Recomendation for independent travelling to e.g. thailand
J. v. Holden
i am considering going alone on vacation to e.g. Thailand or elsewhere with
a warm climate in january-march 2010, hwhere the service is good, and where
English is widely understood oor spoken.
I just want to relax, do abit of site seeing, and rrelax and eat and
otherwise enjoy myself.
I am totally blind and in my mid thirties
Any Ideas, ?
Kind regards,
Jesper. From Denmark.
chris mcmillan
Holden <h...@jvh.net> writes
>Hi all.
>i am considering going alone on vacation to e.g. Thailand or elsewhere with
>a warm climate in january-march 2010, hwhere the service is good, and where
>English is widely understood oor spoken.
>
used to in the West so you'll have problems going out alone. Traffic
never stops to let you cross the road in Asia, people with disabilities
do not go out alone in many cultures, and having been and experienced
China as part of a guided tour I can appreciate why they don't go out
unaccompanied. Traffic going *round* you when the lights turn to red
for them is very disconcerting. English isn't widely spoken outside the
largest cities either. I found quite a lot of the tourist sites in
China were not in the best of repair either making them difficult to
navigate unless with great care. That's the downside of a guided tour
as I did. You won't find much in accessible format literature wise
either. What are you like climbing? Lots of traditional buildings in
Asia are built on stilts, even people's homes - which as I don't do
steps very easily prevents me from visiting friends in both Thailand and
Cambodia.
>
>I just want to relax, do abit of site seeing, and rrelax and eat and
>otherwise enjoy myself.
>
you could book guides from your hotel to your sightseeing destination as
well I have no idea.
>
On the other hand you could ignore everything I've said and go and do it
alone and people will help you eventually. You speak good English, read
'My Road Leads To Tibet' by Sabriye Tenberken. She's managed to cross
China and Tibet without anything more than her English and a white cane
(and a horse!), though she glosses over *how* she did that bit of it.
The book isn't about going to China and Tibet but what she did when she
got there.
>
One idea : there's a company in the UK which does adventure holidays
where the blind and sighted are on equal footings and they go to
'extreme' places but Asia isn't so far.
>
http://www.traveleyes-international.com/
>
I could also put you in touch with organisations for the blind in your
chosen country.
>
>I am totally blind and in my mid thirties
You're game for anything. I wouldn't have gone it alone in my early
30s.
Sincerely Chris
--
Chris McMillan
sig line taking a holiday
J. v. Holden
Thank you for your answer,
I am besides Asia also considering the u.s. I used to live there some 16
years ago, and would like to visit more of the country, Maybe Louisiana or
florida, thereby having no real language barrier and a better infra
structure than in developing countries. So if you or anybody else got ideas
on that path, I would also be greatful for that.
Take care,
Kind regards,
Jesper.
"chris mcmillan" <spam...@ntlworld.com> skrev i en meddelelse
news:yyO+YVP8...@chris.mcmillan...
Brian Gaff
they seem to have no inkling of what a white cane is, or any conception of
the DDA, so if this attitude is the same in the country, I'd say its a no no
as well.
Its not that they are not doing things on purpose, its something cultural I
think.
Brian
--
Brian Gaff - bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"chris mcmillan" <spam...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:yyO+YVP8...@chris.mcmillan...
bando?ers@gmail
I lived in Fla. as a kid, and worked there for a few months in
the80's. It is really boring, and expensive in the winter. Certainly
warmer than your country, but remembert in the u.s. there is almost no
public transit outside of citties, and what there is in most of them
well, sucks! (none in fla. as far as I no_greyhound buses are not
very nice)
I have never crossed the ocean to Europe or Asia, but have a good
friend inthailand. He is from the u.k., and knows me and what blind
folks can do. I live in southern Mexico/good weather in the winter,
public trans, and if you start working on a bit of spanish
now...there arre alot of people that speak some English in beach
areas, and other tourist destinations.
As far as the states go, I'll do some thinking on good places, but
give an idea on how long, and your interests.
I need to sleep now, but with in the week I will post more on this
if I hear from you.
Burt Henry
Oaxaca, Mx
Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish, and he'll buy a funny hat.
Talk to a hungry man about fish, and you're a consultant.
J. v. Holden
I was considering 10-14 days. I want to be either close to the Ocean or in
the mountains. I like the Outdoors, but I mainly want to go for relaxation
and abit of site seeing on this vacation, good eating and reading. Not too
active a vacation .
My spannish is none exising, and is not likely to improve within the next
half year, unfortunately but if I can get a nice vacation in mexico, and
get some good mexican food, real mexican food, then I guess that that could
be an option as well.
I have been thinking on the line of a cruise as well, but do not know if the
cruise lines are keen on taking on unacompanied blind passangers?
A nice hotel resort with lots of good restaurants, beaches or pool areas
would be quite all right I guess.
It does not matter whether in the us, Latin american, or Asian areas, as
long as the climate is reasonable, and I do not have to climb too many
opsticles in order to get to my hotel room! *smile*
Keep on suggesting things to me!
Kind regards, Jesper.
"Brian Gaff" <bri...@blueyonder.co.uk> skrev i en meddelelse
news:NoYxm.101443$OO7....@text.news.virginmedia.com...
bando?ers@gmail
Once again I am replying to myself, although this is partly to Brian
and of course everything is for you Jesper. Just excuse the typos/I
write funny on-line sometimes anyway.
What
Brian said is more or less right about cane recognission, but that can
be all the more reason to get out there, and you are still young and
it seems single.
See something interesting, and when you relax, well relax. Florida is
mostly family oriented tourist traps (zoos specializing in some type
of animal or another), or a rough and roudy singles sceen, where I
fear a single blind guy that does not drink and drink well, and have
a very social personalitty, excelent intuition, and maybe hard fists
would be alone on a barstool, or sitting alone in a croud on a
beach feeling very isolated. There some cool things, but once again
with out a car... (most tourist rent cars) Just depends, but take
advantage of your youth. People are friendly where I live compared
to Fla, and it's 2 to 5 times cheaper depending on your tastes. Or
take a cruise? Florida is good for that the Bahamas. Let me know,
and I'll dig in to my experience. But, don't be scared of the
unknown.
Burt Henry
P.S. I'm sure that there are tours if you want to see more of Fla, but
not at your own pace/not so relaxing for me that. California would be
a better bet in the states for a blind guy alone. Beaches in the
south are still nice in the winter, and there is better public transpo
in many places: but the water is alot colder.
Burt
Belief like any other moving body follows the path of least
resistance.
-Samuel Butler, poet (1612-1680)
bando?ers@gmail wrote:
> Hi Jesper,
> I lived in Fla. as a kid, and worked there for a few months in
> the80's. It is really boring, and expensive in the winter. Certainly
> wa sucks! (none in fla. as far as I no
Sorry, I was writing fast/no proof read or spell check review "no
should have been "know" and the phrase was entended to be in *()'s.
But I guess you got the point.
bando?ers@gmail
Burt
bando?ers@gmail wrote:
> Hi Jesper,
> I lived in Fla. as a kid, and worked there for a few months in
> the80's. It is really boring, and expensive in the winter. Certainly
> wa sucks! (none in fla. as far as I no
Sorry, I was writing fast/no proof read or spell check review "no
should have been "know" and the phrase was entended to be in *()'s.
But I guess you got the point.
J. v. Holden
Thanks,
Yeah, any experience you've got, I will greatly appreciate.
So where do you live?
California, might also be interesting, but you are right about the water
temperature, is alot colder on the pacifi.
Any concrete ideas would be nice.
Kind regards, Jesper.
"bando?ers@gmail" <burt1...@gmail.com> skrev i en meddelelse
news:e4239abf-5021-45d3...@p9g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...
J. P. Gilliver (John)
>Hi.
>I was considering 10-14 days. I want to be either close to the Ocean or in
>the mountains. I like the Outdoors, but I mainly want to go for relaxation
>and abit of site seeing on this vacation, good eating and reading. Not too
>active a vacation .
. You mention sightseeing: what sort of sights do you want to see? You
said you are totally blind, so to me that means that beautiful views,
and that sort of thing, are not of relevance to you - but you said you
like the outdoors, so I may be wrong about that; similarly, the majority
of museums, zoos, and other such places open to the public, where a lot
of what's on offer is under glass or roped off, are similarly no go,
unless the place has a reputation among the VH/VI community for being
worth a visit.
I would recommend the UK, since there is on the whole reasonable
provision, though with vide variations, for the VH, but you said you
wanted somewhere warm, in January-March, and I think even the West
Country (down the "leg" of England) isn't very warm at that time of
year!
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **
Very funny, Scotty. Now beam down my clothes
chris mcmillan
(John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> writes
>In message <4ac88968$0$56780$edfa...@dtext02.news.tele.dk>, J. v.
>Holden <h...@jvh.net> writes:
>>Hi.
>provision, though with vide variations, for the VH, but you said you
>wanted somewhere warm, in January-March, and I think even the West
>Country (down the "leg" of England) isn't very warm at that time of year!
Don't be daft, John, even the Scilly Isles aren't warm enough to
guarantee warm sun, never mind the sort that would tempt someone from
the frozen wastes of the Arctic.
The US is very geared up with its Americans With Disabilities, much more
so than we are with access to public places like zoos etc.
J. P. Gilliver (John)
<spam...@ntlworld.com> writes:
[]
>The US is very geared up with its Americans With Disabilities, much
>more so than we are with access to public places like zoos etc.
>
>Sincerely Chris
.`That's what I thought, legally; however, I had the feeling I'd read
that some of the southern states, though they might have the laws, don't
quite have the mindset. BICBW.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **
Live Faust, die Jung.
chris mcmillan
(John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> writes
>In message <7$ZsrcFtn...@chris.mcmillan>, chris mcmillan
><spam...@ntlworld.com> writes:
>[]
>>The US is very geared up with its Americans With Disabilities, much
>>more so than we are with access to public places like zoos etc.
>>
>>Sincerely Chris
>
>.`That's what I thought, legally; however, I had the feeling I'd read
>that some of the southern states, though they might have the laws,
>don't quite have the mindset. BICBW.
That I don't know. Over on the American Nystagmus Network mail list
(yahoo) the parents are always saying things about 'little Johnny'
getting front seats at cinemas and theatres as a matter of course on
account of their visual impairment, that sort of thing, with discounts
or whatever and its obviously an accepted thing, unlike here where every
outlet has a different idea of discounts or not.
Andrew Hodgson
<spam...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>http://www.traveleyes-international.com/
I cannot recommend this company enough. I have been on several
holidays with them now, and each one has been rewarding both in the
places you go, and with the people you meet.
They are supposedly planning a trip to the U.S next year which I will
definitely be up for.
Thanks.
Andrew.
Andrew Hodgson
<G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>In message <4ac88968$0$56780$edfa...@dtext02.news.tele.dk>, J. v.
>Holden <h...@jvh.net> writes:
>>Hi.
>>I was considering 10-14 days. I want to be either close to the Ocean or in
>>the mountains. I like the Outdoors, but I mainly want to go for relaxation
>>and abit of site seeing on this vacation, good eating and reading. Not too
>>active a vacation .
>[]
>. You mention sightseeing: what sort of sights do you want to see? You
>said you are totally blind, so to me that means that beautiful views,
>and that sort of thing, are not of relevance to you - but you said you
>like the outdoors, so I may be wrong about that; similarly, the majority
>of museums, zoos, and other such places open to the public, where a lot
>of what's on offer is under glass or roped off, are similarly no go,
>unless the place has a reputation among the VH/VI community for being
>worth a visit.
I agree that if you do these sorts of things on your own you tend to
miss out - I have been there and done that in the UK. Going with
someone else gives you the chance to know what is there and you get a
better appreciation of the surroundings.
That said, I recently went to London on a whim with two VI friends,
and I organised a trip to the National Observatory, and let them know
we were coming in advance. There was a guy there who spent nearly an
hour and a half of his time going round the building with us, and we
couldn't have got better service from them. In the end we didn't need
to pay for entrance fees either - a bargain trip, though I sometimes
find these sorts of arrangements awkward, especially if someone has
gone and put a lot of time aside for you.
Thanks.
Andrew.
chris mcmillan
Andrew Hodgson <and...@hodgsonfamily.org> writes
>On Sat, 3 Oct 2009 21:25:32 +0100, chris mcmillan
><spam...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
>>http://www.traveleyes-international.com/
>
>I cannot recommend this company enough.
>
Asia yet.
>
>They are supposedly planning a trip to the U.S next year
>
going to have to change his plans when he sees what this company is
like.
I'm not fit enough for 'extreme' holidays.
Chris
>.
bando?ers@gmail
kinda of guy. Things used to be pretty backwards when I was a kid,
but the world, and especially the U.S. is homogenizing; and people
are maybe a bit more willing to take the time to help you "see" what
is going on down thar...
I was just in Atlanta Ga. the first of the summer, and got a very
hands on personal tour of a natural history museum. he head of .edu
for the place took off a good 2+ hours to show me and my kid around/I
got to touch 100 million dinosaur bones...
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> Inhe US is very geared up with its Americans With Disabilities, much
> >more so than we are with access to public places like zoos etc.
> >
> that some of the southern states, though they might have the laws, don't
> quite have the mindset.
Small towns where no blind people have ever done anything still have
mind upsets everywhere, and I did not take any offense,BTW....I
remember when things did seem a couple of decades behind in places
close to where I grew up.
Burt
> ** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicro
chris mcmillan
<e1067adc-d0d8-4f24...@a21g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>,
"bando?ers@gmail" <burt1...@gmail.com> writes
>I was just in Atlanta Ga. the first of the summer, and got a very
>hands on personal tour of a natural history museum. he head of .edu
>for the place took off a good 2+ hours to show me and my kid around/I
>got to touch 100 million dinosaur bones...
>
museum or whatever well in advance as volunteers are almost always in
short supply, and paid staff are equally few. Even when one needs a
personal assistant to go round an exhibition for study purposes (and
your tutor is part of the museum) its still almost impossible to get
someone to help. I know, I've done it and given TWO months notice. And
what I got was the then new disability affairs officer for the museum (a
London museum) on her first day in post. She hardly knew what she was
looking at never mind anything else.
The best places to go are where there are purpose built 'touch tours' or
audio described exhibitions but finding them 'on spec' as a tourist
would be difficult without contacting our national organisation for the
blind.
In smaller places volunteers will tell you what they know if you ask but
otherwise they mostly leave you alone once they've given you any
accessible information that you know from ringing in advance to ask for.
Sincerely Chris
>
>
>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>> Inhe US is very geared up with its Americans With Disabilities, much
>> >more so than we are with access to public places like zoos etc.
>> >
>> that some of the southern states, though they might have the laws, don't
>> quite have the mindset.
>
>Small towns where no blind people have ever done anything still have
>mind upsets everywhere, and I did not take any offense,BTW....I
>remember when things did seem a couple of decades behind in places
>close to where I grew up.
>Burt
>> ** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicro
--
Andrew Hodgson
<spam...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>In message <uqj0d5ddsr88n1prl...@news.giganews.com>,
>Andrew Hodgson <and...@hodgsonfamily.org> writes
>>On Sat, 3 Oct 2009 21:25:32 +0100, chris mcmillan
>><spam...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>>
>>>http://www.traveleyes-international.com/
>>
>>I cannot recommend this company enough.
> >
>I'd suggested them to Jesper as well - but they haven't got as far as
>Asia yet.
> >
>>They are supposedly planning a trip to the U.S next year
> >
>Which would be ideal if they were doing Jan or Feb. I reckon Jesper's
>going to have to change his plans when he sees what this company is
>like.
>
>I'm not fit enough for 'extreme' holidays.
These aren't really extreme holidays, just relaxing city breaks mostly
with optional extras if you want them. I spent most of the time in
South Africa in January at various restaurants - couldn't believe how
cheap it was to eat out there.
Andrew.
chris mcmillan
>On Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:37:35 +0100, chris mcmillan
><spam...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
>>In message <uqj0d5ddsr88n1prl...@news.giganews.com>,
>>Andrew Hodgson <and...@hodgsonfamily.org> writes
>>>On Sat, 3 Oct 2009 21:25:32 +0100, chris mcmillan
>>><spam...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>http://www.traveleyes-international.com/
>>>
>>>I cannot recommend this company enough.
>> >
>>I'd suggested them to Jesper as well - but they haven't got as far as
>>Asia yet.
>> >
>>>They are supposedly planning a trip to the U.S next year
>> >
>>Which would be ideal if they were doing Jan or Feb. I reckon Jesper's
>>going to have to change his plans when he sees what this company is
>>like.
>>
>>I'm not fit enough for 'extreme' holidays.
>
>These aren't really extreme holidays, just relaxing city breaks mostly
>with optional extras if you want them.
>
breaks are certainly well within my capability. I'm just waiting for
him to go to China then. :-)
>
>I spent most of the time in
>South Africa in January at various restaurants - couldn't believe how
>cheap it was to eat out there.
>
Chris
Andrew Hodgson
<spam...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
[...]
>>>
>>>I'm not fit enough for 'extreme' holidays.
>>
>>These aren't really extreme holidays, just relaxing city breaks mostly
>>with optional extras if you want them.
> >
>They way I've read them you're off in the jungle etc.
Lord no. Nothing that extreme. In fact I don't think they went
anywhere where there was any jungle exploration.
>Relaxing city
>breaks are certainly well within my capability. I'm just waiting for
>him to go to China then. :-)
There was a survey a few months ago where China was on the list, I am
waiting for him to renew his holiday list anyway as I have done a lot
of the others.
Andrew.
chris mcmillan
Andrew Hodgson <and...@hodgsonfamily.org> writes
>On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:12:59 +0100, chris mcmillan
><spam...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
>[...]
>>>>
>>>>I'm not fit enough for 'extreme' holidays.
>>>
>>>These aren't really extreme holidays, just relaxing city breaks mostly
>>>with optional extras if you want them.
>> >
>>They way I've read them you're off in the jungle etc.
>
>Lord no. Nothing that extreme. In fact I don't think they went
>anywhere where there was any jungle exploration.
>
did to the jungles of S America?
>
>There was a survey a few months ago where China was on the list,
I shall be watching for that then. Years ago when Guide Dogs did their
holidays they did a China tour one year. I wasn't in the market for it
then - and I'm not a dog owner anyway. :-)
I've been to China once with a sighted tour group, and it was quite hard
work as I needed quite a lot of 'the odd hand' over the rough ground and
I rarely managed to climb three shallow steps over tatty red carpet to
get into the public toilet facilities and their historic monuments need
careful footwork over the steep staircases or into museums.
Sincerely Chris