Hello and thank you for stopping by! My name is Lee and this is my humble piece of the world wide web. Travel is something that I’m passionate about, along with music and sports. But ever since my spinal cord injury, I find that I’m always doing extra legwork (sorry, couldn’t resist the irony!), prior to arriving at the airport – smiling, with passport in hand. I’m constantly researching the places I’m visiting in advance, so I can figure out whether the main points of interest, accommodation, and public transportation are accessible. The problem is there’s a severe shortage of accessible travel resources online and it becomes rather time consuming, having to sift through various websites, videos, and corresponding with numerous hotels or businesses. So, I’m hoping to remedy that somewhat by sharing my personal travel experiences with you! Hopefully, it will save you from having to do as much research as I did and you’ll be able to travel to the places that I’ve mentioned – comfortably and confidently!
But before we get started, here’s a little bit more about myself and this space:
- I’m Canadian and live in Toronto (hence the British spellings of words like “centre” or “colour”…I’m also a strong proponent of the Oxford comma, in case you’re wondering why there are so many 😉
- I have a T5 spinal cord injury (i.e. full use of my arms, but not much core strength or balance) & I use a manual wheelchair to get around
- I’m not a huge museum person, but will hit the popular/significant ones, or anything that’s too cool to miss. Personally, I prefer hitting the streets and enjoying the outdoors – seeing the city’s architecture and meeting people/experiencing the culture
- I’m not one for semantics, when it comes to ambulation. I’ll say “walking” or “running” about as much as I do anything else, but rarely say “wheeling” or “pushing”. Of course, if I’m ever charged with jaywalking, all bets are off! 😉
- Regarding the name of the site: ‘World’ is slightly misleading, as I’ve only just scratched the surface (though it is a nasty cut). And while there isn’t an actual donkey here (besides the author), there IS an ‘ass cart’! It’s what I affectionately call my wheelchair, since it literally carts my ass around
- To keep things organized and consistent, I’ve created pages and navigation headings for the continents and countries – even if I’ve only visited one of its cities. In these instances, you won’t find much in the way of content, until you select the city link
- Suitable accommodation is a paramount, when you’re travelling. With that in mind, I’ve tried to include as much detail as possible about the accessibility and have added photos, whenever possible. I’ve even come up with a handy accommodation rating system, for quick reference, but some of these trips took place ages ago and you’re talking to somebody who can’t remember what he had for lunch yesterday (…okay, I probably can, but definitely not 2 days ago)! So, that said, some of the places & hotels will have more information than others, depending on how much I can recall (we can save the discussions about short-term vs. long-term memory and benefits of ginkgo biloba for another day)
- And outside of that one time in Edinburgh, when I tried to flip on the light in the middle of the night, but triggered the distress alarm instead – transforming my room into the world’s worst rave/dance club (the strobe lights and loud beeping REALLY could’ve used a thumping beat and funky bass line!) – I may not have much to say about visual or auditory accessibility…though Japan is pretty good for both. But for those of you with such impairments that are looking for budget-conscious accommodation in Scotland, might I suggest the Travelodge Edinburgh Central? If nothing else, I can vouch for their alarm system! 🙂
I’m surprised at how often somebody will look at me & my chair and seem taken aback, or “think it’s great” that I’m still able to get out and see the world. Part of me wonders whether this is solely an outsider’s perspective – differing greatly across cultures and generations – or if this mentality also exists within the disabled community and older adults too? Well, if it does, and if my stories can change anyone’s mind – convincing them that they or their loved ones can explore the world, regardless of their level of physical ability – then this site will truly be well worth the effort.
So, without further ado, let’s talk travel!
Me in Osaka – 2009