One year down, one and a half to go

Well, the last seven weeks have been pretty full-on, but then again, most of it has been in my head. It was manageable; it got a bit hectic towards the end of it, but I survived.

The two subjects were super interesting and so different from each other.

The first was all about health policy implementation and development, where we used real-life situations and examples to enhance the learning. Great discussion was had, and a few new friends were made!

The second subject was social science, social and cultural perspectives. I found this very appealing.  And I could choose to go down the pathway of doing a thesis or take on the coursework. I chose the latter because it’s much less writing than the thesis, not my forte. There was a reason that  I might have gone down the thesis path.  This is my interest in stigma and disability; it intrigues me no end. But I left it there, and I'll look into it in my own time.

Moving on, I’ve now completed a year of coursework, and I’ve got a little break and then back into the second year at a bit slower pace. One subject every term (6 weeks). Full-time is a big load, and it’s said that the second year CAN be a bit more intense. So I'll take my time with it. It looks like there will be about a year and a half to go, but I shall confirm when I speak to a student advisor ‘specialist’ in public health.

So, what do I want to do with my spare time? Moving ahead with my 4 Points (the4points.org) charity, I’m cooking up some crazy plans; whether they come to fruition is yet to be determined, but definitely thinking, certainly thinking….

I’m doing the 135km Around the Bay on the 18th of October, so I need to train for that as it’ll be the longest I'll have ever ridden! I’m also trying to get a team together, called, you guessed it, The 4 Points, duh! The event is run by Bicycle Network, and this year they’ve partnered with the Stroke Foundation as one of their charity partners; naturally, I couldn’t resist the temptation!

The last thing I’ll mention is the blog I’ve done about my New Zealand trip; if you want to check it out, click the link here.

I know it’s a while ago, but better late than never!

A late NZ trip

The flight from Sydney, day 0.5

So, on my arrival at Sydney International Airport, which was super busy, I propped myself near one of the desks and just stood around looking pretty, trying to grab some attention, which worked (disability privileges).   The woman was super helpful and took my bags around the back where the mobility assistance counter was. I mistakenly had forgotten to check through my main bag.  This was sorted out really quickly by another lady; she was very helpful as well.

I do want to point out that it’s interesting that they put the mobility counters at the back; I can see some positives and negatives with this.  The bleeding obvious point is that it’s further for, putting it bluntly, shitty walkers like myself to struggle with. But then again, having it at the front would be a headache for pushing/wheeling it through all the hordes of people.

Anyway, it was all good, and the dude driving the electric chair was a pro. Pretty much the flight was uneventful; had a bit of a chat but pretty straightforward.

I’m heading over to the land of apparent clouds for 17 days for a holiday, to reset after the 2-point journey: Howlong to Canberra and just a mental preparation for the middle section/phase of Uni life. (By the time this will be read, I’ll have done the next two subjects)

I’m travelling solo for the first few days and catching up with a few people who are starting new lives over the ditch. Then I’m doing an Intrepid tour from Auckland to Wellington over 9 days; hopefully I’ll make a few new friends!  Then I’m jumping across to Christchurch to try the food and explore by myself.

When I landed and had the chats with the hostess, it was hop in the wheelchair and off through customs; 4 times I had to whip out my passport. It was an ordeal for sure, but to be fair they were super efficient! The bloke who was wheeling me was a legend with his chuckling kind of attitude; we had chats as well. 

Then it was on to meet Mon and Ed who were picking me up, which I was extremely grateful for. Made plans for tomorrow, and on to the Brit.

The first night 1.0

At the Brit I ran into the bloke who had been sitting next to me on our flight, so naturally we sat together after him approaching me and offering a seat.

It was one of the most intriguing, thought provoking conversation I’ve had in a while. One of the talking points was community.

Then on to Danny Doolan’s. Then had a nightcap, or two, at Andrew Andrew to really welcome myself into NZ. When I arrived there, a bloke offered a hand to help me get up the stairs cause they’re where no rails; I said I’ll be right (using my cane) and took my steps up, but he insisted, and I refused politely.  As a result, he offered to buy me a drink; I was not complaining about that, but I only wanted a Baileys shot, which I got, but he was insisting on a ‘proper drink ’. Again, it was the insistence in his voice, and I had to keep reassuring him I was fine with the one, funny bloke. He did invite me to join the table, which I did, and we had a very light convo about why and how long we were both in NZ. After that I had a few more chats to various people, and I thought I was getting friendly with a French chick, but alas it was not meant to be.  When that ended, I started chatting to another NZ bloke; this is where things got interesting. Note he was likely fck-eyed, to put it politely, but he started using gestures (his version of sign language) to describe things to me as well as saying the word; I thought it was pretty amusing! 

One thing I will say, everyone I’ve met in NZ so far (apart from Mon and Ed) has really struggled to understand my voice and have said ‘could you repeat that’.

Out and about in Auckland, day one

Nothing exciting to report till around 12, when I went out for breakfast cause it’s holidays for me and I had a wicked waffle, coffee mascarpone, which I can confirm was grouse.

Then it was off back home to rest and do emails etc.; interesting when I got out of the Uber, which was interesting in itself due to the fact we got talking about customs and sayings in NZ.  The other interesting thing for me was I got an audition text, so I changed my plans a bit and got down to preparing the piece.    Ed and Mon will give me a hand tomorrow with the filming. I did a session at the gym with them, which was cool.   Ed and I did an I-go-you-go thing x 10; we got our heart rates up there! Then out for dinner at a fancy restaurant; I’ve forgotten the name, but I remember it was pretty dam accessible; the only issue was the height for wheelchair users.

Ed and I, smiling at camera after completing a rowing session.

Again, some intriguing conversations as well as some dating strategies!

Tomorrow I’ve got meetings, and then I will go back to the same cafe, a cycling class, then another dinner, which should be well lined up!

Meetings and cycling, day two

It was a pretty steaming day, to be honest. After working out that NZ was two hours in front, I realised that I could get some more zzzz’s before going out for breakfast and heading into meetings for 4 hours, then coming up for air to then get the videographer and director, aka Mon and Ed, to help me with an audition, then on to the gym.

Getting on the bike was quite difficult, and I did need a hand; getting off was way easier though, so making some little wins!

After the class had a brief chat to Reece, the manager- cool bloke, cool hair, and he’s given me free entry for tomorrow so that’s wicked!

By this stage I was starving, so it was on to Inca which was pretty dam good and yummy. Pretty cruisy day all in all.

Tee’s and a date, day 3 in Auckland

A stock standard start was happening in the morning, just scrubbed up cause there was a date in order later that night. Then off to Chur Sae (cafe) and on up to Ponsonby to catch up with Mon and Ed for shopping then gym… bought some cool shirts (for the date), a singlet (for the gym), and some socks. Then it was on to the gym; I should mention the traffic was horrendous, so we arrived late and left late, though me and Ed did a pretty good session; I made him work for the bicep curls. 

After that, while we were waiting for Mon, I finally took a look at the apps to see if the person was still keen to catch up… she unfollowed me. From a good conversation last night to blocking me was a fast turnaround. I can think of a few reasons why, but yet again I am an overthinker, so it could go around for days in my head. So plan B was go home, change, laundry, and out for dinner. We had a cracking time, and then I stayed on to watch the footy and chat to the Irish chick; like all the Irish people I’ve met, she was funny and fun.

I did have my first fall; in my defence, the door was bloody heavy, so when I was trying to push it open and me balancing at the same time, it was a disaster.

Luckily there was a keg right next to me so I could use that to get up and try again, success!

I got home at about 12, and I’ve been writing this since.

I’ll be catching up with the intrepid people tomorrow at 6 pm, so that’ll be interesting to meet new people; I’m always up for a chat!

New adventure, day 1 of intrepid tour

So this is my stock standard order for breakfast at Chur bea.

Banana waffle breakfast

And then off to the gym after that, I walked home cause I had the time and the patience.

It’s funny, I’m realising that the culture here in Auckland is a bit different from Australia, like people will give you the space for sure and wait for me to move through if they have to, but there’s generally no conversation: thank you, sorry, etc. It’s fine, it’s just funny to notice the odd different things.

Had a chill and then at 6 I went to meet the Intrepid group; there’s 12 of us and the leader is a live wire, she’s pretty cool!

We went to the Brit (again for me) where we got to know each other, a fair age difference but it’ll be a good crew! 

Also should mention as it’s Good Friday my laundry hasn’t arrived today so hopefully it’ll arrive in the morning before we leave at 9…

The cut off point is 9 am, day 2

Well, sad news for me: my clothes from the laundry didn’t show up, so I’ll have to free ball out for the next seven days. LOL jokes, I’ve got undies and socks, I’ll be right!

We left pretty much on time; I was shopper deprived, but as soon as I hopped in the front, it was game on from Ange or tour guide and me. We chatted, which ranged from work to cost of living about the ride I’d done, you name it, we covered it!

The highlights didn’t come until we got to the hot spring beach, where we had to walk to reach the destination; it was a lot further than it looked, but the chats were still going strong between Ange and I, she shoved some basil-like leaves into my mouth; they had a bitter aftertaste, and my lips were numb from them.  I also interviewed her on the beach about what community and inclusion means to her, super interesting and compelling!

We’ve also been adding to a playlist on Spotify while we were driving back on the bus; we had almost 200 songs from the start of the morning.

We were into our accommodation in no time, and then a shower for me and just hung around until we were going out for dinner. I did manage to fall over, so good job Tommy, got myself back up and it was off to catch up with the group.

The dinner was at a good Indian restaurant at Wahitianga.  We had some interesting chats about life stories, and these continued that on in M’s room. It felt like a long day, but really it was only 9:30!

Had an overreaction to the shower access!

Did watch the Jacinda Ardern documentary on Netflix that was super interesting; it really reminds us that everyone is human and should be respected.

James Cook, Bay of Poverty, day 3

We were up early, an hour short due to the clocks’ changing, off to breakfast, which was pretty dam good and had a lovely natter about travels and then we were off, taking a detour to grab a wheelchair from Ange’s friend so I can get to the glow worms, cause it’s too windy for boat travels and kayaking so this is the alternative!

Successful wheelchair get, with Ange and I smiling about it

Linda was lovely, and I’m really grateful for her lending us the wheelchair; super kind and super helpful!

Also got to see Ange’s home, which was an experience and some of the stories she told while driving there and when we got there, LOL, she is a funny duck, truly!

To be honest, it was a fair bit of driving on this day, but we had a lovely sunset cruise that was pretty damn good with a few glasses and a history lesson!

The access was pretty okay on the boat; the steps to the top deck were pretty high, but that’s a boat for you, not that much you can do about it. 

Then it was on to the pub to watch the last quarter of the footy; unfortunately, they couldn’t get it, so I was pretty ecstatic to check the scores to find out that we had knocked off the current leader! And it was just a great night, lots of laughs and there were some crazy drivers of my wheels!

History of Hobbiton, day 4

So we did the usual standard thing of breakky, in a cafe called Wyrd, which went alright, and the meals were huge, then off to Raglan beach, which had black sand and pearling waves.

Then it was on to Bridal Falls, which was grouse, but because I was in a wheelchair and had a crazy driver, Ange, I nearly died several times…. Nah, I was in safe hands.

Then it was on to Hobbiton, which was pretty sick! It was such an experience and a fun adventure (if you're a Lord of the Rings fan, you’ll get the reference there. Certainly a magical place.

Time to travel on and leave that adventure and start a new one by driving to Ratatue and then out for dinner, nothing special just a good dinner then bed, it was a big day! 

I will say about the Hobbiton experience, the access is a bit poor and could be improved just by widening the trails or having alternative routes.

Everyone likes a Bunnings trip, day 5 Rotorua

I was going to do white water rafting, but I ended up bailing as it was just a bit too much of a challenge, so instead I made a trip to Bunnings to get a screwdriver so I could undo the GoPro so then I could change the SD card due to it being corrupted.  Hopefully I can still download it and use it; there's some good footage on it!

After that was laundry and out for lunch. I ordered pizza.

Pic Nic cafe

And she then asked if I wanted her to cut the pizza up…very thoughtful of her.

I asked later if she had any allied health experience because it’s not every day that someone goes the extra mile and does things like this for you.

Then it was on to the Geothermal place called Ta Puia with the smell you get used to, but the first impression of the Sulphur smell is aromatically fartacious, not very inviting……!

We also got to witness a wicked cultural show at Te Puia, in the Whakawera Geothermal Valley, as well as dinner and to top it all off we got hot choccy and to go down to the geothermals again, ahhhh the smell. I also did get a hot right arse cheek, which surprised me due to my right arse cheek being numb most of the time due to the car crash!

Then on to Redfern Forest to see the lanterns, which I didn’t do; Ange and I just hung and had DnM’s, which was really really nice.

Then last but not least we saw the glow worms, and they are actually mentally disturbing when you learn about how vicious these things are; they are furious!

A long day, a long day! The wheelchair is holding up okay for the tough terrain it has been going through. NZ is gorgeous; however, its accessibility sometimes is lacking…

Hellsgate and the sin I’ve committed, day 6

Well today has been pretty shite on the weather front, so the only two viable options really have been Spa or mud spa, so I took the third option, chills and chats in the waka with Ange, which tbh was elite fun!

We chatted again around a range of absolute crap; it seems like it’s non-productive, but really we are solving a lot of issues!

Then lunch with everyone when they were picked up from their various destinations.  The picnic cafe did a great spring onion omelette; it was scrumptious. Then we were on our way to Taupo, where we will be staying for two nights. 

Did forget to mention that we stopped over at The Beehive, which is a place all about the bees and the process it takes to get to the point of honey. I enjoyed a few honey tastings, an ice cream and picked up a conditioner that is supposed to remove wrinkles…. We will see about that, but ok the cream does make you feel calm and good!

Apart from that, it was a pretty chilled dinner.  Ange did tell us two stories, one about the brother and sister relationship with the mountain and the river and then one about 50 shades of grey and the death, but I won’t spill the beans; you’ll have to come and have an Intrepid tour and meet her and ask.

Catamaran and non-hikers, day 7

Well, it was a cruisy start and then headed into town at 10, I had a pretty rad salmon omelette, then started heading on foot to the catamaran, and we were off and motoring due to like zero wind!

Steve and I had a good chat about up north-east of Australia and mixed experiences we’d had, super insightful!  We were at the caves in no time, and I’ve got to say I’m not really into art, but the carvings on the vertical wall above the water do make you wonder: how the fck did the people do that? It leaves you scratching your head!

Then we headed back to shore; I must say my disembarkation from the Cat in my eyes, was relatively elegant.

A Haka murder?

We went out to the Haka Falls, where apparently around 1999 there was a murder that turned out to be dumping of a body; either way it’s an unreal sight, and you’d need to be an elite white water rafter to go down those rapids!

Then it was on to dinner and a bit of a debrief about the day’s events; a good day was had!

On to Wellington, day 8

There were a few stops along the way as we made our way to Wellington. Like the Olympic gunboot throwing or the Weta Works, which was the lord of the Rings CGI essentially, or up a mountain to check out the view, but then it got interesting.

So we had dinner, which was super cool, cheap and good Vietnamese cuisine; highly recommend the Pho Veit on Dixit Street in Wellington.

Then over to Dakota bar to chill with Ange; there was like no one in there at 9 pm. But as the night went on it got a fck load busier, a lot of young people, the chicks were wearing nothing; I thought it was very amusing.

By close to midnight, I was like, can’t be fcked with this loud music ringing in my ears, so I left. When I was walking in from the outside smoko area, this tall bloke came straight towards me. I was like, surely he’ll see the cane and wait patiently, owwww no, he kept coming and we had an issue. I clearly had the right of way due to my slow movements and as to where I was positioned, it’d just make it easier, but he just kept strolling. So he pushed past me. I didn’t say anything cause I was trying to maintain my balance but also give him the silent treatment tbh; should have given him the elbow in the gut, but I refrained…

After that, when I started crossing at the lights, and I only made it halfway because there was like 15sec to make it across, I was not going to. So I waited at the halfway point; when the little person was green, I was off again, going at my speed, and this time there were people passing, and then I almost had a guard of honour, I swear

There was a dude who said, ‘I’ll protect you as you get across,’ and the other dude gave me his arm (wrong side), and he’s like, ‘Take my arm’ I just said nah, I’m good and kept on walking while like 10-15 people were just watching and making the guard; I felt like royalty!

I was trying to hold back the laughter to be real, like I’m fine and people always/majority of the time want to help, but I’m quite capable of crossing a road.

I do respect that they refrained from just doing it, but at least asked if I needed help.

Last night, day 9

Well, it was up early to get to the Zealandia conservation area, which has reintroduced 20 species of native wildlife. That was pretty cool, and better yet they had a buggy/go-kart just for me, which was elite cause it relieved the others from pushing me in the manual one.

Then it was a matter of finishing up.  Ange and I ended up hanging out in a coffee/banh mi/sports bar (trying to get the footy, but got the rugby instead) then a stroll on the waterfront (very romantic 😂), and then getting dinner, which was the last night with all of us together.

No tears, but I do feel super grateful, and I’m sure the others would have been the same.

I will see some of them over in Christchurch, as Ange said I/we can tag along for a dinner and Christchurch street/city tour. Which will be epic!

Reflecting back just on those 9 days, I feel humble to have met this group of individuals. It's funny, I was chatting to the other Tom last night, and he said ‘if we weren’t on this tour and we were walking along the street we probably wouldn’t have said hello to each other’ and I think it does ring true. So I’m grateful for the opportunity to actually have these unanticipated conversations. 

The flight was the most efficient airport I’ve ever been in! So first thing when you walk in the door of the domestic airport (max 20m walk) is in on the left it says special assistance, and it was an easy process for me to get a wheelchair. And it’s as easy as that. Once I had the wheelchair, it was quick; I didn’t have to do any security or have a major wait; it was easy.

Right there special assistance

All I had to do was have a coffee and wait. After the coffee, the routine occurred with needing to take a leak, and instead of being backtracked to the nearest previous bathroom, we actually went forward towards the plane, and it was easily accessible with ramps.

The other side was a little bit different. The efficiency was still in par, but there was a little bit more uncoordination and the person who was wheeling me (she was lovely) but she asked me a few times whether I had any family members travelling with me and said, towards the end, should be travelling with me. On this, I really thought about that comment, and my conclusion is it shouldn’t be a case of yes or no travel; it is a case of how do you make my life easier when travelling. She made a lot of assumptions on what I can and cannot do.

Christchurch, day 1

I arrived at my hotel, where a young lady who was working at the Fable went above and beyond to help me with my baggage and getting it up to my room etc.

Sorted out what I wanted to see and went for a trot out to dinner.  80m to a fancy wine bar, and had a wicked dinner; when I say wicked, I mean wicked!! And also had a chat to the staff who were lovely and got some recommendations on where to eat in the future.

And then I was wandering back on my 80m trek (according to Google), and there was some outdoor music, so I listened to that- good vibes, then went home to my abode.

Day 2, catching up with the crew

What a start to the day, a breakfast of champions that could have fed a hundred of them. Then I was off to catch the tourist tram that is ace, very efficient and pretty much just outside my doorstep! 

A few comments on the trams. The access is generally okay for a hemi, but wheelchair users would struggle.  In saying that, if there's a will, there’s a way, but very difficult.  While touring around, I noticed that the active transport is grey for cyclists and walkers, and everything in the CBD is within walking distance. Others noticed that there was lots of wall art that looked incredible; I only took some of them!

Then I got off and went shopping for a backpack and found what I needed.  Got a recommendation for coffee, so after making my purchase, I was off to get coffee. It was good coffee, and I started chatting to two women. It turned out that one had suffered a stroke, so that led to more conversations until they ran out of parking time and they had to race off!

Then it was back on the tram to do 25 flights of stairs; I needed it because I'd done nothing for a week and a half!

At 6 it was time to head over to the Drifters Christchurch to meet up with the gang. Caught up, went out for dinner in a food court which was actually pretty trendy and hip with a great selection of food and drink. Then on to Paddy’s, a typical Irish pub and had a few whiskeys to finish the night off.

Last full day, day 3

The last day…. Never easy, going back to reality BUT I certainly will be back to Christchurch 100%! 

Such a chilled and easy lifestyle.

To kick start the day I went on the city tour with the new Intrepid mob and some of the old gang. They shared wheeling me, grateful for that; even some of the new people joined in and had a turn!

To travelling again, when I asked Ange the question about this, she said 

A) need to bring a wheelchair, which I do agree with as the tours have  deadlines and

 B) bring mates, which I can understand.  I’ve got to find mates who want to do this first though!

Do have GoPro footage that is there.

Then it was saying goodbye, which was hard.

Back to Fable for a quick change.  When I entered the room there was a bloke in there, which was awkward, but he worked out that he was in the wrong room. It was all sorted out, but I did feel uncomfortable because he said ‘I haven’t touched much stuff’, weird as a thing to say!

Then it was off to do a bit of shopping, via the tram ride again (I reckon it’d be a good Comur idea for them and the locals with impaired walking); got some good jumpers anyway. And then it was onto the Quake City, which is a museum about the Christchurch disaster in 2011; super interesting and again got pushed around, again grateful for Luke!

Went to the hotel, did some emails, then went out for dinner, to King of Snake, which was a mission; let me tell you, I had to ask directions like 4 different times, and now I’ve a few sweaty spots! The dinner makes up for it though, big time!

Will mention the stairs are not very accessible!

I exited at a different point and found a lift. The only issue with the King of snake would be the two steps to get to the toilet cause I couldn’t find anything with ramps. And also the signage to get to the lift was fairly hidden.

Flight home, last day

So it was a mission to get all my Shit in the two bags, and I needed a little bit of help to chuck stuff; I probably could’ve done it, but for two points, one was working up a sweat trying to pack it in, and the second was we’d have been there quite a while, and I’ve got a plane to catch!

The taxi ride was cruizy; picked me up at 12, because at the start of Christchurch me and the cabby exchanged numbers and stayed in contact, just easier and a handy trick.

When I got to the airport, it was relatively easy to get in cause I got the cabby dude to get me a trolley. When I entered, I immediately saw  Air New Zealand right next to me, which is such a GOOD IDEA! The lady at the special assistance desk said Qantas are at section C, so off I toddled.

Qantas. No accessability lane

ROASTING TIME

So when I got to section C, I couldn’t see a disability lane or assistance lane… so I asked two ladies, and they said just use the business section..

I did another snap of the issue I’m seeing here.

The question is, Qantas, are you this slow on the uptake? You need to lift your game; I’m more than happy to be your consultant on this.

When that had been all sorted out and I was in the chair, it was a quick, efficient ride through customs, and the staff were lovely and cheerful.

I will say there was a bit of “inspiration” at the start before I’d even told them who I am and what I’d done, but it all petered out after I told them.

When I sat down next to the flight staff, I had a cracking chat to one of the hostesses, super friendly, then it was boarding time. Bye bye New Zealand, it’s been a pearler of a trip; made new friends and learnt a few things about myself.

On the flight got a meal, and there is a cool tray you get to put your meal on, and it keeps your meal from moving; it’s fcking great, I bet some OT designed it!

A handy sticky tray

When we landed it was a quick ride, and the person motoring me along was an expert driver.

We arrived at duty-free, and I had to stop to get a few things. The person said that we weren’t meant to stop, which I found interesting; we stopped anyway and got the supplies.  I did inquire about the reasoning, and the person said we weren’t meant to enter and you could order it online; it was the first time I’d heard of it…

I also did enquire who the person worked for; funny surprise, Qantas. In my mind I’m putting one and two together: time, time, time, money, money, money…..

The person was great though and even drove me to the taxi rank, grateful for that!

When I got home, my MTPT card didn’t work so I had to pay the full fare, which was a bit annoying. (Maybe because I’ve spent more than 28 days outside the country, Centrelink has suspended my MTPT card; that might be the reason). Ya win some, you lose some.

All in all, it was a good day.

So all in all, what were the key takeaways

The first key that I unlocked was a good reset for me, clearing my head before I go back to Uni full time.

Key two would be the friends I made and the accessibility issues that we dealt with, faced and overcame.

The final key that comes from key two is learning my limitations, what I need to do to be more supportive of my own independence.

And that’s a wrap. Stay tuned for the next instalment.

P.s. took a while to get onto this, but I’ve finally tackled it!

Big moments

Wooooooo, how has the last quarter of the year been, you may ask… Pretty full would be the answer!

Now, the major event of the past 3 months would be the Howlong to Canberra ride, which spanned 10 days with major reach! To see the entire blow-by-blow coverage, see the blog Another Journey, but I’ll give you a brief synopsis.

The lead-up to the Howlong to Canberra ride was relatively successful, with me speaking firstly at the Prahran market, organised mainly by DJ, and secondly, by me speaking to state politicians at the Victorian House of Parliament.  I met with Danny Pearson, our local member, literally 30 minutes before writing this, and he said himself that this had a great impact, now I can't complain about that, can I?

On the trip, we managed to raise another $6,000 over the course of those 10 days. This time, though, fundraising wasn’t the target. The primary goal was to engage with Federal politicians and let them know that kids can suffer strokes too; actually, up to 520 kids can suffer a stroke per year in Australia. The second engagement with them was to seek federal funding to improve the Childhood stroke guidelines due to these being last updated in 2017, so they are well out of date! And we did get the opportunity to speak to Mark Butler and essentially ask for the funding. Now, these decisions take time, and of course, money doesn’t grow on trees!

Either way, it was a very successful trip, and another journey to add the4points.org story!

To relive the moments and see the content, go to @4pointsaustralia on Instagram or alternatively The 4 Points Australia on Facebook.

Now, what’s coming up ahead? On the 27th of March, I'm flying up to Sydney to be a guest speaker at and also enjoy the general fun, games and shenanigans of Ryan Webber’s Stroke Survivor’s event. All the details of this and how to buy tickets are on his Instagram under  paragon_fitt, so if you're a Sydney person and you're doing nothing on the Sunday, the 29th of March, between 7-12 am @ Dunningham Park, Cronulla, buy a ticket and come on down!

From there, I fly out to New Zealand for a two-week reset. Firstly, I’m catching up with some mates in Auckland and then going on an Intrepid adventure from Auckland to Wellington over 10 days. After that, I'll take a short flight to Christchurch for 3 nights, then back home to wait for Uni to start again.

Naturally, I’ll be doing a blog about my adventures and experiences on the trip, but this time the difference is I'll be travelling SOLO, scary…. Nah, not really, it’ll be a whole different thing for me, and I'm eager for it!

Stepping outside your comfort zone often leads to opportunities.

That’s enough from me!

Stay tuned for the next blog!

break, baby!!

Well it’s official I’m on my 5 month break ( YOWWWWWW) time to party!!! LOL jokes,  but now it's time to train for the Howlong to Canberra ride, The 2 Points.

All in all I’ve nearly completed the first year of my Masters degree in Public Health. Doing it full time has been pretty intense hence the non-existent blogging. The amount of reading I’m meant to do is a lot! 

I think I’ve found a partial solution though - the importance of just concentrating on the main themes of subjects and the core course work. I don’t think that if I had to do it online I would get the work done. So I'm happy that it's face 2 face where I can really be held  accountable.

I’ll be honest, the class discussions are elite. I love them and think they’re stimulating but when it comes to the assignments, mehhhhh, not my fancy. I think I’ve pinpointed the issue of sometimes thinking that I'm not really understanding the task or the question and so then backing my judgement. I’m always questioning myself and my capacity. 

Ahhhh well I can reset, prepare and come back to study in early May. 

For now though I'm turning my attention to the4points.org and the Canberra ride. Check out the site if you haven’t already!

In a nutshell, we are calling on the Australian government to act on childhood stroke research and we are doing this by riding from Howlong (fitting name) 450+ km to Canberra to knock on the doors of Parliament House. If you're interested in participating and joining in, sign up on the join journey page on the4points.org website or if your unable to help in that way, raise your voice on social media by sharing the content on Instagram @4pointsaustralia  

Then I can have a little VACAY when it’s all peddled, said and done! Should get a month or so off.  I’m tossing up between Japan and Seoul or northern Europe, I’ll keep it as a surprise for you guys 😉

Travelling abroad - HK & Vietnam

Expectations, written before the trip..

It’s been over 5 years since I've travelled overseas. Tasmania doesn’t count! Times have changed, lives have changed, my life has changed; that's for sure with the crash and all that came with it.

I'm pretty excited to be heading to Hong Kong and Vietnam for three weeks.

I've been to the Hong Kong airport before, but never any further. From what I've heard, the public transport is elite, but everyone walks everywhere, which I'm not a big fan of, just because of the time it takes me to lumber along.

In Vietnam, we are getting a driver at most of the locations just to alleviate unnecessary obstacles.. And we are taking two cruises. Great for my balance and I think you've sometimes got to embrace the uncertainty.

My view on both of the destinations is (not from a tourist point of view) I'll get a lot of unintentional practice of the old-fashioned art of walking, hopefully lose a bit of weight in the process, and you never know, I might make a few PBs!

The Trip

Day 1 went off with a bang, an eight-hour flight or so, watched with a great movie, ‘The Unbreakable Boy’. I highly recommend it! Then the first mind blower was the language barrier, not the fact that it was obvious, but just their constant messaging back and forth to try and locate the driver and the other fact that I had to walk like 1km (20-30mins), probably a good thing, cause I ate so much food on the plane!

After we checked into our hotel, we went for a snack a few hundred meters away on a rooftop bar, Sip Sip, on the 25th floor.  I noticed as we entered the bar that the young woman (who spoke really good English) put her arms up as if to catch me or in my terms use an invisible force to keep me upright. I think it was a bit of a culture shock for me.

Day 2: Getting around Hong Kong trains

Some things we should have done beforehand or immediately on arrival and didn't, despite the really comprehensive list of useful info provided by my cousins.  We should've picked up the Octopus Card immediately on arrival and also done some research beforehand around the MTR.  I’m not a big fan of not knowing where I’m going and being in another country made it even more tricky.  We worked it out. But it was a bit frustrating and tiring especially in the heat.

There seem to be ramps everywhere, however as you enter a building there is often one step that will always get ya. I’m guessing they have a small ramp that could be used but I haven’t asked as of yet and to be honest I’m not sure who to ask.

I worked out fast that there are zero seats anywhere, we’ve come across only one in what I feel is 5kms! BUT once getting to your train destination, it’s heavenly! Walking on and off is such a breeze, and the intercom lady talks in English and Cantonese, and she’s not on repeat in the same boring tone!

When you leave any  station be sure to research which exit or destination you want.   We found this out the hard way! For Uber/taxi’s, we exited E but the Uber rank was ONLY LOCATED AT D so we had to walk double the distance to get to the right pick-up spot.

The language barrier got us again in a restaurant. It was run by a nice older lady but luckily the two people sitting beside us kindly helped us out. We got there with a few repeats of the order and confirmation.

The folks and I had an interesting conversation about the language barrier. We were discussing the opportunities to learn English as a second language. In fact further into our travels we met many people teaching this all round Asia. By the way, our chat was in a great (but expensive) Japanese restaurant on like the 12 floor!

Day 3: Escalating!

The first station we accessed had so many escalators it’s not funny or the first time it is, but by the 15th time it isn't!! Going to find the lifts wouldn’t be worth it as sometimes they are miles away from the escalators and so it just seemed quicker doing them!

I’m getting a good amount of kms in but it’s costing me with pain in my anterior tibialis (shin)… finally at Central Station we asked a lovely woman who spoke relatively good English if we could get a wheelchair and managed to obtain one!! It was a great option as it was freaking miles to the next line! 

Right now we are heading to the end of the Tung Chung line and hopefully getting another wheelchair, we will wait and see..

I can confirm the assistance was fantastic!

Interestingly it’s just like Australia by making you (disabled people) go right up the front to get on the train even though there’s limited gaps and height differences so you could easily just hop on. Just to see an old village Tai O, should win a medal! LOL or more to the point I feel like the bus drivers should get one, it felt like climbing up some of those mountains he needed an engineering degree on some of the turns, seriously.  We wandered in Tai O and found a good restaurant but ordered way too much (AGAIN). Then we took a boat tour to see the stick housing, it was pretty amazing!

Then back in the bus and this driver wanted a PB on ‘Need for speed, Carbon’, I reckon he got it too! All whilst on the non hands free phone.  Mum was petrified. 

We caught the ferry back to Central, and somehow  we wound up at a gin bar which was great but a bit on the expensive side.  Also there were 25-30 steps that I had to descend to get to the bloody place, earned 2 expensive drinks….  and in observation  public buildings really do cater for us with ramps and access but when it comes to private buildings or businesses they are not equipped to handle people needing wheelchair access.  Admittedly it was a very old building on a very steep site.

Day 4: Casino bound

We are going to Macao today,  after trying to get there yesterday not realizing we needed passports!

What an experience, the casino in Macao -  called The Venetian. Casino itself was nothing to write home about but surrounding shopping centre is bloody massive. The one place I recommend is Venchi, an ice cream shop.  I went back for round two!! The issue we were facing again was the travel distance from the escalators to the lifts is enormous. 

Getting to the Casino was another issue because as soon as you are outside the business establishment/or ferry terminal you are on your own (unless you bring your own wheelchair) so I got a good pace going and did about 1km in 15-20mins to the bus stop from the ferry.

Another thing about this is when we get access to wheelchairs there is either a person accompanying it or an extreme deposit..

When we were in the CAS/Shopping mall the people didn't notice me and walked straight towards me when I was in the wheelchair.   So you've got to be a bit of a bad ass and play chicken till the people realise that you're not moving, I would say it’s a societal thing.

Anyway, we made it back across to Hong Kong and we did a late dinner as we’re waiting for everyone to arrive and have a beer that was well overdue with one of the cousins, bring on the morrow!!

Day 5: Tram riding

We caught a tram to Causeway Bay and back again, double story tram with great views, I would highly recommend it! I don’t know whether it was the heat or the background sounds but I really struggled to project my voice and catch enough breath… at least I was self aware which is a start!

Then we went out for lunch and one of my cousins and I had a chat about disabled and non-disabled people in terms of the algorithm in social media..

The rest of the night was fun, nothing much happened, just a top notch celebration.

Day 6: Recovery and the climb

It’s a recovery day today as pretty much all of us who joined the party last night had sore heads! I’ve been out for a light breakfast at Fine Print, a good little cafe and have had the motivation to climb 56 flights of stairs. I'm better at climbing than walking on the flat and certainly better than on the descent.

We caught a ferry to Lamma Island for a birthday dinner,  about 30 of us. Getting onto the boat was a bit of a challenge; I had to go backwards down the steep steps! Then 2 cousins and the skipper helped me on. Dinner was pretty damn good, you can't go wrong with sweet and sour pork if you like that kind of thing! Not to mention abalone, squid, oysters etc., etc., Back when we were walking to dinner, Mum pointed out a weird-looking, massive shrimp, which was called a Mantis Shrimp, to be honest, looked a little bit like a miniature goat!  When we got back from the island, we pushed on to a wine bar.   Then it was left, right, good night for me, and Johnny!

Day 7: Hong Kong to Vietnam!

Johnny (Cuz) went for a hike up to the peak with Sars (other Cuz), I didn’t. Then we met up for coffee to get the system going, said our goodbyes and onto the Airport. Johnny did the scouting, found and located where I needed to check-in etc., while I sat on my arse. I’ll tell you it’s much easier to locate the wheelchair access when leaving the country than entering!

The toilets are schmick and clean, however generally they are right at the end at the back past the male and females, maybe the people’s perception of disabled use is for wheelchair people only.

The flight was a flight, the staff were lovely on Vietnam Air, and so helpful when we landed in Hanoi!  We were heading through customs and travelling to a lift, the porter that was waiting for the lift allowed us to go first, very grateful for this! Also the English language I feel is better known, but that is just an observation. 

On the drive to the hotel, I said it’s not as bad as India. How wrong was I when we got off the freeway, on the side street it was chaos if there’s room to squeeze in to pass, they’ll do it!!

There’s limited rails in the bathrooms but apart from that the hotel Champton bloody nails it!

The exchange rate is about 1:15 Aussie dollar.  According to the receptionist, a dinner for one at a restaurant is about $33 Australian dollar, if you eat a lot.

We caught a taxi to what we thought was Viet Kitchen restaurant and rooftop bar. There must have been a glitch in the system and it took us five kilometres away and then when we were hopping into the taxi I misjudged the dimensions of the gap to plant my arse in the car and ended up half in half out.  The taxi driver had to grab to help me, I thank him, he saved my life!

Anyway we made it to our destination after a long time! And it was a great dinner with a spectacular view.

Day 8: First day in Hanoi

We were up early to catch a Jeep to be a true tourist around Hanoi. It  was a super cool experience and I’d highly recommend it to anyone travelling over there. Although getting into the Jeep was a bit difficult, we got better at it as we progressed through the tour.  This really emphasises ‘how do we do this’ not you can’t do this. Working out  the ‘How’ with the person  with the disability is a collaborative and constructive action.

We went out for dinner at the Au Lac family Restaurant which was about a kilometre away.  Realistically we could have walked there however we wanted to eat pronto. It was very nice and I realised that carp, the fish, isn't as bad as I had thought!   On the return journey home we got dramatically stuck with no internet, lucky we had a very courteous driver who spoke some English so we managed to get home in a timely and financially ok manner - unlike the driver last night (we made that as well but  a few hundred dong lighter). I must say what would happen if the internet just died, what would this revolutionised world become?

Day 9: Hanoi to Ha Long Bay

Up early to catch the bus, not as early as yesterday but by my standards still early. It’s a 3 hour drive to Ha Long Bay with a stop over about halfway.

The halfway point is a gift shop, a fine arts business, a workshop for people with disabilities, mainly ears and non verbal. I saw a girl with hearing aides who looked about 14-16 which was pretty confronting for me.

I spoke to some of the retailers and they explained most of the information to me.

We arrived in Ha Long bay or the boarding place, I had a grouse coconut iced coffee then boarded and set off. 

There are so many boats and it’s the off season, I’d hate to see the peak season!

Then there was a hike which I didn’t do, round trip of about 2hrs so if I was doing it it’d take 6+… there are pros and cons to having the crash and this and general hiking is a big con… Dad did it and came back in a muck sweat!

The night was a five course meal, very good, very full! And then on to squid fishing, caught absolutely nothing.

Day 10: Ha Lim Bay

The highlight of today would be kayaking around and onto a beach.. Was a mission impossible but we got it done like Tommy’s do however there is no I in team!

We started on a boat, transferred to another boat, then we had to deal with a jetty then finally had to get in the kayak. Getting into it was certainly easier getting in than getting out, that took a lot of assistance. The main issue was just that there was nowhere to get any purchase and push myself up. An intriguing thing was, there was a Melbourne bloke doing the same thing, as in kayaking, and his approach was asking, ‘how can I help’ as opposed to the Vietnamese staff who just basically lifted me..

When we were in the kayak it was pretty painful for me as it had a very low-backed seat  and to be fair I’ve got a massive bolt in my back! The trip back was grouse cause we invented a life jacket as a back rest, much better!

Most people did a bit of swimming as they could jump off the boat, I didn’t do it for reasons I’m not a confident swimmer and I’d have to jump into water which makes me even less keen..

There was a spa on board and decided to jump in that instead. While the others were at the Pearl Farm (everyone left) I decided to get out of the spa…. That was with great difficulty, 5 minutes later I was finally out.

The rest of the night was pretty cruisy with a five course dinner, a birthday cake, some old fashioned blow torching, squid fishing and happy hour… all enjoyable!

Day 11: Plane to Da Nang, car to Hoi An

The day to leave the boat, the staff have been super lovely and super helpful. Because there is a language barrier we have to sometimes compromise when going on and off the boats. I direct traffic but sometimes it needs to be reinforced by the folks starting it a different way. As seen when we were rowing through a cave.

Not to mention the grub, it has been elite and the chef has outdone himself with the last chicken meal of that trip, had to photo it!

Again we stopped over at the gift store business and this time i made a purchase, good shirts and I was thinking it was a bargain but made a slight error in maths…. Alas, at least they were good shirts!

The flight was another flight that was pretty cool cause I got to entertain a little kid until he got sick of me and his attention went elsewhere.

The Da Nang airport has either splashed out on renovation or right from the gecko as unlike Hong Kong have the lifts right next to elevators.

The place itself is modernised and lights up like the Northern Aurora lights!

It’s a cool place we are staying at and there’s a few things I probably should point out, A) the standard of English is slightly better, I don’t know if that’s just because of the hotel requirements for work, I’ll check it tomorrow and B) there are ramps beside the stairs so they are thinking ahead and about accessibility, taking the initiative!

I’m already liking this place!

Day 12: We were up relatively early, to go to a market and then make,  prepare and cook our own lunch at Vy’s market restaurant and cooking school the food was delicious and we learned the basics of how to make things like spring rolls or green mango salad. I can now add these to my artillery! Earlier at the market, it had the hustle and bustle vibe  and it was pretty damn cheap, I scored a good belt, I had zero good ones so now I do!

Due to the fact that Hoi An is more of a touristy place than Hanoi the English difference is pretty dramatic and the accessibility has stepped up a great deal both in attitude and physically.

That was pretty much it apart from getting a massage, that was great, getting one tomorrow as well!!
Day 13: suits and shoes

Today was a busy morning fitting out for a suit at the store that I can’t remember the name, still expensive but nowhere near the same as Aus.  She also took my measurements so if I ever need further suits they have my info. Then we walked a whole 30m to a ripper leather shop called Ruby Ruby’s which was just as helpful and caring as the suit shop. 

It was very interesting hearing her story and having a chat with her.

Then it was straight into a hot stairwell to pump a few steps then lunch banh mi for a measly 1 Oz dollar, it was so good!

Had an elite massage and then off to a Bamboo Circus which I would highly recommend, it’s just ridiculous the acrobatics!

Then we did a boat tour which was very interesting on how to get on to the boat, I managed but it took some time but I was better than Mum!

Then it was an absolute walking trek through crowds to get food and a Grab home. I’d highly recommend getting the Grab App before travelling because it’s standard fare and  most of the time it's easier to get to the correct location.

Day 14: Final fitting, final day

A pretty cruisy start to the day then off to get a final fitting and then the very good tailors will deliver the goods right to our door step, hotel, how good!

In the middle of the day we went for an electric car tour, which was super cool, went through all the alley ways, nooks and crannys!!

Then I had a wicked massage before out for dinner at Morning Glory which was also wicked. We took the wheelchair this time which was smart of us and really grateful of The Hoian Boutique Central Hotel. I’ve never heard of a hotel lending out their wheelchairs let alone free of charge!

Because Sunday is the day where Vietnamese people generally meet as the people get the day off, it was absolute chaos during the night, so busy! And for that reason the majority of the main roads were closed, hence the wheelchair. Compared to Hong Kong where the public roads are pretty smooth and flat, here in Hoi An, they is not.

The place where we had dinner, Morning Glory was no exception.

Day 15: Fly to Saigon

My shoes arrived in the nick of time.  I also posted the Instagram reel about the winners of Takin on Tassie - The 3 Points and we were off to Da Nang to catch the flight to Ho Chi Min or Saigon, had a great driver and I’m going to really miss Hoi An it’s a fantastic place, the night life is so vibrant!

Ho Chi Minh….. what a first day, how do I explain the experience I’ve just had? So, I was looking for an ATM and a very helpful bloke helped me to locate one. When the ATM didn’t work, we just got chatting and invited me to his bar. I thought why not…. I let the parents know where I was going ect… With that came a unprecedented chain of events. From having drinks to not being able to pay because they only took cash where as they said they would take card to, having to go in a wild goose chase for a working ATM, to the bloke taking me to another bar that I didn’t want to go to and me having to be firm that I didn’t want to go to.. did I mention that my phone decided to shit it self at the most inconvenient time? So I had to just put a bit of faith that he wasn't going to take me to another unwanted bar, luckily he took me in the right direction.. essentially two hours over-time of the time I’d said I’d be back and a fair bit out of pocket I made it ‘home’. Just an experience I’m not going to forget in a hurry and to be honest that’s just the surface of what really transpired.
Day 16: Saigon exploration 

Well today has been, let's just put it, not my best walking one. Ridden in two wheelchairs one at the military museum and one at the Independence Palace or other name is Reunification Palace, and I’ve also had two falls, first time from what I remember if ever falling on stairs and the other one was just tripping over my own feet, score would be a 0 for performance…. It’s all probably due to the lack of sleep I had.

Powered on to a show which was similar to the Circus in Hoi An but different, it was good but personally I liked the first version better. 

Then I went on a date which was lovely until she wanted a gift in exchange for sex… it made me wonder whether she was trying to take advantage of the disabled guy or not. My intuition is saying yes.

It also makes you wonder about the cultural differences in terms of a ‘gift’..

Day 17: To the MekongEyes

It was a 2 and a half hour drive to the Mekong. Hopping in and of the mini bus was interesting, meaning the English person asked if I needed a hand getting off whereas the driver just gently grabbed my hand as a support.

I really do think the language barrier and cultural morals are so different here vs Australia.

At 3:30pm we went about a rough 2km round trip walk. It was grouse to stretch my legs and also to get a bit of exercise (I took the Myzone, heart rate monitor). It was a good first half, made the distance, my back was fine and not stiff. Then we had a small snack, the dried coconut was elite! Just when we were about to leave the gods decided to piss down on us for no reason!

That’s where it all turned to Shit, I was walking back and because it was wet and slippery my cane went out from under me as if I was bowing to no one and my left arm was the main act. My left leg followed straight out in front of me, and my right decided to bend the knee, back on itself, straight down, it fucking hurt!  I needed to be carted back  and with great difficulty the crew got me back across the gangplank and onto the boat. I’ve got to say the local people were phenomenal, they came to my aid when they didn’t even know me!

Yes, the language barrier was a little bit of an issue because I needed to go through the process of explaining how I thought we should manage my movements but they were recommending another way. We got there, it just took collaboration and team work.

The dinner was absolutely wicked, and then there was a big discussion about political-economics then bed because we had to be up early the next day.

Day 18: The floating market

I got breakfast in bed because my knee was sore and could hardly walk on it. Managed to get into the boat and my knee did improve mainly with boots. And then off to the floating market, super cool, it’s kind of unbelievable really and the parents did the noodle making but I didn't, for obvious reasons. I did a bum shuffle back onto the mini boat, the skipper looked bemused but he got the gist.

Then back in the boat to find it was a late lunch due to the next turnover of people in the boat with us were late. The lunch was pretty damn good then I needed to lie down as my back was aching and I needed to elevate my leg as it was a bit swollen. Over the past 24hrs I’ve had two oils I think Palm oil/tiger balm and something with high magnesium, a massage and some taping, surely I’m good for tomorrow?

We went for a walk, well I was in a wheelchair that Took (the guide) had organised for me, but first I had to walk the gang plank and then plant my bum on the chair, then it was a matter of luxury for me…. The others though, they had it tough, trying to push a wheelchair over rocks, stones, mud, smooth but then more of the same… everyone helped, which I’m truly grateful for… I’m curious to know if team bonding and collaborative efforts like this lead to better unity/empathy/respect and therefore mean better connections between one and another…?

Back at the boat we had to negotiate the gang plank again, another team effort. Then straight up to the top deck to enjoy the view and have drinks before making our way down to the lower deck for dinner. I tell you what, the chef is literally amazing! 
Day 19: Back track to HCMC

An early start the following morning to catch the high tide and paddle down a side stream in a Sampan. I didn’t do it as seats were way too low. So I just got motored to the destination and waited for the group. From there everyone again took a bicycle ride and I just hopped in my wheelchair and got pushed around. In the wheeling around I got a few bites which I hope are not mosquitoes!!

Then we were treated to a traditional show, it was super cool and after that we went to a market place where they made noodles/rice and snake wine…. I did try it. It was okay but I was more concerned about the fact that it was once a king cobra!

it wasn’t to bad, it was better than what you think!

Then simply it was a matter of good bye and back on the bus. I need to say a big thank you for everything to everyone both the crew and the travelers, the help I was given after my injury was beyond my vocabulary!!

Now I can manage to walk unassisted after I’ve taken a few supported steps, I’ve just got to let my right leg wake up. And I promise you I didn’t fake the boat ride to make me feel like a king!! LOL it was literally like the song ‘King for a day’ ~ Greenday a 24hr kind of thing!

Back in HCMC the hotel is wicked and you should see the toilet seats!

Then I was going out for another date, it’s been cool getting to know people but the interaction is really different. As I was getting a taxi over to the date, me and the taxi driver had a bit of a chat and it turned out he was in a similar but different circumstance, and he gave me a small insight and glimpse into the Vietnamese healthcare system.

We are so privileged in our first world country for sure.

Day 20: Coffee bean

It was a heavy start today, it was a real effort as I didn't sleep well. We went to do a coffee class, how to make Vietnamese coffee. It was really cool, but 4 coffees later and not much has improved in my sleep department, apart from needing to go to the loo a lot!!

So we headed back to the hotel for a nap!

We went in search for a bar that streamed the AFL to watch the Dee’s, we found one but it was essentially a stripper bar, I was quite amused, having my parents there!

At half time we walked and I wheeled to the waterbus, around 10min in that time I observed that Ho Chi Minh is pretty inaccessible,  unless you want a workout lifting a wheelchair! This is just one of the examples, it’s everywhere.

This was just such a tight squeeze!

Near the waterbus, was slightly better….

The nightlife is cool as though, there are sounds from everywhere, no regulation at all.

Then out for Japanese and a good Asahi beer to celebrate our last night!

I did ride a scooter the last night, it was super scary at first but when I got used to it, it was actually a lot of fun! And it was relatively easy to get on once I worked out how!

Day 21: Flying out

Well, it was the last day and I decided to do some clothes shopping at the Saigon Center. A) it is way dearer than what I expected B) There was only one set of lifts going to 10 floors and C) people who were using the lifts were all able-bodied people; the only exception I’d make would’ve been the pram user… it was a headache. Plenty of escalators so why didn’t those people use them?

Blind to the rules when they looked relatively fit!

The suitcases were slightly cheaper than home but I’m a tight arse so I wasn’t paying.

We finally found a reasonably priced place called Giordino, so we snapped up a few things.  It shows if you browse you can get a bargain 😉

It was a chilled afternoon then on to the airport where it was even more chilled due to us getting there 2hrs early and were twiddling our thumbs for a while. 

Made it back to Melbourne and I now realise the privilege of accessibility that I take for granted. There are things that we as Aussies could do better but we have it pretty good!

Attitude

Comparing the three, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Australia,  in simple terms from my point of view.  The Vietnamese people are so lovely, especially if they are in a work setting, they might help you automatically, but they certainly just want the best intentions for you, A to B, no bullshit tone, honesty and you just show them how best they can help.

But when I went on a few dates, a few times i heard the words, ‘I feel scared FOR you’ which i could only interpret as they were implying that I shouldn't be outside, should be at home.  I really didn't know how to feel about this,  for me or for other disabled people.

Hong Kong was yet another dynamic but similar attitude. As I said on the first day, I'll state that it's a very cultural thing, yet in everyday life the people are kind of buried in their phones..

Accommodation/hospitality

The hospitality towards us and what lengths they'd go to to help you, especially me, was out of this world. I couldn't praise them enough, in both countries! In terms of accommodation there was only one place in Ho Chi Minh that was average but the people were super helpful. We just upgraded the accomodation so no dramas and would say we upgraded really really well! Thanks to Rosie from Vietnam Travel and Cruise Co for scoring the place at such short notice!

Accessibility

It’s very hard to illustrate the difficulties of getting around in a wheelchair while travelling in Vietnam, you can do it, it just needs inventive strategies, and I'd also say the more north you are,  the less pace, less manic, so it's a bit easier. 

Hong Kong is super easy to get around if it's on the flat and you're in a wheelchair but the hills will make you work for that beer! And as soon as you enter a building expect a step or two. Being able to walk (weirdly I'll admit) makes it a bit easier for me as I can just stand up, take the two steps then bring the chair up and plonk myself back in the chair. What really gets me is the fact that it takes an age for me to walk anywhere.. An example of this was trying to get around the stations in hong kong, a maze.  Unless you work there don't expect to find the lift.

Summing it all up.

I WILL BE BACK TO VIETNAM! I loved the place, ideally I'd go back to the northern parts. It’s just so vibrant and caring! Hong Kong was cool but i dont think I'll be back anytime soon, just wasn’t really my jam, probably due to the walking everywhere.

It was an enjoyable experience and like I said at the start I hadn't been outside of Australia for over 5 years and now I want to travel again. I'm hoping that with my Masters of Public Health that I can study abroad!

P.s with the injury that I attained on day 17 I’m getting an MRI tomorrow to make sure I haven’t done my PCL (posterior crucial ligament), fingers crossed