It has not been like this forever though. Being diagnosed with coeliac disease more than twenty years ago was very much different from today. To begin with, little to none of Dr Schar’s products were available in my country (Malta). Would you imagine living your gluten free life without Dr Schar’s products? Secondly, in general there wasn’t enough awareness and businesses in the restaurants and hospitality sector were not accommodating as much as today and although my closest family members and friends always made sure that I’m included in all social events, needless to say this was not always an easy task. Growing up I missed on school trips, sleepovers or organised weekenders as I was scared of eating from ‘unsafe’ and ‘unknown’ places. My safe place was my kitchen, at home. My trust and knowledge grew as I got older and started to make a self-risk assessment and prepare well before every trip. I made sure not to miss out on anything EVER AGAIN. Today, at twenty-eight years of age, living with coeliac disease for twenty-three years of them, I have travelled to three continents, visited, and ate gluten free food in over 30 different countries and never let coeliac disease stop me from doing anything. Today, I’m sharing with you my experience along with some traveling tips from when I visited Bali, Indonesia.

#ALWAYSBEPREPARED

Traveling to a well-known European city is one thing, but traveling to whole different continent, with different culture and cuisine is another. Only one thing remains the same - to always be prepared. Research the destination’s cuisine. For instance, when I researched about the food available in Indonesia, I realised that their cuisine is based on basic gluten free ingredients such as vegetables, fruits, protein and dairy. The cooking method was what I mostly needed to be careful for. After spending a couple of hours googling places, sending private messages to some restuarants and joined some private groups, I managed to compile a list of potential places where I could resort to for breakfasts, lunches and dinners, mostly based on past experiences from other fellow coeliacs.

Another important trick is to always pack gluten free snacks with me wherever I go (even in my own home country) so I always have a plan B. Therefore, without any doubt, I packed almost half of my hand luggage with gluten free snacks (yes, most of them Dr Schaer’s!). I always pack my snacks in my hand luggage cause well it’s always with me. Just in case the checked-in luggage gets lost, I’m safe.