Seeing The World My Way

Tony Giles

Description

Seeing The World My Way follows Tony Giles' journey of hedonism and thrill-seeking adventure as he travels across North America, Oceania and parts of South East Asia.Full of drama, danger and discovery, this fascinating travel biography is a young blind man's view of the world as he sets out to achieve his dream, dealing with disability whilst living life to the limit.From bungee jumping in New Zealand to booze filled nights out in New Orleans, Seeing The World My Way is a no-holds-barred account that certainly is not for the faint hearted.Travel the world in a whole new way with Tony Giles' frank, honest and exhilarating romp through one adrenaline-fuelled experience after another.

Sujets

• Travel writing

Informations

• Publié par: Tony Giles
• Date de parution: 21 décembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781912022861
• Langue: English

Extrait

Seeing The World My Way A totally blind and partially deaf guy s global adventures
Tony Giles
Travelling is like sex - if you think about it too much, you never do it!
Tony Giles
Contents
Acknowledgements
Author s Note
Prologue
Chapter 1: The Background
Chapter 2: The Question Why?
Chapter 3: The American Conquest
Chapter 4: From New Orleans to California
Chapter 5: Going Down Under
Chapter 6: The Coast of Australia
Chapter 7: Travelling the Islands of New Zealand
Chapter 8: The Kiwi Experience
Chapter 9: New Zealand: Wild and Dangerous
Chapter 10: New Zealand: Queenstown and the south end of the country
Chapter 11: Australia: the West Coast
Chapter 12: South East Asia - the Nations of Dreams
Epilogue
Where Are They Now?
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
My deepest thanks go to my family who have supported me throughout my entire journey. Special thanks go to my wonderful mum, Aileen Milsom, for having the foresight to send me to a specialist boarding school, which provided me with a normal upbringing. I m forever indebted to you for having courage and strength, for having such zest for life and strong determination to fight my every cause, no matter what the odds or the obstacles. Your attitude has instilled in me those same qualities, without which I could not have considered travelling alone, or indeed undertaken such extreme adventures. I will never be able to thank you enough for helping with all my research, map reading, planning, photocopying documents, and arranging many other items essential to my travels, particularly ensuring I always had the necessary medication. Knowing that I was safe and happy, your only concern for me has made my travels and life an enormous success. Thank you, Mum.
To my sister, Annette Giles, thank you for being a huge help to me in writing this book, not only with research and spellings, but also for constant encouragement when I felt it would never be completed.
My thanks go to Carol Johnstone, the mother of a friend I met in Washington DC, United States on one of my later trips, for her sterling efforts and many long hours spent both in proofreading and in coordination. Without her extensive and tireless work, this book would not be complete.
Similar thanks go to Celia Morris, a volunteer from a local blind organisation in Birmingham, and her mum Eunice Woodhead.
I m indebted to all my educational institutions for helping to improve my life, and for providing me with the confidence and skills to travel independently.
Thanks go to my disabled school friend of long standing, Will Harris. You introduced me to the fun of hostelling; we have enjoyed many journeys together, both at home and abroad. The fact that you can only see in one eye and often go round in circles, usually with me linked to your arm, has provided many hilarious adventures, just too numerous to mention.
I have to thank the staff in the American Studies Department at what is now Northampton University. Your willingness to help tackle any problems I brought with me was most commendable; my acceptance onto the American Studies course enabled my travel and study in the US, thus establishing a platform for my later journeys.
Geoff Parsons in South Carolina was magnificent in organising my study support in the US, which allowed me to travel once there.
Had it not been for the University in Northampton and my opportunity to study in the US, I would not have met such amazing people as James Gardner (Jimmy G) and Will Clarke, who became good friends. You did more than put up with my erratic, often rude, uncontrollable behaviour, many drunken episodes and occasional verbal assaults.
Likewise, I would not have met Kate O Brien or Marcia Paul, had I not been able to study abroad. Both ladies have remained good friends and have grown to be as close as family. Kate is one of the few lucky (or maybe unlucky) people to have travelled with me and helped to make my journeys become considerably more exciting and fun. A young, sexy lady - I could not get enough of your friendship, with your charming, irrepressible personality - you gave me a reason to travel to Australia. Marcia is a wonderful lady, with patience and an amazing gentle personality. You taught me so much about life. You provided a warm, understanding friendship and a place to stay whenever I needed one; you are truly remarkable. My thanks to you both.
I owe many thanks to the Student Travel Association, for their diligence, time and effort in helping with my many travel requests and searches. To the numerous transport staff I have met around the world, for their help and patience in guiding me through stations, airports and on to further destinations successfully. To the many hostel staff for making my visits as easy and as comfortable as possible. They arranged activities, guided me to shops and pubs, helped me around the accommodation and extended their hospitality, often beyond their prescribed duties. I m indebted to them all, as together they helped to make my travels a happy experience.
Thanks must also go to Mark Cooper from Manchester Action for the Blind, for your support with helpful suggestions and contacts for publishing.
Several people have provided support with spelling, grammar and general information, these include Gareth Thomas, Nick Freear and Nicola Berry-Salgado, friends I have made through my studies.
Finally, my thanks go to all my fellow travellers, both named and unnamed, in this work. Without you, I would have no story to tell.
Tony Giles
Devon 2010
www.tonythetraveller.com
To my loving father
J. Derek Giles
who sadly passed away on 1st August 1995
The man who helped me begin my many journeys
Author s Note
Currencies mentioned in this book are approximations only and subject to change. I have noted the currency of the country involved, giving its exchange rate to the British pound during the time of my visit. I have used US dollars when British pounds were unavailable.
Various measurements are used throughout this work:
Length
1 inch = 2.51 centimetres
1 foot = 30 centimetres
1 yard = 91 centimetres
3 ft 4 ins = 1 metre
1 mile = 1.760 yards / 1.6 kilometres
Weight
2.2 pounds = 1 kilogram
14 pounds = 1 stone / 6.8 kilograms
Speed of travel
1 mile/hour = 1.6 kilometres/hour
Temperature
Take any Celsius temperature, multiply by 1.8 and add 32 to get Fahrenheit. Do the opposite to convert to Celsius.
Five basic examples for illustration:
0 Celsius = 32 Fahrenheit
5 Celsius = 41 Fahrenheit
10 Celsius = 50 Fahrenheit
15 Celsius = 59 Fahrenheit
20 Celsius = 68 Fahrenheit
Prologue
This book is for all those travellers on the road having good times and bad times, laughing or struggling over the last hurdle with their backpack, friend and enemy, simultaneously. It is also for my family and close friends whom I have continually abandoned to go wandering, leaving them with the worry and distress of not knowing my whereabouts or whether I m alive or dead. Without them I would be nobody, and I couldn t undertake my crazy journeys.
Finally, this work is for the many people who want to travel and don t know how. It is for parents who have problems understanding why their children want to travel, disabled or not. Maybe in truth it is a book for people who are just unsure of themselves and don t quite know how or where to find answers.
This book says if you want it, and have a heart for it, anything can be achieved. I desired it so badly that I travelled around the world solo twice. And if I can do it, so can you. I m not the first person to undertake this and I probably will not be the last.
This is a unique story of madness, adventure, booze, drugs, sex and excitement, with the occasional travel story included for good measure. I hope my readers enjoy it; I certainly enjoyed the experiences!
Chapter 1: The Background
It happened when I was a child. I was about nine or ten years old, when my aging dad told me stories about his life at sea and on land. Unrealised then, he raised awareness in the unconsciousness of my mind, which touched a nerve and conveyed a sense of adventure and excitement, which awakened my already vivid imagination and planted a seed that blossomed years later. Although my dad tried to protect me he was, indirectly, largely responsible for my travel exploits. He was born in the late 1920s and went to sea just before the end of World War II (WWII). He joined the Merchant Navy as a wireless operator and continued to serve after the war. His career took him around the world, to Australia, Canada, and India. He told me stories about sailing up the St. Lawrence River into Canada where large and terrifying icebergs passed close to the ship s sides. He crossed Australia by train, from the east to the west coast, going across the Nullabor Plain - a journey I still long to take.
Probably embellished a little, my father s stories captivated my idea of travel, and provided a sense of adventure. Far away from home for long periods, he and his shipmates battled ferocious, dangerous seas on cold, dark nights. His adventures encouraged me to overcome any problems I would encounter during my solo travels. My father was a kind man with adventure in his heart.
My travel adventures really began when I was a teenager, when my best mate Will Harris, who has sight in only one eye and an incapacitated hand, introduced me to hostelling. I was nineteen years old, full of enthusiasm, energy and foul language. We were off to Norwich of all places! It s like going to the corner of the earth and back, a distant, seemingly unimportant agricultural and cold city. We went there for a rock gig, something I had been doing for a couple of years by then, so with our backpacks in tow, we set off for chilly Norwich. After a long train journey, we checked in at our previously booked hostel. We asked the owner to leave the door unlatched, as we would be returning late. The gig was far from t