As some of you may know, I have been away for a little over three weeks on a Trans-Siberian adventure. We travelled from Beijing in China through Mongolia, then through Russia up to St Petersburg, all by train. It was wondrous, eye-opening, disconcerting and at times painful.
The painful part came from food choices that were made for me with a promise they were onion and garlic-free, and from the restrictive use of shared toilets on the trains.
Following is what I learned from this journey, which I knew from the get-go would be a tricky one to negotiate but which I was determined to undertake nevertheless. I don’t let my IBS stop me from travelling. My main triggers are onion, garlic and fructose. The only things which can be hidden in food are the garlic and onion so they are the only things on my laminated cards, which I always carry with me when I travel – in the language of the country, of course. I use Google translate and copy and paste the strange characters as with Chinese and Russian.
Never, ever believe anyone
Never, ever believe anyone that something is low Fodmap. If something has a sauce or broth, take it for granted it is high Fodmap. Many people think that if you can’t see the culprit, then it doesn’t exist. I was caught several times in China with this but soon learned.
Low Fodmap Chinese food is hard to find
Chinese cuisine may be delicious – as all my fellow travellers attested to – but it is virtually impossible to get plain food except rice. Everything is covered in sauce or broth. Even when you explain really clearly to the English-speaking local guide that you want a piece of unmarinated chicken with no sauce, plain rice, and steamed broccoli or spinach, the meal comes covered in sauce. And once again, you go hungry. I did lose some weight in China.
Never eat soup
Following on from number 1 and 2, never eat soup. In Yekaterinburg, the local Russian guide swore there was no garlic or onion in the soup and he had been pretty careful with my meals up until then, so I trusted him. Pain within 20 minutes. I knew this about soup but sometimes you get carried away with your trust and your need to eat. As I have always said, hunger is our worst enemy and will make us eat anything just to get rid of the feeling. Only to be replaced by a far worse feeling, of course.
Use the breakfast buffet for snacks
When you have the hotel breakfast from a buffet, make sure you get some extra food for a morning snack and perhaps lunch depending on how your day is planned. Since we need to eat small meals, we eat maybe a quarter of what others in the hotel eat at breakfast so don’t feel bad about taking your share as extras in your handbag or pocket. Before I leave New Zealand, I prepare squares of tin foil and take those with me along with snaplock plastic bags. Wrapping food in paper napkins can end badly with leakage and food which has been embedded with shreds of thin paper – not tasty. Taking a small Tupperware container which you wash out each day is also an option. This kept me safe when the sightseeing went on for longer than the recommended three hours between meals. We were often out for a full day with only one stop for lunch at about 2pm. That would have been an IBS disaster if I hadn’t had my secret stash of food in my handbag.
Find a safe local food and stick to it
When in a foreign country, find a food that is suitable and stick to it. Lack of variety will not hurt you in the short term. I found pirozhki in Russia, which are dough covered pies with various fillings. I have no issue with wheat and always chose the ones with potato as the filling. Delicious and safe. If you have wheat as a trigger, you would have to find a different safe food. They sold these on almost all train stations and when we had a stop for long enough, I jumped off and bought one. I didn’t starve in Russia.
Watch your alcohol consumption
Even when everyone else in your group is drinking wine, bubbles, beer and vodka liberally, remember your personal limits and stop in time. I am sure the others never noticed how little alcohol I drank. They were too busy enjoying the moment.
Onion/garlic powder is everywhere
Omelettes and mashed potatoes are not always safe. They often contain onion or garlic powder. I ordered an omelette in the train dining carriage and happily ate it until the pain set in. I had trusted again and learned yet another lesson. Silly me! Nothing is really safe until tested.
Train toilet strategies
When travelling on a train for two days at a time with 16 and once 32 people sharing a carriage with 2 toilets, you have to be strategic about your use of it. Even if you manage to find one free, someone will try the door handle before you have finished. This can lead to serious constipation issues – if like me, you have IBS-C. My best advice is to be as quick as possible during the daytime hours and then to spend longer in there in the middle of the night when everyone else is snoring. Even then, I once had someone try the door handle. This is an ongoing concern though when travelling by train for several days at a time. It was always a relief to get to a hotel and to be able to spend a little time on the toilet in peace.
Snide remarks are not worth the pain
Please don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. The majority of people don’t give a damn about your food issues and so won’t even comment. Some will be understanding and sympathetic and a very few may roll their eyes or make snide remarks. Ignore them. Don’t let anyone else’s lack of empathy and unpleasantness make you sick because you are too embarrassed to stand up for yourself. This can be tough and still is for me even after five years on this diet but I never let them win. They are not worth the pain.
Stick to your guns
Even though you are away from home, stick to the principals of the low Fodmap diet. Five small meals a day, about three hours apart. Eat within 30 minutes of getting up and eat nothing for three hours before bed. Stay as low Fodmap as humanly possible and try to relax. Stress will undo your best efforts.
On the whole, I had many more good days than bad. Some days, I wished I were back home but mostly I felt well and healthy and I had an amazing trip and saw things that are once-in-a-lifetime. I also learned so much about countries that are often misrepresented in the Western media and literature.
I have ibs-d so I think it is worse than the constipation. It is hard for me to go anywhere because afraid there will not be a toilet around or you won’t make it. I can deal with the constipation better went going on long trips.
It may feel worse, Lynn but at least it is the easiest type of IBS to sort with the low Fodmap diet. Stick to the diet and soon you will be travelling freely as well.
I too have IBS D and found holiday food in Sorrento tricky particularly hotel pasta sauce and set meals. I learned my lesson with the little pastry delicacies for breakfast – small tempting and dangerous! In the end not worth the hassle!
Italy is tricky but they do understand the gluten-free thing now so it’s getting better.
Hi Guys,
I know the feeling very well!
I am gluten free, lactose free, low fodmap, no soya (this one is big as soya is everywhere), no eggs! And I travel freely every couple of months. I mix hotels and apartments where I can prepare food myself. Hotels are usually not big chains but small boutique hotels usually quite reputable. It helps me al lot that my daughter has been dairy free, soya free, egg free and all all-artificial free since her birth. I have learnt to how to carry food everywhere, how to make cake with no butter, no milk and no eggs and still to be better tasting then the regular one:) I have traveled with her from Australia to Europe twice a year since she was 9 months old. So, such experience helps a lot in my travelings, but what also helps me even more is ability to go hungry for a while or to eat very small amounts of food on a regular bases. I can really shut down hunger feeling and carry on for a long time wiht no food but there is no way I would try something untrusted.
Its hard but doable. Our minds are able to cope with some much more then we think. Just do it, live life without limits no matter what your problems are.
Your response is sooooo inspiring! I have celiac disease, fructose malabsorption and food allergies and intolerances. I am socially isolated from fear of being glutened which has happened very often in restaurants even choosing from a so-called gluten free menu. I would love to get out more and travel a bit. Your way is the answer. Thanks so much for your post!
Carol, there was also a woman with Celiac disease travelling with us and she was very vocal about her needs and didn’t get sick. She had an app on her phone that she showed to everyone in restaurants that explained what she could and couldn’t eat.
Congratulations, Sandra on travelling so well while negotiating the minefield of foods out there.
I really like that you posted this as I think it’s important that we share our travelling strategies for IBS (I love travelling, so…). Sorry that you had the onions and garlics in your food despite your efforts. Best, Hanna.
Travelling is so necessary in my life and I always love to hear other ideas for staying safe too.
I have IBS-D and travel overseas (to Europe as most of the young people speak very good English) every year, but only do river cruises (as opposed to long coach or train journeys). If there is a short trip -say three hours on a bus or train – I just eat a snack from my handbag. On cruises the chef will cater well for the low fodmap diet (at least APT does). At either end of the trip, I stay in reputable hotels (which state that they will cater for a gluten free diet) and do what Suzanne suggests, taking a little ‘stash’ – often just a piece of fruit and a cheese sandwich – from the breakfast buffet. I do feel a little guilty, but it’s better than getting sick. If I’m hungry between meals, I eat a few nuts, gluten free crackers, some fruit or a small tub of plain lactose free yoghurt (from a supermarket). Google translate really helps & ziplock bags and plastic spoons are indispensable. For dinner, it is a bit risky. If eating in an upmarket hotel, the staff usually speak English, so I specify my needs and have never had a problem. If eating elsewhere, I’ll just have a plain or cheese/herb omelette, grilled steak/fish/chicken (stress no flour) + salad (no dressing)/plain vegetables (try to specify) – no stews, rissoles, sauces, etc. If there seems no choice, I can get away with a medium serve of hot chips (I’m not celiac, so the oil is OK). All supermarkets seem to have rice cakes, gluten free bread (some have the ingredients in English) and bananas – not very exciting, but better than staying at home and missing out. I had a bad reaction to a MacDonalds salad in Paris. I thought the cheese was fetta, but perhaps not. I hope this helps someone.
Thanks so much for all your tips, Jill. Very helpful for IBS sufferers who want to travel.
I love to travel, yet with IBS-D it is very anxiety-producing. As much as I try, sometimes there is a kink. I have even had problems while not traveling–try going to a BBQ in the U.S. You might have to eat beforehand. It seems that onions and garlic are ubiquitous worldwide. It is also a shame that we can’t share in discovering the local culture through food…at any rate, its not easy!
We often can’t share in the local food, unfortunately, Vivian. And yes, you don’t need to travel to have problems.