Is a trip to india possible for someone with an increasingly physically disabled body? Well, with Timeless Excursions, the answer is an unequivocal and resounding yes! I am just back from an amazing, and memory filled 13 days, and even though it feels strange to now be talking about these fresh memories in the past tense, it is my hope that this account will help someone else.

I have heard india described as beautiful ugly india. How could someplace be both beautiful and ugly? But this description suits india perfectly. I had been planning this trip since january, indeed I am exhausted now that its all over. When you have extra needs, be prepared to put in the time to make all those phone calls, and send those faxes. Although, despite all my diligent efforts and assurances by klm that they knew my physical situation, and were indeed expecting me, both gong to and coming back from delhi, this did not seem to be the case. So, I think the moral of the story, is to expect the unexpected, and assumee that a certain amount of lip service will be paid.

I didn't know that you needed a visa for india. It must have to do with security concerns,so even though I was reluctant to send off my passport through the post (for fear of identity theft), I was delighted when the visa was promptly returned in 5 working days (you have to pay 50 euro).Despite my best efforts, the klm crew in amsterdam, seemed to have no clue that I was travelling unaccompanied. What saved my bacon, (especially on the return leg) was to have a medical cert in my bum bag.

We had been at dublin airport at 3am , and it turned out to be a very wise move, as we had just finished checking in when a busload of dutch tourists arrived ready to go home. I will definately go back to amsterdam again. The klm staff were so lovely. And then after another long four hours we were on the final haul to Delhi. Its impossible to completely keep boredom at bay on a long flight. You can sleep a bit, look at the in-flight movie, even try to read, but basically you're just trying to put in the hours. We arrived in Delhi at 10.50pm. I was instantly very impressed with Delhi airport, I had been expecting a vintage, overcrowded, third world imitation of an airport, but it was quite plush and well designed.

The people from Timeless were waiting for me with placards. My assistant was there along with a driver and the tour company reps. We then made our way to the Oberoi Maidens Hotel, which is situated in old Delhi. As I was to learn the next day, Delhi can be divided into pre and post colonization .What was called New Delhi is full of British architecture, including many great monuments,and the largest parlaiment buildings in the world. Old Delhi is another story entirely. The hotel, as beautiful as it was, is slap bang in the middle of Old Delhi, and my first night on the way to the hotel, I saw many people sleeping on crates or even on the bare concrete. This was my first encounter with third world India at its depressing worst .

I had paid extra to have the one assistant with me throughout the trip. This proved to be a very wise choice. It would have been cheaper for me to have different assistants, but would have been more difficult, in that you would'nt have had the time to form a relationship. With the one assistant over time, he learned how to customise and gear his services especially for me. Its something I often think, that the next most important question after seeing someone in a wheelchair, is to identify just why they are in the wheelchair. We are all so different, and have entirely different needs and wants .At the beginning he tried to feed me, which explains the above point. Later, as the trip wore on, we really had developed a professional relationship. He knew when to assisst, and when to back off. Also he was great, as after time went by, he would tell me if I was spending too much money on tourist junkets, and as a result I managed to avoid most of the typical tourist pitfalls.

However on the first day in Delhi we were brought to a government run shop called Saga, where I grossly overspent, and indeed spent the rest of the holiday lamenting it. The Indian custom of giving you a welcome drink, has more to do with keeping you within the confines of the shop, rather than simple hospitality. Everything in this shop was rediculously expensive, and my assistant later told me that he had bitten his lip, as he knew that I was being fleeced, but he couldn't say anything, as he still was just getting to know me. After all the money I spent in this shop, the manager only gave me a free bag, which on reflection was extremely insulting, and in every other part of India I got much nicer free gifts, with purchases that cost me an awful lot less money. I am putting this down, as i feel that tourists need to be conscious of the fact, that they are in the middle of the third world, and big money can be spent an awful lot better. If I had my time over again, I would have by-passed this shop, and happily given my money away. It is very upsetting to stop the car and be surrounded by beggars and street hawkers.

It was a private tour I had my own Toyota Ortiz, driver and assistant, and the whole stay in India I was treated like a king. We saw all the sights Delhi has to offer, including the old markets where people sell footwear that has been just robbed from Muslim Mosque's, and the gory sight of live chickens in cages, just waitnig to be selected and butchered. Also on the first day, as you cannot get Rupees outside India, it meant due to the lateness of my arrival the night before that I was absoutley penniless save my credit card. We eventually managed to track down an ATM machine later in the evening, but until then it was plastic. It was almost like being on a different planet, nothing can prepare you for the sight of cows on the street. Unfortunately cows in many respects seem to have an easier life than humans, many of whom we saw sleeping rough under bridges and whom my Delhi tour guide dismissed as dirty unhygenic people, rather than as his brother and sister Indians. Yes,, the class system is still alive and well!

I had chosen instead of short domestic flights, to have longer drives through the countryside. This had two purposes, one obviously being to save money, but the other was to see the real India and people going about their normal business. Delhi is surely changing, there are new factories going up everywhere, and there are obviously a lot of people with money. There were so many new and big cars on the road. We had begun our five hour trip to Jaipur, which was one of the highlights of the entire visit. The majectic Palace of the Winds, has to be seen to be believed. We were also fortunate to arrive there on the birthday of Lord Krishna, so there was a festival atmosphere. Just goes to show that you can only plan so much, I had made a nuisance of myself, double and triple checking that my video camera was on all the right settings. Its the coulours and sounds of India that you want to try and capture, but my camcorder broke down the very first day, and only started recording in black and white. I was very upset but luckily in the middle of all the chaos of Jaipur we found a little camcorder repair shop and it turned out it was only a chip in my LCD screen that was gone so for 60 euros i had my camcorder back working in perfect colour. The opulance of the lives led by the Maharajah's is a little too decadent. I know now they are trying to have a social conscience and have donated a lot of their properties to the Indian government, but especially in times past they led lives of sheer decadent luxury seemingly unaware, or uninterested in the plight of the people all around them.

The first day or two had gone so well health wise that I began to let my guard down, feeling comfortable enough to even gargle in the morning after brushing my teeth with tap water. However on the third day I felt a little tummy upset after this myself and my assistant decided that in future we would use only mineral water for this purpose. I had to be very strick health wise, as my schedule was so intensive , that even one sick day would have messed up the entire tour. When I heard my assistant tell the tour guide that if I fell sick that the entire tour would be cancelled it certainly redoubled my efforts to look after myself. It would be a terrible shame to go all that way , spend so much money and so much time planning, to miss out on all India has to offer, because you are either sick in bed or on the toilet. So I was careful to have lots of naps( even though I found it impossible to sleep soundly during the night) and wear my big sun-hat which I bought in Jaipur, and which I credit with being one of the main reasons why I stayed healthy. Sunstroke I'm sure is one of the major reasons why tourists fall down health wise. I never have been a fan of very spicy food, but I decided that I was not going to go all that way, and eat my burgers and chips. So we settled on some mild spicy Indian dishes especially mutton biryani, which I found myself ordering every day, terrible creature of habit that I am.

I have five hours of video which I look forward to editing and putting on You Tube. The colours of the sari's the smells of the incense and sandalwood are just mesmerising, which no guidebook can prepare you for. I cleverely had brought a lot of toys. In Jaipur the car was stopped temporarily in the middle of the chaotic street when a little beggar boy came up to the car , tapped on the window, put his fingers to his mouth, in the typical begging fashion. I 'd been told not to give children money, as it would go into the pockets of their minders so instead we had the card loaded up with toys, fruit and chocolate. I gave this boy a little ball that I bought out in Blanchardstown with Disney World characters on it, and he absoutley broke my heart because we came across him the next day with the ball jealously tucked tightly under his arm. I dont think deeds like this are at all heroic, we are all part of a big global family and it is not divinely ordained that tourists to this country can go around spending so much money on souveneirs that in reality might soon be relegated to a drawer when there are children etching out an existance. This boy could not have been more than six. Shortly after this I decided to be a lot more careful about the money I spent and try not to be so immune to the sights all around me. Indeed when we arrived in Agra and went to one big factory where they sold marble everything at astronomical prices. The salesperson showed me his shipping book with a lot of Irish customers who had spent many thousand of euro on marble goods which were going to be shipped back to Ireland. For a little trinket box he wanted $900, I just thought to myself that its really revolting to indulge yourself to thiss extent when there are children fighting over an apple outside.

This whole trip had been my own birthday present to myself, and to spend my thirty third bithday at the Taj Mahal was the best present ever. It was such a serene place, and the guide had told me that of the seven wonders of the world , the Taj Mahal has recently been voted the number one. I think September is a very good month to go to India, there's a lot of cloud coverage and the even at times get rain. It started raining a little at the Taj but to be honest it's impossible not to get beautiful pictures. We went to the Taj for sunset and sunrise, and even though we had to be up very early for the sunrise it was certainly worth it. We were rewarded with a beautiful morning with far less people traffic. You are not allowed to go too near thye Taj by car you literally have to get a battery operated rickshaw to the entrance gates. The guide was so informative about the history of this beautiful mausoleum, with its symmetrical lines and optical illusions.

After the Taj we went to a leather shop, which supplies the leather jackets for River Island, and has indeed made leather trench coats for Bill Clinton. I spent another bucket load here, but it was my birthday so I didn't begrudge it, and I decided beforehand that I was not going to deprive myself of anything, that if I liked something andI could justify getting it, it was going to be got. Besides they gave me 4 beautiful camels, and a very appealing leather whip. The shop is extremely innocuous from the outside, its tiny and they have sewing machines in the back room. I got a pair of leather pants, tailor-made there and then, they take your measurements and will make all the necessary adjustments, and deliver it to your hotelroom later on that same day. This seems to be quite a common theme, I got a number of clothes tailor-made.

The next morning we took a train, and the final car journey to Khajaraho. This quiet unassuming town is home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a breathing complex of temples. What was one of the highlights of the entire trip for me, was the sound and light show at these temples. It was so much like being transported back in time. These temples are also the home of the Kama Sutra, and erotic carvings are everywhere. They certainly lived in an age which had no hangups. Also the immaculately maintained gardens are full of the most amazingly scented flowers. The only downfall in this town was the Clark's Hotel we stayed at, did not have a wide enough bathroom door. This was the only time that this happened in any of the hotels we stayed at. We started eating out near to our hotel to cut down on rooml service charges.There was a restaurant called Gaylords Restaurant, which served the most excellent food at very cheap prices. Its more or less a one man show, the owner is both cook and waiter. One evening we were in there having our dinner, when my ears stood up listening to four people speaking beside me. It turned out they were from Tallaght, which was almost unbelieveable. They were so nice and so funny, but the one thing that I felt bad for them, was because they had no ininerary. Its such a shame to travel that far and not to make the most of your surroundings. At least I can look back now and rest assured that I really did make the very most of my time there.

Thankfully, the last leg of the trip, was to the holy Hindu city of Varanasi which we arrived at by domestic flight (my ass just could not handle another long car journey) Many times I felt deeply moved by the Hindu beliefs. We went to the Hindu festival of Aarti, which was almost a mystical experience. They put me on a boat, which rocked so ferociously that I almost puked. Again I had an excellent tour guide who explained everything in such detail with regard to their beliefs, that it makes me annoyed at how arrogant the Christian tradition is towards it. Ok it is fantastical with all their Gods, but it is certainly no more farfetched than other religious belief systems. We took the boat up to the ghat, which is the 24 hour cremation area in the Ganges. It was a little strange to behold bodies being burned openly, but according to Hindu beliefs, once the person is dead and the soul is gone, the body is nothing. I dont know how they view people who are in coma's, or on life support machines, but thats another issue.

The aarti cermeony was so touching. The co-ordinated movements of the 7 young trainee Hindu priests, with their lights, and strong smell of insense was captivating. The chanting, and the genuine palpable happiness of the people, was so special to behold and thankfully I have it on video. After the ceremony we went to a Hindu temple where prayers for my own intentions were said. It was so much better to see it at night time, that we did not go back in the morning as originally planned. Varanasi is famous for silk, and I stocked up on fabulous bed/pillow covers (which are still in a bag, as I feel they are too nice to use) The owner of the silk emporium where we went, said that silk does not degrade, or lose its value over time, and that certain people actually collect, old silk. I should have bought more, as it is so light in weight, and therefore ideal for the plane.

The last day was spent with a visit to a school for disabled Indians called Kiran. I had lots of sweets and presents with me. I honestly cannot fathom what it is like to be disabled, to be wheelchair user, and to be Indian. You certainly are relegated to the back room, and that is even providing that your family will not abandon, you as we saw later in the day when we went to a Missionaries Of Charity Orphanage. Unfortunately i have no video of this, just some wonderful pictures, but the atmosphere was so joyful. Again I had lots of little presents and chocolates, and the head sister told me that mother is looking after them from heaven, as the order is going from strength to strength.

After a short domestic flight we were back in Delhi, and had a few hours to put in before the flight. There was a mishap at the airport. I had bargained on changing and organising my bags inside the airport. However the airport security threw a spanner in the works, as they would not allow my assistant inside. So we had to make do with trying to repack my luggage and change in the street( with the help of a blanket) Again there were serious problems with the airport staff, who told me that I would have to wait until the cabin crew came, and they would have to approve me before they let me on the plane. It was 10 o clock at night- I was starving and exhausted. But after a drink and something to eat, my energy levels came back up, and I decided that this was not going to be another Heathrow fiasco. I told them there would be big problems if I could not get on this plane, and that I had let KLM know the medical situation months in advance. When the cabin crew, came we had a little chat and there was no problem. They told me that there had been a few occasions before where unaccompanied disabled passangers perhaps had tried to use the on-board loo unsuccessfullyand then sued KLM.I just wanted to get on the plane, and did not calm down until we had taken off. I had had the most incredible holiday, but all good things come to an end and I was really looking forward to collapsing into my own bed. It was tough going but it certainly was worth it !

Update Monday 29/10/07

I don't think I will make a trip like this again.The world is too big, and so much else to see,to be going back to the same places. Also, I have a week booked in rome for next may, and I have a 3 hour direct flight booked with aer lingus. It is just too much of hassle and headache for me to be travelling to these places. Even though the timelesss tour was reasonable, when you have to pay for assisstance, the price soon skyrockets. I dropped lots of big tips (like 40/100/200 euro) and still they wanted more. I gave my assistant 200 euro on the last day, paid for a saree for his wife, but still I got an email yesterday asking for more help to publicise his company, as he is trying to marry off a daughter, and needs to raise a big dowry. I dont fucking think so! That human greediness, which no disability or wheelchair will protect you from, has left a very bitter taste in my mouth, especially now as I am home. There should be guidelines given from your tour company, when it comes to tipping. Often I felt like a lamb to the slaughter, oh well, the important thing is that the good memories far outweigh the bad. Maybe I should just chalk these up as exspensive travel tips. Its hard knowing that you have to scrimp and save, because you know your holiday is going to cost as much as a family of four, when you factor in assistance, but its worth it to escape your routine ultimately!

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