Accessible travel or holidays for disabled people?

Today I was told there is another travel service out for disabled people. Of course I was curious and interested. It is not a question of competition as I am not so profit minded – which might not say much for my entrepreneurial spirit – but for me, I think the more the merrier, its about time disabled people had more choice.

I am more orientated to offering an informational service, Connect Culture is not geared to taking commissions from hotels or restaurants. However this new service is a customised service  tailored to your exact needs. On the one hand,  it is commendable on its intentions but the way it is offered makes me groan because the focus is still on your ‘needs’, so medical model. This customised service boasts of experts who would sort it all out for you. I am glad they have found experts who can take on the world as a destination. So much for inclusive tourism. This company also offer you dream honeymoons. I ‘ ve been told that there is such a market – especially in places like Las Vegas or in this case in a tropical island by disabled people. I question whether the disabled person – yes the CEO is disabled- has actually sampled the delights he is offering. He is relying on his team of experts (where did he find them?) to get it right for his disabled customers. Yes he knows some of the barriers that disabled people faces when they travel but has he been a traveler? Has he been a consumer of holiday destinations? I suspect not. Is he not being just a broker then? Is that wrong per se?

Entrepreneurs need all sorts of management skills, including the ability to sustain interest, stamina to continue wanting and making a success. The process isn’t easy and its no different for a disabled entrepreneur and in actual fact, there are more barriers to jump over – and its not always nice. I should and do applaud disabled entrepreneurs but why just target disabled people and label it as such.   I am fastidious I  do not want segregation, holidays for disabled people. I want holidays for everybody, disabled or non disabled to be able to have the same holiday. Inclusive holidays – it means having the widened doors, the wet rooms, level access, deaf alarms, facilities for assistance dogs, good signage built seamlesslyinto the architecture/culture so that families, lovers, friends, couples can go on holiday together.

I know Scott Rains has worked tirelessly at getting the message of inclusive/universal design accross. I consider him evangelic in his zeal – in a good way.

he writes:

The concept of Inclusive Travel is itself traveling around the world. It is leaving an infrastructure that will allow the pleasure of world discovery to generations to come. It enables generations present to do so through all stages of their lifespan. That’s the vision of Universal Design applied to tourism — Inclusive Tourism.

I am left wondering if I am a ’snob’ in the sense that I have my eye on a vision and deny the fact that disabled people need their holidays to be located in ‘holidays for disabled people’. I, myself, seek to lessen the stress for other disabled people in the 3 cities I know and love, London, Paris and Strasbourg with Connect Culture. I would not promise I can provide information on access in places I am not familiar with. (Actually if anyone wants to have a honeymoon or wedding in Las Vegas I can deliver because I have done my research there or go to Disneyland – these places have access built into them because of the good customer service in US and the ADA and I have just found the perfectly accessible hotel in Blackpool.)

What I am trying to articulate is that having a holiday means being in a different environment, culture and being able to sample, meander and get lost in a new sense. It shouldnt be focused just on your access needs – I agree that we can’t get away from our access needs but can we not segregate ourselves? I try to tell people I also help families (as I have done) and solo women travelers. The research I have done leads me gain knowledge of other information not just access – for eg. vegetarian, halal restaurants.

I look to the day when disabled people can go into any holiday booking office and book their holidays. I was extremely frustrated today because I went to book my flight and hotel with the Coop Travel Agency. I bank with the Co op and they have a card which would give me points if I use the travel agency. I did my own research for Valencia – I found out which hotel was accessible and told them which I wanted. I also said I wanted a wheelchair accessible room. To my chagrin, after I had paid, the agent now tells me the wheelchair access room is not guaranteed. Now in an inclusive world the agent should not need me to tell her that it is essential for me to have that, it would be part of her training to check that. In fact I would say it should be common sense!

accessible hotel rooms?

These past two weeks I have been to 2 different cities and stayed at 2 hotels, both these hotels are from hotel chains: the Radisson SAS, Leeds and City Hotel, Manchester.

I asked for wheelchair accessible rooms both times and got one both times – however neither of them had showers/ wet tooms that I could use. And the Radisson had quite a double bed that I could not really park my wheelchair beside the bed.

Double bed with little space on either side

and the bathroom had a shower with a ledge and glass doors which virtually made it unusable for an independent traveler because you cannot park the wheelchair to transfer to the shower seat.

boxed in shower with doors

universal adapter

The staff was quite helpful but they were not very knowledgeable. I had a dual voltage charger and stupidly left the adaptor behind and they did not seem to be able to cope with adapters other than the EU ones. Somehow in a reasonably cosmopolitan city like Leeds, is it too much to expect an universal adaptor? One of the staff actually scoured the city centre for one but could not procure one. Am I unreasonable to think they should be able to provide an adapter.

My room in Manchester was nice and spacious. The door to the room was incredibly stiff.

Spacious room

I was really surprised by the design of the bathroom. The shower was a level access shower which would be perfect had there not been a glass screen which meant that the space was restricted and transfer could be hazardous.

shower with glass screen

The sink, although it was not a pedestal sink was set so low that a wheelchair user could not use it comfortably especially with a towel rail in the way. The shelf for toiletries was more than an arms length away making it really annoying when it came to teeth brushing.

badly designed sink

I find it puzzling and wonder who they consulted in designing these so called accessible rooms. They could be so obvious to wheelchair users had they asked some of us. These are not just adapted rooms. My fellow  wheelchair traveler preferred to have a bath – he has good upper body strength and can transfer well and he did get one of those adapted rooms. But I do think it is such a waste to have these details wrong because they rendered the wet room un usable for those guests’ access needs. The wet room was made to cater for those access needs – a bit more attention to detail would have served those needs better.

London ‘is the most creative city in the world’

Something to celebrate for London!! I don’t think we celebrate enough about what/how wonderful it is as a city! I do not live there but only being a short hour by train away, I feel benefit from all the capital has to offer without having to pay for the privilege of living there…..but I get a buzz everytime I get there! I am not surprised that it has been given this accolade.

London has taken the top spot as the most creative city in the world, according to The Cannes Report, the new rankings system published by the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

With its 24 Lion lead over New York in 2nd place, the €149 (£139) report’s authors say that this ‘is an achievement that illustrates that London is once again regaining its position as a worldwide creative hotspot despite the current economic climate.’

The report also says that, after a couple of lean years of slipping down the rankings, creativity in the UK as a whole seems to be back on track. It ranks agencies, regions, and even cities by success at the festival. After a decline in the number of Lions won, the UK has this year been awarded 30 more than its 2008 total.

The Cannes Report includes worldwide creative rankings, seminar analyses and jury presidents’ insights.

from Digital Arts

In Leeds for Projecting into the Future, charger problems and access search

I went to Jo Verrent’s Projecting into the Future: Representation & Interpretation of Disability in the Visual Artst last Friday – yes I am slow again but I needed to recover from the whole experience and then prepare to go to Manchester for the Equality 2025 Public Meeting. One thing that I have to get used to is to learn to conserve my energy when I take jaunts on the train…its getting harder and harder for me to bounce back.. I went because I wanted to experience some Disability art, to see the Light Night and Simon McKeown’s Motion Disabled. And to meet up with some friends – Peter and Carol from the days when I used to live in Chapeltown.

Anyway, according to Paul Darke’s blog on the event, I’ve missed quite a bit! I miscalcalculated the time I needed to get there and then the train was delayed. I was not a happy bunny having missed lunch and then found myself waiting on a drafty platform in Birmingham waiting for the train. I was there to hear some of the artists express themselves about their art and thier motivations. I felt somewhat deflated by the fact that it was not a numerous nor as diverse as I would expect from a city like Leeds. I understand that art is very personal and certainly people use art for all sorts apart from creating something out of personal experience. One of the presenters reminded me of classes for art therapy – her talk was peppered by remarks that she found beauty in the art of these disabled people pursuing art as part of community art and how they were happy to be there. There seems to be a lack of what I consider to be an awareness of disability culture but hey, what do I know?

Later that evening was Leeds City council’s Light Night where we would go as a group to see Simon’s work projected onto to the side of Leeds City Technology College Building. However I nearly missed it…

I went to the Radisson to check in and found that I could not really access the shower inspite  of being allocated the accessible room with the roll in shower.

Never mind and then I found that while I brought my wheelchair charger, I had not replaced the adaptor on it since Strasbourg and a conversation with the hotel made it clear to me that I would not be able to go very far if I want to make it home the next day.The staff at the hotel was very accomodating and offered to go out and buy me the correct US adaptor because they did not have adaptors other than European ones. (my charger is a compact dual voltage charger)

This is always the bugbear as a disabled traveller – to remember to charge and bring the charger! and all the associated paraphernalia! So I missed  the reception (at Carriageworks, Millenium Sq)  by being at the hotel and when I did get there, the group had already set off and I didn’t know where they had gone.

So this intrepid wheelchair traveler went looking for some food. I saw the Spice Quarter Buffet in Millenium Sq I fancied that so I meandered there only to be frustrasted by not finding the access to get upstairs – no signage. Someone told me to gain access from the lift in Carriageworks but when I got to the basement I was still baffled at how to get upstairs..finally I asked someone at the bar and he asked me to wait while he clear the lift and path leading to it. It took him at lest 20 mins and when I did get up there, I was dismayed by the question if I had booked because the restaurant was full! They offered a table apart from the restaurant – I suspect it is a waiting space – and was given waiter service, the food was scrumptious!

Replete and happy, I was wandering in the Square looking at various exhibits when I saw Jo waving at me and she showed me where Simon’s work was – not far away and went with some of the others to have tea at the tea caravan ( 2 ladies from Chapel Allerton) and then to stronger drinks back at the hotel.

All in all it was a good day and slept till midday the next day to have lunch with Carol and Peter at Red Chili – a lovely Chinese restaurant within a stone’s throw away and caught an earlier train home because my meetings with 2 others did not materialise.

Strasbourg September 2009

There are many reasons to go to Strasbourg but every 2 years since 2003 there is the Freedom Drive that disabled people from all over Europe congregate for a rally to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.

I should have blogged about it much sooner but it took me some time to catch up with myself and my schedules, work etc. Also to absorb what the impact of whole rally .

Here is ENIL (European Network on Independent Living) program and information about it. I always found the camaraderie enriching and inspiring and this year was no different.

Shaking hands with Jerzy Buzek

But there is much written about the Freedom Drive already elsewhere. I won’t go on abut it here.

I enjoyed being a guide and doing some research on Strasbourg as a destination. I wanted to see if there is public transport to go do some wine tasting in the surrounding villages – it is that time of the year – vendange. When I lived in Strasbourg, we’ve always gone in the car.Well, I didn’t have to drive but I never really did the spitting out business….

grapes on the vine

This is the information I found about access for SNCF you can call this number – 0 890 640 650 – 48 hrs in advance with details of what sort of access needs and they would sort it out. Now this number cannot be accessed except from a French line but they will, apparently, get you to the nearest accessible station and then from there accommodate you to get to your destination with accessible transport (which might be a taxi).

Accessible Taxi in Strasbourg (I spoke to the driver but have not tried his services , they do not have a website yet) Access Cible (Transport de Personnes à mobilité réduite) -+33 388771579 54, rue de Prés, 67380 LINGOLSHEIM

Some restaurants I tried out with disabled friends who were there and can recommend the food as well as the access -

Hippopotamus 40/42 rue du Vieux Marché aux Vins
67000 Strasbourg (right next to Homme de Fer)

Tél : +33 3.88.23.84.90

Good for bigger groups. Accessible WC. Good for steak dinners

Restaurant Au Pont Saint-Martin
15, Rue Moulins
67000 Strasbourg, France
Tél : +33 3 88 32 45 13‎

Needs booking for bigger groups. No accessible WC. Petite France is generally cobbley but picturesque.

L’Ancienne Douane

6 rue de la Douane, Strasbourg

Tél : +33 3 88 15 78 78

Best book for larger parties, free parking at Austerlitz,  wheelchair accessible WC. Brasserie food

Art Cafe, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

1, place Hans Jean Arp

Tram stop Musee d’Art Moderne

Tél : +33 3 88 22 18 88

Wonderful view especially when the terrace is open. Great brunches on Sundays.

Art Cafe Terrace

Its time to think about Christmas Market in Strasbourg again.Are hotels all booked yet? I am always amazed by the fact how fast the hotels get booked up especially during parliamentary sessions.

I think the best accessible hotel is the
Hôtel Ibis Centre Gare
10 place de la Gare
67000 Strasbourg
Tél. + 33  3 88 23 98 98

This is if you need a roll in shower. It also has a spacious room. It is also in close proximity of the station and great cous cous and kebab restaurants. I stayed at the Ibis Aux Pont Couvert this time round,

Hôtel Ibis Centre ‘Aux Ponts Couverts’
7, rue de Molsheim
67000 Strasbourg

Tél. +33 (0)3 90 22 48 70

Although there is a shower, the transfer is not as easy and the room size is not so generous.

So much more to write but enough for this time.

French appreciation for London visit

Un grand merci à notre guide !

Nous avons été  très heureux de la découverte de Londres que vous nous avez permise le 31 juillet. La traversée d’une partie de Londres en bus matin et après-midi, un excellent restaurant à midi, sans attente et loin des touristes, la découverte du cœur de Londres à pieds, … cette journée fut vraiment superbe.

Nous avons particulièrement apprécié cette longue promenade le long des quais de la Tamise, de Westminster bridge à la passerelle du Millenium, égayée par  les amuseurs publics, les stands de livres, les skaters. Vous nous avez ainsi permis de découvrir ou redécouvrir Big Ben, Westminster, Le County Hall, le Royal National Theater, La tour Oxo, Le Tate modern, Saint Paul et nous en passons.

Et vous n’aviez pas omis les pauses nécessaires !  A commencer par ce rafraichissement pris sur cette petite place aux accents méditerranéens dont le nom nous échappe et où travaillaient des artisans. Et cette glace prise sur une terrasse de Leicester square ! Sublime !

Nous vous sommes vraiment reconnaissants et ne manquerons pas de faire appel à vous lors d’un prochain voyage en Angleterre.

Maria Luisa, Philippe et Rafael

Philippe. Isa and Rapheal

translation
A big thank you to our guide!

We were very happy to explore London with you as agreed on July 31. The traversing of a part of London bus morning and afternoon, an excellent restaurant at noon, no queuing and away from other tourists, discovering the heart of London on foot … this day was really great.

We particularly enjoyed the long walk along the banks of the Thames from Westminster Bridge to the  Millennium Bridge, enlivened by street performers, book stalls, skaters. You have enabled us to discover or rediscover Big Ben, Westminster, the County Hall, the Royal National Theater, the Oxo Tower, Tate Modern, St. Paul and many more.

And you did not omit the necessary breaks! Beginning with refreshments we took  on a  small area with Mediterranean accents whose name escapes us and where craftsmen worked. And the ice creams taken on a terrace of Leicester Square! Gorgeous!

We are truly grateful and will certainly call on you at any  upcoming trips to England.
Maria Luisa, Philippe and Rafael

Chinatown

View of the Thames

St Pauls

Statue