Jew & A – Kosher vacations?
So much for that “one per day” thing. Life is beginning to get out of hand here at Becca Central. I wish I had a blog so I could tell you about it.
Paige asks:
How do you plan your vacation when one is kosher? What if you want to vacation on a remote resort, but there is no description of a kosher restaurant available? Or is there more of an abundance of kosher resorts and vacation spots in a region that has more residents and visitors keeping kosher?
This got me thinking when I visited Atlantis last month in the Bahamas. Where would Becca have dinner? : )
P.S. I’ve really learned a lot on this site and my husband and I enjoy discussing your blog. Thanks for the insight! Hope my question isn’t silly!
Thanks! And no question is silly, silly! I hope you had fun in Atlantis. Isn’t that the place no one can find? Hey everyone, it’s in the Bahamas!
Onto the (Kosher) meat of your question. To start with, like all laws that come from the Torah (5 books of Moses/Pentateuch, etc.), the laws of Kashrut (Kosher as a noun) have been totally expounded upon, reinterpreted, and vary from region to region. So being Kosher means different things to different people. Among the most strictly Kosher people, little food you can find in a place like the Bahamas would work. Maybe salad. They tend to bring their own food and in fact, this is what we did when I was a child. I vividly remember being in London and having my parents ask the hotel if we could store our Kosher bag of fun in their fridge. Nowadays, many hotel rooms have fridges so it’s easier. We also traveled through the South eating pecan bars and milkshakes from McDonald’s. In the morning, my Dad would run to the nearest grocery store and bring cereal and milk back to the motel. Good times!
If you are one step below that in your strictness, you can find things to eat that haven’t been cooked, like tuna salad sandwiches, cheese, or things like that. Some people will eat at vegetarian restaurants. If you are even more liberal than that you will eat dairy food or fish that’s cooked, but not meat. Some people just don’t eat pig or shellfish and call it a day. The point is, you can almost always find something, no matter what your level. I lived for a week in Greece on Greek salad and donuts. Not together.
Also, there are actually kosher restaurants in the most surprising places. India has them. Mexico. Maybe not Atlantis, but you get me. And there are indeed Kosher resorts, Kosher cruises, and even Kosher Club Med. And yet I chose donuts… I am sure this surprises no one who knows me.
So that’s it. Just like any way of eating, keeping Kosher isn’t hard when you plan, and although sometimes it may keep you from doing a vacation you might have wanted, I don’t know anyone for whom this has happened. Most people vacation anywhere they like and just plan ahead. Or lose some weight, that’s not a bad outcome either.
Thanks for writing!