Yeah That’s Kosher! >> a Kosher Travel blog

Holiday Travel Alerts & Warnings

While everyone should heed the recent warnings in India, Thailand, Nicaragua, and in NYC, as Jews we need to take extra caution. Here are a few alerts or warnings that if you are traveling this holiday, please take notice!

India 11/26/08 — There have been a series of blasts in a number of sites around Mumbai. Some of these have been in or close to five star hotels in the southern part of the city. Reports suggest as many as 80 dead and up to 250 injured people. We advise all in the city to stay indoors until local authorities advise that it is safe to go outside.
New York City 11/26/ 2008 — U.S. authorities have warned of a possible al Qaeda threat to transit systems in and around New York City, according to Homeland Security.
Thailand 11/26/2008 — Large-scale political demonstrations in Thailand that have resulted in the disruption of services as well as isolated incidents of violence.  At this time, Bangkok’s international and domestic airports have ceased flight operations due to the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protests at those locations.  It is unclear when normal flight operations will resume.
Nicaragua 11/15/2008 — Municipal elections across Nicaragua took place on November 9, 2008.  Violent demonstrations followed and witnesses have reported numerous injuries.  The situation remains fluid.  Street protests and or clashes are likely to continue in the coming days and can be unpredictable in time, place, and intensity. This Travel Alert expires on December 12, 2008.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Cheap flights to Israel from U.S.

According to Vayama.com flights from Boston’s Logan Airport to Tel Aviv are under $900 which includes taxes and fees. This must be booked by Tuesday, December 2nd.

Flights are on Alitalia, and I assume it’ll have a stopover in Italy.

By booking your travel through sponsored links on Yeahthatskosher.com you are helping our website. Please check out Vayama’s great deals by clicking the image below.

Use http://yeahthatskosher.com/travel/ to find our travel sponsors which help support this site.

>>Become a FAN of this site on Facebook: CLICK HERE Thanks!

(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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TRAVEL TIPS: Top 10 tips for “Kosher” Backpackers

Contributed by Mirie Wiesenberg

You can be kosher and travel anywhere… it just takes a little planning and a lot of creativity.

Packing light can be a challenge with all the extra Jewish things you are going to need: tfillin, Shabbat clothes, spare food, but no worries you can do it, but one Shabbat outfit may be all you can squeeze in for all those weeks. I hope these tips are helpful.

• 1. Bring kosher cooking utensils: Bring a small travel saucepan, a set of basic camping cutlery, a decent knife and a Tupperware will suffice. Do not get carried away. There is not a lot of room in a backpack, so think pareve. If you are in a far off place with no or sparse kosher products, you are going to have to do lots of cooking.
• 2. Expect to eat a lot of foods that can be bought raw: Raw fruits, vegetables and grains are kosher anywhere and can be bought anywhere. Yes, you will have to do the normal preparation stuff (checking for bugs, etc.), but you can eat very well and healthfully on these items… since you can buy them locally - less weight on your back!
• 3. Stay in hostels with cooking facilities: Many hostels have cooking facilities. Call in advance and ask if they do… that way you don’t have to worry and can prepare your own food.
• 4. Bring some quick food: There will be days where you can’t or do not feel like cooking. Bring foods like Peanut butter, flat packs of tuna fish, Cliff bars and instant food such as couscous, these are a few examples of food that pack in a lot of energy in small amounts of space. If there are Jewish communities around or kashrut authorities where you are traveling, you can replenish your stash when you run out.
• 5. Plan your trip around Shabbat: After figuring out the approximate route of your trip figure out where would be the best/nicest place to stay for Shabbat along route. If possible a place with a Jewish community, or just a nice place. Try to get set up with local families for Shabbat and feel ahavat yisroel in action. Chabad.org is a great resource for finding a place for Shabbat. If there is no Jewish presence Shabbat can still be an extremely holy experience, think Shabbat in the rain forest.
• 6. Travel with someone who understands: At the very least travel with someone who understands and can tolerate your situation, ideally travel with someone who loves or is dedicated to Shabbat and kashrut. This will make everything easier and with two you can really create a strong Shabbat atmosphere.
• 7. Bring a Shabbat kit: Put all essential Shabbat items in a large zip lock bag, include, matches, tea lights, a box of matzah crackers, and a small grape juice.
• 8. Little things make Shabbat feel like Shabbat: Bring some instant food that will add to the Shabbat feel such as matzah ball mix, soup cubes and instant rice pilaf and think about buying a disposable table cloth to cover that sticky youth hostel table as you make Shabbat. If you pass through a city with kosher bread, pick up some challah for Shabbat. Seal Shabbat clothes in a zip lock bag so that they take up the smallest amount of space and retain their freshness. (Agricultural regulations prevent you from bringing meat products into many countries so lugging a salami roll around is not such a good idea unless you can buy it locally)
• 9. Learn the halachot of kashrut: Knowing your kashrut halachot can make your eating options wider (or sometimes slimmer). Ask your local rabbi what you need to do to buy fish anywhere. Being able to have fish on Shabbat can definitely make it nicer.
• 10. Make a Kiddush Hashem: In your travels you are sure to meet people who have never met a Jew before and most definitely not a frum (religious) Jew. All eyes are on you. Show the world how beautiful and wonderful it is to be a Jew serving Hashem.

(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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KosherFest 2008, Secaucus, NJ

Kosherfest is similar to other conventions held at any other convention center. The only difference, kosher food. Wait, wait, FREE Kosher food. The sound of that makes any observant Jew grin with glee. I held the same feeling walking in to the exhibition hall, waiting to try all these new kosher goodies.

Walking into Kosherfest after stepping off the NJ Transit bus was fairly easy. Annoying, but easy. What was more annoying was the security not letting me into the convention hall because of my backpack. They were OK with messenger bags but not backpacks. They were afraid that people with backpacks will try and take as many samples as possible with them. If they only knew what was going to happen later that day. In the end, I got in.

Row after row of exhibitors, showing off their products services, and some new inventions. The thought of free kosher food didn’t really hit me until I already tried a few mini potato knishes, cheese blintzes, a chocolate slushee, mint Mentos, organic pomegranate juice, strawberry banana Prigat, and some relatively strong Muscat wine from Efrat. I was finally in a place where I didn’t need to hold back. Or so I thought.

I proceeded to try many different items, only dairy and pareve though as to not make myself fleishigs. “Hot Nosh” is a new vending option offering heated kosher food for decent prices. I found this product to be very important for those of us who travel, or who find ourselves in a location that typically lacks kosher options (campus, airports, stadiums, etc.). I got to try the mozzarella sticks.. they were hot and good. For $3+ it definitely hit the spot. It is also appealing for its convenience, always on even when the stores are closed. Definitely useful on college campuses, which typically lack kosher options anyway. I hope to connect with the businessmen behind “Hot Nosh” and help them expand this great idea.

I also learned that Manichevitz created the brand “Guiltless Gourmet”, a favorite snack brand of both myself and my wife. Their chips, dips, and salsas are great. For the traveler, they offer frozen burritos, which are also really good. I definitely suggest taking a few of those frozen bad boys on your next road trip in a cooler. Just make sure you’ll have access to a microwave. (On a side note, my wife just noticed on the Spicy Black Bean Dip label it says: “Perfect as an addition to roasted chicken, pork, and burgers…”. What a great way to de-Jewify your brand. Kudos.)

The ultimate travel companion is “La Briute” an all in one meal in a box (not a particularly large meal though), which can heat itself up without an oven or microwave. Arielle and I tried a couple of these meals on our trip to Iceland, and they came in handy as Iceland is totally void of kosher anything. These meals do not need refrigeration or any cooling of the sort. They are a bit pricey at about $10 a meal, but come very handy on the road or overseas. Just don’t try and heat it up on the plane!

A similar product to “La Briute” is China Mehadrin’s frozen meals. Obviously you’ll need access to a microwave and a way to keep these meals frozen while traveling, but they are still a great product for traveling.

One of the most important connections I made was with Weberman’s catering from South Florida. I know the company from my years spending Pesach in Miami… my mom would order catered food from Weberman’s, and the food was quite good. They create pre-made meals (much better than “airplane food”) for almost all cruise lines as well as Disney hotels and restaurants in both Orlando and Los Angeles. He gave me a few tips to share with everyone seeking kosher meals on cruises or at Disney locations.

Disney:
• All U.S. Disney hotels should carry their pre-made meals in both states.
• Disney restaurants that have table (waiter) service need an order placed 24 hours in advance for specific orders. Random Weberman’s meals should be available without advanced order, but I wouldn’t risk it.
• Counter service (or fast food style) restaurants on Disney locations should always have some of their meals in stock without an order.

Cruises Weberman’s serves:

• Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
• Carnival Cruise Lines
• Norwegian Cruise Lines
• Holland America Cruise Lines
• Celebrity Cruise Lines
• Princess Cruise Lines
• Oceania Cruises
• Costa Cruise Lines

Advice on booking kosher meals on cruises:

• Call “Guest Services” of the cruise line around 6 weeks in advance.
• It is better to call Guest Services to place your order even if it is not 6 weeks in advance, than to not call at all.
• Use your Booking # when speaking to Guest Services
• Request a menu
• Many of the above cruises will have the Weberman’s meals, but don’t rely on that. Take the initiative and contact your cruise line after you book your trip.

I was also able to meet with and chat up the various representatives from the Kosher agencies such as the OK, COR & MK (Canada), CRC (Chicago), KLBD (UK), Kashrut Authority (Australia), etc. (the OU wasn’t too friendly). Many of them were excited to hear about this website and hopefully they’ll be helping with the project.

Toward the end of the day I started feeling really dizzy. Why? I don’t know. Eating too much crap? Maybe. But I’m better now. The last 30 minutes of KosherFest was utter mayhem, and wildly entertaining. Imagine a few hundred Jews and the barriers to free kosher products being removed. This was the scene near many of the stands giving away packaged food, especially Sabra Hummus and the other Israeli products nearby. I managed to pick up 3 new flavors of Sabra Hummus: Chipotle - Spicy, Caramelized Onion - YUM, and Pepadew??, as well as 2 tubs of the best hummus ever, Achla. I also walked away with a 9 pack of Gabila’s knishes, and a jar of Etrog Marmalade - weird!

Overall, this was a great experience and I look forward to KosherFest 2009!

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Want to be in DC for the Inauguration?

While YeahThatsKosher is not a political website, and does not take any partisan views, we would like to let people know about this deal, should you be interested.

For those fervently interested in witnessing Obama’s inauguration into the presidency, it will take place in Washington D.C. on January 20th, 2009.

CheapOair.com is offering a special deal on hotels in the DC area for that week. Washington happens to be a beautiful city, and if inaugurations peak your interest, this may be a good time to visit. Inaugurations occur more infrequently than the Olympics, so now’s a good a time as any. So no matter who you placed your vote with, DC is looking like a good option this January.

Also see YeahThatsKosher’s post on DC: http://yeahthatskosher.com/2008/07/washington-dc/

(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)

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TRAVEL TIPS: Top 10 tips for Backpackers

This is a re-post from CheapOair’s blog: http://cheapoair.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/ten-tips-for-backpackers/

Traveling abroad excites most of us, but it can be difficult to read situations in another country, with its different languages and customs. So, whether you’re a young traveler or a retiree, there are a few more things apart from passport, tickets and packing your bags, you should do to make your trip as enjoyable and hassle-free as possible.

1. Research your destination: Before you depart, it’s a good idea to do some research on your destination and make sure you have the necessary documentation and items you need. Collect all the necessary information on the safety and security situation of your destination.

2. Travel light: For reliability and ease, a backpack is still a budget traveler’s best friend. But don’t pack what you don’t need. There is nothing worse than lugging around a cumbersome pack while trying to find a place to stay. Whatever you think you’re missing, you’ll certainly be able to buy it on the road.

3. Beat up your pack: This might sound a little crazy, but if your backpack looks as though it has been around the block a few times, would-be thieves are more likely to avoid it. They’re bound to go for the brand spanking new pack next to yours which they’ll think contains lots of expensive high-tech gizmos.

4. Don’t over-plan: The basic rule for backpacking is to be as flexible as possible. You’re bound to meet new friends on the road, so don’t plan your route too far in advance. That said, booking a hostel bed for the first few nights in a new city is a good idea. As for the rest, be spontaneous and have fun!

5. Wear comfy shoes: Comfortable shoes are a must! But they’re bulky and awkward to carry, so limit what you take — perhaps just a good pair of lace-up boots or trainers for hiking and a casual pair of sandals. And don’t forget your flip-flops — they’re a must-have for public showers.

6. Don’t carry too much cash: Never carry huge amounts of cash. Beside the possibility that you could be robbed, you may simply lose it. So if possible only carry a couple of days’ worth of money, kept in small denominations. Take a variety of money options such as credit card, some cash and perhaps some travelers’ cheques. And whatever you do, don’t keep all your money in the one place.

7. Sleep on it: Money belts are great for concealing your cash and passport. But if you’re worried about someone swiping it while you sleep (or even if you’re not), keep it in your sleeping bag or tuck it in your pillow case. It’s unlikely any thief would be brave enough to look for it there!

8. Keep a travel journal: Unfortunately, memories fade with time. So keeping a travel journal is a wonderful way of recording your activities, storing photos and mementos and collecting information to share with others when you get home.

9. Take a guide: While a guidebook certainly shouldn’t be considered the “Bible”, they do give extensive rundowns on accommodation, transport and sightseeing and also offer heaps of information to help make backpacking easy. If nothing else, reading your guide will help pass the time while you wait for the next bus.

10. Get connected: With Internet cafes sprouting up like mushrooms in almost every city and backwater town around the world, it has never been easier to stay in touch. Not only is it vital to have a few regular contacts at home who can keep tabs on you, but they’re great places to meet fellow travelers.

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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