00:06 S1
This is Studio 1 on Vision Australia Radio.
00:18 S2
Hello, I'm Sam.
00:19 S3
And I'm Lizzie.
00:20 S2
And this is Studio 1, your weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view - here on Vision Australia Radio.
00:26 S3
On this week's show...
00:27 S2
We've been out and about. Now it's time to hit the road.
00:30 S3
We ask a few friends: What's the point of travelling if you can't actually see where you are, let alone where you're going?
00:36 S2
As we always say at this point, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of any of the issues covered in this episode of Studio 1, or if you think that there's something we should be talking about, you never know - your story and insight may help somebody else who is dealing with something similar.
00:50 S3
You can contact the show via email at studio1@viaionaustralia.org ... That's studio number one at Vision Australia dot org. Or perhaps you can drop us a note on our Facebook page at facebook.com. Slash VA radio network.
01:05 S2
Well. Hello, Lizzie.
01:06 S3
Well. Hello, Sam. How are you today?
01:09 S2
I am good. It's been a rather busy day, but... well, we're out and about travelling again. So we did a show similar to this about a year ago, and, well, let's see how things are going with our... choir of angels or voices from the dark or whatever we want to call them. But I believe you've been having a few misadventures recently as well.
01:31 S3
Yeah, misadventures is the word for it... I was walking with our Beyond Blindness walking group on Wednesday morning, and I actually got hit by a cyclist in Linear Park, so that was something to speak of. Wasn't very much fun, though. I've got to say, not on my highlights or list of things to do.
01:52 S2
Again, I understand the cyclists tried to say it was your fault.
01:55 S3
Yeah. So there was myself, with Lacey and another guy with his guide dog. And after I nearly made him fall off his bike when he clipped clicked me. Because apparently that was my fault too. He abused me for being on the wrong side of the road. A few of my friends gave this guy an absolute mouthful and reminded him of the fact that she's actually blind. She can't see you, and you made no effort to alert anyone of your presence, so it's kind of on you. So?
02:23 S2
So there was no bell or anything like that?
02:25 S3
No bell. He didn't even say, Oh, cyclists coming through. Like most people, when you're out walking and you're on a shared pathway like Linear Park, most people, if they don't have a bell, they'll just say, Hey, coming through, could you shovel over to the left or whatever? You know, they'll usually give you a bit of a courtesy warning. And this guy was there. Nothing.
02:44 S2
It's a funny thing about these shared cycleways is that, I mean, the pedestrians have the right of way, but the cyclists seem to believe that might is right. So forget about, you know, dismounting or slowing down or something like that. It's their... power anyway. How about we get on to what we're about? How much have you been travelling? How much do you get out and about?
03:09 S3
Mostly I travel interstate. I haven't done a lot of overseas travelling. I did, however, about ten years ago I went to Vietnam to visit some family. And I've also been to Singapore and Hong Kong and Macau. But mostly I've travelled within Australia, and that's been loads of fun.
03:29 S2
Out of the overseas locations you have been to, which which is probably the favourite that you've had there?
03:36 S3
Well, my favourite was Vietnam, but it's not very accessible. I would have to say in terms of accessibility, probably Singapore was the best because everything is so clean and well maintained. But Vietnam was my favourite.
03:51 S2
I've always liked going to Singapore. It's still like my home away from home. It's... secure. It's safe, as you said, clean and so easy to get around. It's amazing, isn't it? Get around on the MRT and... yeah. And take buses everywhere and things like that. And also, yes, majority of people speak English, which is... a big bonus.
04:11 S3
That's true. That is so true.
04:13 S2
Anyway, we can now ask a few of our friends. So who we got up here first?
04:19 S3
I believe we're talking to Lily.
04:21 S2
So, our adventurer from the Camino trail. That's correct. And the question we asked was, what's the point of travelling if you can't see anything?
04:30 S4
Because travelling isn't just about seeing things. It's about experiencing travel, experiencing everything that is travel. It's for me, especially now since I've started the Camino, it's now about meeting people. It's about experienci... adventures and things. It's about feeling, tasting, touching... seeing what I possibly can see. But, I think visual impairment actually is almost like a blessing, because it opens up a few doors for you and and forces you almost to engage with people if you need support. It's. Yeah, it's making friends. It's... you know, being in... it's not just about what you can see. It's about what you're experiencing. It's about, you know, the food and the and the the wine and the and being able to taste and touch and as I said, you know... taste and touch and smell things.
You know, I really believe there's so much more. And that's why I think that sensory travel is... really important for someone with vision impairment... to make sure that... you're, if you're not with, with a companion that knows you or with... an organisation that is able to give you a sensory... an experience which I think is really important. So yeah, I think that the answer to that is that travel just isn't about seeing the sights, because you can see in different ways. You can see by touching things. You can see, you can visualise things, you know... yeah, you can visualise something from a really good description.
06:24 S3
How's your vision impairment impacted your ability to enjoy tourism attractions?
06:30 S4
Yeah, I guess I can't do it so solo anymore. So it's definitely affected me being able to go and see something solo... it just means I need to engage a friend, family, you know, a partner, a support worker. Whatever. So it... just means I need to do it with... someone else, but that's okay... just really, logistically, being able to find my seat or find where I need to go to see it. It's... yeah, I obviously need to do a bit more planning...
Like to go to the theatre. I went to "Chicago" with my daughter last weekend. And I knew that I needed to be not so close that because I have no peripheral vision, so too close is too close. I'm constantly turning my head just far enough back that I can get it all in, but I don't see the detail. So, you know, I've had to... I didn't use audio description for that show. I think I'd like to see it again with audio description. There was enough going on with the music, the dance and all that, and there's not a lot of costuming in that show. They're wearing the same thing for most of the show. But the music, oh, gosh, the music's amazing.
But, so it's affected in that way that I have to, you know, and it's also that I know now that if I know I'm going to be in the nosebleed for anything, I just won't go. It's... not something that I, I do like to be able to use my residual vision to at least see some of it. Yeah. I guess also things that happen at night. I've got no night vision, so I pick and choose what I see at night. And I have I have, you know, missed out on some things... at night because I knew it was going to be really difficult. Yeah. So... but on a positive note, we have Companion Card, which allows us to bring a support person or partner, family, whomever, at no cost. I mean, that's... you know, we're very blessed to be able to have that.
08:45 S3
Indeed.
08:47 S4
So I do... count my blessings, and are very grateful for being able tobeing able to... go and see a tourist attraction or a show or whatever it is... and know that no matter what, I can have someone there at no cost. Which is really lovely.
09:11 S2
So do you have a Companion Card?
09:13 S3
I do, and I use it quite frequently, actually. Oh, I believe Stephen and I, we mostly use it to go and see movies, but... oh, I can't remember what it was exactly, but we went to an event a couple of months ago, and we were able to use my Companion Card to get him in for free, and then he used his Companion Card to get our support worker in for free. So it was really good. Yeah. And we had a great time. I can't think of what the event was though.
09:41 S2
We're sort of going into a slightly different tangent here, but... sometimes people sort of think that just because you can't see it doesn't mean you don't want to say, go and see a show or something like that. I mean, there's despite the fact that also a lot of things are audio described now, there are other experiences that go with that as well.
09:56 S3
Yeah. And actually, it's funny, you should say that because some of the shows do require travel to get to. Last year we went and saw a famous organist from New South Wales up at Tanunda. So we, you know, we had a day trip up to Tanunda and saw a couple of the sights and things to do that. But also we went to Victor Harbor a couple of years back to see an ABBA tribute concert. So you sort of get to travel around other parts of the state that you haven't been to, even though it's not like an interstate trip or an overseas or it might not be a multi-day experience, you're still travelling out to see these things and to experience that part of the world, as it were.
10:32 S2
What I used to find also going to places with the school, with school and things like that is often because you have a disability. They will lift the curtains a little bit. So we got to at one stage, pat a crocodile... was a dead crocodile, but we got to pat Sweetheart the crocodile in, at the museum in Darwin, which no-one else got that opportunity.
10:53 S3
Yeah, I love that. I remember school Easter excursions. So fondly Because you're right, we did get access to things that other kids didn't get access to. We got to really see how things worked behind the scenes, and it was so fascinating. I remember going to Nanu Farm and remembering like they showing us how to use the blacksmith equipment and we got to, you know, help to groom horses and all this different type of stuff. It was just amazing.
11:21 S2
So up next we have the inimitable Sam Colley.
11:27 S5
Well, for me, as somebody with low vision who can see, like I have the ability to, you know, appreciate landscapes, appreciate sights, landmarks, that sort of thing. I have been to various art galleries, so I am quite grateful in this respect and especially with with travelling and seeing different parts of the world. I am grateful for what... vision I do have, that I'm able to go to art galleries and see all the, you know, beautiful artworks from centuries past up to now, see the scenery on, you know, the the French Riviera or the Amalfi Coast in Italy or, you know, somewhere, you know, the Eiffel Tower, all the... stereotypical things, the Colosseum, all those bits and pieces, you know, there's... a lot to there's a lot to appreciate. I think... that's not a problem.
But even if you can't, say there's, you know, languages you can speak, food you can eat, people you can chat to, you know, music you can listen to, there's there's so much else, even without sight, that you can appreciate when you do travel to different parts of the world and experience different cultures. So I think there's definitely a point to travelling.
12:58 S3
It's funny you should say that, because I remember having a chat with Lily about the same thing with regards to her Camino trip, and it's funny how I've always food comes up. Like food is such a central part of culture and socialising, and I know in a lot of cultures, food plays a massive role in the family structure and family get togethers. So it's always about the food and...
13:24 S2
It is actually different. When you go overseas, you know, it doesn't matter how good, say, a Chinese meal is in Australia, when you go overseas, it tastes a lot better or a lot different. So it is quite the experience really. And same with yeah, Italian or French cooking and things like that. It doesn't matter how good the chefs are for some reason, the country of origin, they push something else into it or there's something else special about it. I really can't sort of put my finger on that one.
13:54 S3
Well, it's all about environment. And Advance, the gardens... they get all their produce from. Like, it's just it's a different part of the world. I couldn't agree more. In Vietnam, I was blown away by how different things were over there, and I loved it. It was amazing.
14:10 S2
One of the things I do when, we get to Singapore is we make sure that we go to the satay markets. And that's sort of a must-do. We have to do that every time we're there because they shut off an entire street there. I can't remember off the top of my head what they're called, but you can get all sorts of... meat on a stick, as it were, including prawns. Which party had an interesting experience with that? We'll have to ask her to tell us all about it at some stage later on.
14:42 S3
Oh, I can't wait to hear about it.
14:44 S2
Anyway, we have the person we spoke to last week, actually, Jodie. And like me, she did a lot of travelling earlier on and then has sort of petered off a little bit.
15:00 S6
In this state wouldn't sort of bother me too much. I'm pretty confident. You know, when you travel in Australia, you've got a mouth in your head, so you can always ask someone overseas. Yeah, that's a little bit different. Generally, I've travelled with teams, so I haven't really had to worry about anything. You just follow the leader sort of thing. We did have a trip away, a few years ago. And it again, they were organised tours, but we still had to get from, you know, one country to the next country, sort of on our own.
And I did have a... rather heart-stopping moment when I wasn't used to travelling. We'd always sat in one particular seat in the bus. And this day when we went to the airport to leave France, we sat in a different seat and I didn't have... I got off the bus and we were walking away from the bus, and the bus was honking its horn and no clue what was going on. Went to the... check-in desk and my heart sank, because I'd left our passports and travel documents in the bus - but fortunately, I found someone. Yeah, yeah, it's a feeling you never want to feel. I can tell you that...
16:09 S3
Definitely not.
16:10 S6
We found someone who spoke English. We told them what hotel we were at. They rang the hotel, and luckily we.. were at the airport heaps earlier than what we had to be. It's just the way the transport had worked on that day. And the driver came back. We went back and met the driver and there were the passports and stuff. So yeah, that was a definitely a heart-stopping moment.
16:33 S9
So how has your vision impairment affected your ability to travel and experience tourist attractions?
16:40 S6
Actually, I think it's been a bit of a a bonus to be honest. So on our big trip when we went overseas, we got to stand in front of the Mona Lisa, for example, where everybody else had to stand behind a barrier, which is sort of two metres away from the actual Mona Lisa. So we, you know, we got to get up close there. When we went to the Eiffel Tower, we went to the... there was a line specially for disabled people. So I'd tell Neil to whip your stick out, and we'd, you know, wander over there and got straight up in the tower. And when we were in China again, we had a tour, and it was pretty much a one tour guide, two us, two people. And again, she would go and, you know, talk to the local people and we'd... skip queues and stuff. So I actually found it really good.
17:29 S7
Wow. That's amazing because people with disabilities want to travel as well. We want to experience the world just as much as anybody else.
17:36 S6
Absolutely. We just have to find ways around it. It probably looks quite strange in some airports where I'll have all the luggage and then I'll have Neil and he'll have no luggage sort of thing, but it just makes more sense because I can see where I'm going. And he's I'm not going to bang into people. Whereas if I was to leave Neil with a big backpack or something, he might turn around and whack somebody or something like that. So from that point of view, probably looks odd to some people. But if he, if I get him to whip his stick out, then people know that. You know what's going on, I think.
18:14 S2
Neil, whip your stick out. Well.
18:19 S7
Sorry.
18:21 S2
So, a few things to think about there. I mean, Jodie just basically stressed... sometimes you can get lucky. Have you had any sort of... experiences like that where, apart from the old school days, but have you had the ability to skip to the front of lines or anything like that?
18:36 S3
We were staying up in Marcallo in Queensland, about...15 years ago. I was in high school. We went on a cruise, and then we were staying up there for a week afterwards, and there was this aquarium that we went to visit. And, you know, most of the people had to look at the dolphins or the starfish or the sea cucumbers from a distance, but they actually let me touch a few things. Yeah, I think it was a sea cucumber I got to feel, and a starfish. And there might have been some other type of fish that I got to touch. But yeah, I think I was the envy of most kids because I actually got to feel what it was like.
19:15 S2
What's a starfish feel like?
19:17 S3
Thin, very thin and very bony. And the outside sort of feels like a slimy canvas. Like the skin sort of feels like, if... imagine canvas that's been covered in some sort of slimy, filmy stuff. It's very bizarre.
19:36 S2
Also, Jodie was talking about getting by at airports. How do you go at an airport?
19:40 S3
Well, I'm pretty easy. I can I can follow very well. I've got very good spatial awareness. I haven't actually done any airport travel with Lacey yet but I'm hoping to change that in a few months. So I'd just take my cane and and... my family or friends have been, you know, happy to take my suitcase, and I just follow around. I haven't really ever needed to use a wheelchair. I've stressed that I am capable of walking and following people around, so that's always been fun. I haven't had too much trouble.
20:11 S2
Have you ever... used the special needs... thing at the airport? Because it's always tempting. Yeah. When they sort of make an announcement and say. And those with special needs, can you please present yourself to the to the counter?
20:24 S3
I have a couple of times when I've travelled with a small group or when I've travelled by myself, but when I'm with family, I don't tend to do that because there's so many of us that, you know, they won't allow all of us into the special needs line. But when I've gone to Braille music camp, however, and there's a couple of us who are blind or vision impaired, or when I've travelled on my own, then yes, I'll definitely use that, and I'll get as much assistance as I could possibly get.
20:49 S2
We've always been too shy to do that. So it's just sort of, Well, wait in line and that sort of stuff. So let's hear from... well, we spoke to Shane last week. Let's speak to his cousin.
21:06 S8
Okay. Because I'm new to this gig. You know what I mean? It's only been eight years since I got diagnosed and my eyesight, it's been really aggressive in that time. It's deteriorated quite a lot. I've only really done trips to Queensland and yeah, I feel really isolated, actually, because I am a single woman. Yeah... and making those trips. I lived overseas when I was younger for a couple of years, so I haven't even thought about going overseas yet. Yeah, and this time around, because I don't have, I'm not in that situation right now... and I just make sure I had the right people with me. Yeah. You know, so, yeah, that's kind of a hard one for me, because back in the day, it wasn't a problem. Now I've got to look at it all differently.
22:00 S2
It's something you don't really think about sometimes as the world we live in, is that blind people in particular live in is rather different to the world of a fully sighted person. And to have suddenly been, you know, thrust into that world would be probably a little bit terrifying.
22:18 S3
Yeah, I can imagine. So I've actually made some acquaintances recently with some people that have lost their vision later in life, and they say the same thing as Carly. I find the very common thread is that isolation or the loneliness, because they don't know what options are out there, they don't know what is available to them, and they're too scared to make that plunge to travel. Whereas you and I, I guess we've always been in this world, we've always known what it's like to have limited vision or in my case, none. And so we've grown up knowing what those options are, and we've grown the confidence over the years to be able to just step out on our own.
22:59 S2
And also the confidence to say if we need help. I think that's the most important thing, really, is it can be proud if you want, but if there is help out there, then you might as well take advantage of it.
23:09 S3
I think there's a difference between pride and stubbornness, though, isn't there? And asking for help is a lot harder than you think.
23:17 S2
And knowing who to ask. Really? Yeah. I mean, it's it often surprises people that... say, you know, flight staff and stuff like that are as helpful as they are. And I think because they're used to people making unreasonable requests. So us saying, Can you please show me to my seat or... I can't see the numbers, which one's my seat? That's a reasonable request. It's not an impost on them, and it's something that's quite simple to do, I think.
23:46 S3
Oh, exactly. And I think there are only too happy to help us because, oh well, I don't know about other people, but I myself, I tried to be as nice and pleasant and... polite as possible, always used my manners. And I know most other blind or visually impaired people do. And that's just that comes along with the, you know, learning how to ask for help as well.
24:07 S2
And now let's head over to Perth and hear from Emma.
24:15 S9
The last time I've ever travelled, and it was for a family holiday overseas, was Bali when I was 22.
24:24 S7
Oh wow. Bali. So how did your vision impairment affect your ability to travel and experience the tourist attractions?
24:33 S9
We saw quite a few attractions in Bali. I just used my hands, my smell, being led around all that.
24:46 S7
Did you enjoy it?
24:49 S9
I did. I especially love... because I'm a very motion-loving person, so I especially enjoy the attractions that involved going down a river in a tube and experiencing a day cruise out to a pontoon where there was a water slide and lovely wavy ocean and banana boat rides.
25:16 S7
I also believe you've been skydiving.
25:18 S9
I certainly have. When I was 18, I did skydiving.
25:23 S7
And what did you think of that?
25:25 S9
It was an incredible experience. I highly recommend it to everyone. Although I understand it's not for everyone because not everyone in this world is an adrenaline junkie, but I highly recommend it if you want to do it.
25:41 S2
Okay, so we're next speaking to Stephen.
25:46 S10
[?Dubner] on travelling last year for the World Cup and bike races. I forgot to set my cane. That was interesting. But, obviously traveling with other people, so it's had to be reliant on them. But... another one of those situations where the other person was willing to to jump in and say, Oh, he's blind. Don't... just ignore him - because I walked into them or whatever. Because my guide wasn't doing their job as well as they could have. But yeah, everyone's willing to help out, and it wasn't a problem. But, yeah, you use... assistance in the in the... airport and stuff.
There's obviously some frustrations as far as not necessarily being able to see things or... have to get closer or those sorts of things, but, yeah, not... no great frustrations as far as... missing out or any of the things I'm... much more of an attitude of appreciation. Appreciate your what you are doing and what you can do and enjoy what you're doing and being present rather than being having the attitude of what you're missing out on. So...
26:55 S2
What's something that stands out to you? What is something you've experienced on your travels that you would never swap for anything else?
27:03 S3
I this is going to sound really weird, but the smell of places that are different. Like going to Vietnam and going to the Chubachu markets or the Bintang markets and smelling like the jackfruit and the fried foods and the smell of the silken clothes and all this sort of thing. Those are things that I'll never forget. And tapioca, that's a smell I'll never forget. I really get wrapped up in the sense of a place. I don't know, for me, smells. I can relate smells to memories really strongly. So I would never trade that for anything as having a sense of smell. What about you?
27:44 S2
Well, I mean, the funny thing is that I was never a particularly a sporty person, but the fact that I was actually good at it meant that... I had the opportunity to do a lot of travelling, and that's what essentially why I did what I did is because I wanted the opportunity to go overseas a lot, and I had all sorts of wonderful experiences and not so wonderful experiences and strange experiences. I mean, I nearly fell into a rice paddy in Seoul, but I also went to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris at one stage. Being able to walk around the Opera House in Paris as well... I don't know it all sort of... there is a lot of different things there that I've experienced that I don't think I would have had the opportunity to do had I not actually...been an international athlete, as it was.
So that's... yeah, I'm trying to sort of think what would be the big thing that stands out the most. Recently we... went to Cambodia and, to a... village there, and that was incredible, really, just to see how people lived and the degree of poverty there that really sort of stood out to me as well. Any thoughts you've got from these interviews that you think that the listeners out there might want to sort of take to heart a bit more?
28:57 S3
Well, I think the idea that just because you are lacking in vision doesn't mean that you can't experience other things. There is so much more to a place than what you can look at. There's what you can touch, what you can smell, what you can taste, or you can hear. Like music is everywhere, pretty much. But actually, Sam, I had a question for you. If you could pick a place that you would like to travel to, one that you haven't been to before, where would you go?
29:29 S2
Ooh, Antarctica.
29:30 S3
Wow. Okay. That's extreme. Yeah.
29:33 S2
Yeah. Why not? Why not? Why not? Anyway, that is a wrap for this week. A big thank you to Lily, Sam, Jody, Carly, Emma and Stephen.
29:45 S3
And of course, a big thanks to you for listening.
29:48 S2
Next week we go for a bit of retail therapy - is heading out to the shops just a little bit too hard? Has online shopping been a boon for our choir of angels, or is it just easier to save our money and get someone else to do it all for us?
30:04 S3
But between now and then, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have any experience with the issues covered on this week's episode of Studio 1, or whether you think there's something we should be talking about, you never know - your story and insight may help someone who is dealing with something similar.
30:21 S2
Our email address is studio1@visionaustralia.org ... that's studio number one at Vision Australia dot org - or perhaps you can look us up on our socials, VA Radio Network on Facebook or the medium of X.
30:34 S3
We want to hear from you.
30:35 S2
Bye for now.
30:36 S1
Vision Australia Radio gratefully acknowledges the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation for Studio 1.
