s Disease. Today, I thought I’d share my guide to being gluten-free when travelling, focusing on Asia in particular. Of course, I know none of us are travelling right now BUT we will hopefully be planning trips before we know it!
It’s all in the sauces
A lot of the issues being gluten-free in Asia is due to the sauces. Lots of the dishes are naturally gluten-free but soya sauce is what causes the issue. I found Thailand great because fish sauce and usually satay sauce are gluten-free, whilst in China, gluten-containing soy sauce is in everything! Vietnamese food is another great choice for gluten-free.
Buy translation cards.
But get a local to do them! The first time I traveled, I used allergy cards but the problem was actually the concept of ‘gluten’ wasn’t easy to explain in translation, especially in China!
Next time, I asked a local on trip advisor to translate and break down the key ingredients instead-as well as things like soy sauce, oyster sauce. ‘I can’t eat soy sauce’ might be much more helpful than ‘I’m gluten-free? Dairy-free was a lot easier to translate because so many people in Asian countries are lactose intolerant so dairy is not as prominent on menus.
Make sure you get your visa sorted in advance
When you travel around Asia, lots of countries are close together so you need lots of different vias and paperwork. So if you are planning a future trip, make sure you understand the requirements of the visa you need before leaving! Some places are easier than others, for example, you can stay in Thailand for 30 days without needing a visa if you’re from the UK (more info here) but to get a Vietnam visa you need to have booked your accommodation beforehand.
Book local experiences
Book local tour guides (especially in Cambodia) and cookery classes. Not only do these allow you to learn more about the country’s culture but it is invaluable for learning more first-hand from locals, who will be able to explain what goes into in dish. I did cookery classes in Thailand and it made eating out so much easier.
Wherever you go, street food might not be the answer
Streetfood is the done thing in many Asian destinations but it’s so hard to monitor cross-contamination because, in my opinion, there isn’t that awareness of allergies. An exception might be specific stalls, for example if one stall ONLY makes mango sticky rice, then there’s much less risk compared to a stall who makes Tom Yum Soup alongside soy-sauce infused pad thai.
Some destinations might be off limits
Travelling the world is possible with allergies but having spent three years in China, it would be the bottom of my list for recommendations. If you go to China, I found Shanghai particularly accommodating but the rural locations have very little knowledge of allergies in my own personal experience. It’s worth looking on forums and Facebook groups (there’s a great one to join called The Gluten-Free Travel Guide) to ask others.
If in doubt, pack the basics
Pack some gluten-free staples. This could be your own gluten-free soya sauce to take to restaurants or porridge pots to use for breakfast. Take advantage of local supermarkets too-bigger cities like Bangkok and health-conscious cities like Seminyak in Bali and Chiang Mai in Thailand have lots of healthfood stores.
