Featured destination
Honolulu downtown is a blend of luxury skyscrapers, lush tropical surroundings and small, but interesting shops. All flanked by the Pacific Ocean to the South and the Koolau Range to the North. The actual downtown is small, flat and easy to get around. The Iolani Palace is known as the only official state residence of royalty in the United States; [1]. The palace is not large nor all that accessible for the handicapped traveler, but worth a stop. If you need a cool place (and you may), go to the library, a few hundred yards away, it is accessible and nice.
In Honolulu you will find several good parking options downtown; [2], you be well advised to park your car for a few hours, downtown is rather small and quick to explore.
For culinary excitement head to Chinatown, it bleeds into downtown and you will find it right behind Fort Street Mall. This is where you will find some interesting eats; [3], the Maunakea Market Place Food Court is a treat and only a few blocks away. The sidewalks in Chinatown are rather narrow and not in the best of shape. The Maunakea Market Place is wheelchair accessible but very crowded, a good place for lunch.
In Honolulu, most crosswalks have ramps and provide for easy access. Bathrooms can be a bit tougher to come by and remember that the trade winds that keep the rest of the island "cool" have less of an impact on downtown, so it will be warmer than the typical tourist areas. We would recommend staying at a hotel not in Honolulu, as it is rather desolate (and a bit sleazy) in the evening. Public transportation is pretty good, and most city buses have wheelchair lifts and tie-downs. TheBus site: [4] offers a mobile Watch Program and provides assistance to anyone in need of help. All of the buses have two-way communication equipment. If you ever require immediate assistance, simply board TheBus and inform the bus operator of your need for help.
At the foot of the Fort Street Mall you will find the Aloha Tower Marketplace with tourist shops and restaurants. Access is fine, though walking down Fort Street Mall can be a mixed bag. For more on Aloha Tower, check out: [5]
Ala Moana In the urban sprawl between Honolulu and Waikiki you will find the dominant mall on Oahu, they provide a shuttle from several places in Waikiki [6]. The mall is an institution with a myriad of restaurants and shops, fairly easy to shop and a bit of an experience. Mall site: [7]
Take a look at the Disabled Advisories for Honolulu site for some good ideas: [8] and the Guide to Finding a Handicapped Accessible Beach in Honolulu Hawaii, take a look: [9] From Fodor's Disabilities & Accessibility In Honolulu And Oahu award: [10]
Honolulu weather: [11]
Travel tales
Doi Suteop, Thailand
4 Globes =  About: [[12]]
 
The temple is about an hour outside Chiang Mai and the drive up there is rather challenging climb full of twists and turns. The temple itself is beautiful and sits on the the mountain it's named for. You can walk the steep stairs up to the temple or you can walk to the right and take a convenient lift to the temple grounds (for a nominal fee). The temple itself is just beautiful and the views are memorizing (I've been told, yes it was a cloudy day when we visited). Watch the dancers, ring the bells for luck and Chiang Mai is only an hours ride away. This is a great fun excursion and it's close to the Hmong Village, an experience, but the disabled travelers nightmare.
Anchorage
3 Globes = About: [[13]]
In Anchorage will find first-class hotels and quaint B&B's, four-star restaurants and small cafes, an outstanding Museum of History and Art and a multitude of other fun activities. It's a great place to get ready to fish, hunt, climb and camp.
Alaska is one-fifth the size of the continental US; so you won't see it all in one visit. Start with Anchorage. Base your expedition here, summer or winter, and do your exploring from Anchorage, web: [14]
Bus Denali Park Tundra Wilderness Tour
Generally, morning tours depart between 5:30am to 7:30am. Vouchers must be exchanged for tickets the night before your tour at the activities desk of your assigned departure location. The price for this tour includes the Park entrance fee. Early Season Notice - Tours departing early and late season (typically 5 to 7 days at the beginning and end of the season) generally only travel 33 miles into Denali National Park due to seasonal weather and road conditions. There will be walking involved.
Bus Denali Park Tundra Wilderness Tour Site
[15]
Anchorage Dinner Cruise: [16]
Anchorage Cruises: [17]
Anchorage weather:
[18]
Blog Entry
I was driving across the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco the other day and I couldn’t help thinking of that excellent mango sticky rice desert I tried in Chiang Mai and that surprisingly great Thai food in Honolulu’s Chinatown at the Maunakea Market Place. Yes, it all made me hungry but also made me ponder the importance of pursuing life rather than just living it.
Our individual towns or spaces have grown and now transcend the traditional confined spaces that, for the most part, were still the norm when we were young. This new reality is a consequence of a more nomadic environment and we need to update our mental models accordingly. The new model is likely to be more like a collection of drips on a canvas spread across continents, countries and oceans than a monolithic brush stroke of the old days.
Back to the mango sticky rice, I smile when I think back of the restaurant and how it was difficult to get to, with a narrow path next to the swimming pool, the Thai food in Honolulu and the ramp for easy access and the overly crowded restaurant. In my minds eye, they are next to one and other as is Stockholm’s Bakfickan restaurant, which is next to the opera house. When I close my eyes I can revel in the dizzying symphony of exotic scents, sounds and voices. Still, they are thousands of miles apart, but a part of my town and just think about the really important things, such as family and friends spread across this blue planet.
In this brave new world, travel is essential to life as it binds the disparate parts of our towns, our reality together. And keeping your town alive while battling physical obstacles in your way is not an easy task. For battling these obstacles, for not giving up, for forging ahead, for creating and holding on to your own town, for this you are all heroes!
And we do keep traveling, tending to and expanding our towns, and we do represent a significant market. Dr. Scott Rains cites the Open Doors Organization $16.6 billion in annual travel spend estimate (web). This is an amazing amount of plane, train, boat and buss tickets, hotels and hostels stays, breakfasts, lunches and dinners, elevator and escalator rides, uneven pavement traversed, cities, towns, landscapes and continents traveled.
My hope is that we all share our experiences to make travel better for all. By sharing experiences from our expanded villages and findings on our journeys, you can make a profound difference in a fellow travelers life. This is our time and this is were we share: http://www.theglobalidea.com. When we share we travel better, it’s a simple pleasure to share and it works. Case in point, have you ever considered mango sticky rice as perhaps the best desert of all time?
Can you think of any reason not to share?
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Slowtripblog.com
For The Latest Updates, Go To Our New Blog:
Slowtripblog.com:
[19]
Add Your Findings Here, It Is As Easy as 1-2-3!
Add your travel advice to the disabled travel community! An estimated 56 million in the US and over 600 million around the world are disabled. And we travel and we travel better still when we share information.
It takes 20 seconds to create a free account and then write a sentence or two to a full-length article with helpful advice:
"In San Francisco the Ferry Building is a must, it has smooth floors, handicap bathrooms, good temperature, plenty of places to sit down and great restaurants for almost any diet."
Best Practices:
- Share actionable and positive information
- Situation disclaimer (Point Of View): posting written primarily for wheelchair users,slow walkers, visual and/or hearing impaired travelers in need of frequent breaks, family members, service providers, etc...
- Set the stage; museum, restaurant, etc...
- What worked/what didn’t, recommendations... actionable information
- Any advice
Share good advice on how to best travel in your hometown!
We all have different needs when we travel and we all have the right to embrace travel regardless of diagnosis, from cancer to MS, Parkinson’s, ALS, PLS, PMA, MSA, heart disease, diabetes, cerebrovascular, Alzheimer's and others... If you find yourself in a wheelchair or walking slow or with a cane or fighting the fight of your life inside, then this site is for you; share information and remember to travel safely!
Las Vegas
4 Globes = About: [[20]]
Las Vegas is a good destination city for the disabled traveler, but it may not be a good destination for your valet. The strip is an amazing place to be, hot during summer and the neon nights turns night into day. You can have fun in Vegas without gambling; there are now many great restaurants, for example Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill; [21] and more than ample shopping in most casinos. The following information from the official Vegas website:
All Vegas hotels are handicap accessible. Room designs and special services vary among hotels. Talk to the hotel concierge for any special requests or needs. Many hotel pools have lifts available to assist handicapped guests.
All Vegas shows offer seating for handicapped patrons. Many showrooms have assistive listening devices for hearing impaired customers and wheelchair accessible seating areas.
All Vegas restaurants are accessible. Talk to the maitre'd for any special seating requests you might have or just ask about any concerns when you call to make reservations. Keep in mind that most restaurants located in hotels do not have restrooms located in the restaurant – they are located outside in the casino. Casino restrooms are handicap accessible. The official site; [22]
Navigate the Las Vegas Strip with the help of three monorails that run between Sahara and the MGM Grand, Treasure Island and the Mirage, and Excalibur and Mandalay Bay (with a stop at the Luxor). For more information and monorail map;
[23]
For additional transportation advice, see: [24]
Portland
3 Globes = About: [[25]]
Portland is known as "the City of Roses", a green eden with waterways in a green lush setting about 70 miles from the Pacific Ocean where the Columbia meets the Willamette River.
Portland's historic old town, galleries, pubs, museums and Waterfront Park will keep visitors happily engaged. It's a pretty flat city with good facilities for the disabled traveler.
TriMet provides public transportation in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area , including most of Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. Senior citizens and people with disabilities readily use TriMet buses, MAX Light Rail, WES Commuter Rail and Portland Streetcar. Disabled travelers can get a discount, web: [26]
Travel Portland's list of disability services: [27]
Portland's international airport: [28]
Louisville (SDF) Airport
People With Special Needs / Persons With Disabilities at Louisville SDF Airport
The terminals are fully handicapped-accessible and includes numerous hearing-aid compatible and volume control phones along with TDD - Telecommunication Device for the Deaf. All phones are wheelchair accessible. Several phones are equipped with dataports.
For people using wheelchairs, there are specially designed ramps, curbs, doors and elevators located at key locations. Elevators featuring Braille floor designations and raised control buttons assist the visually impaired. Also, seeing-eye dogs are permitted in the terminal buildings and on aircraft. Airline ticketing and baggage claim are also accessible. Airlines offer special escort/transport services, upon prior request, with wheelchair assistance provided from the curb to the security checkpoint, where two eight-passenger chauffeured electric carts and a 310 foot moving sidewalk transport passengers to and from the gates with ease.
Web: [29]
IT'S A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME BEGINNING SPRING 2009
Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is pleased to announce that significant renovations to the facility will begin in December 2008 and be completed by April 2009. The substantial project will give LSM&F more interactive experiences, and enable the museum to share and rotate important artifacts in its collection that are not currently on display.
Web: [30]
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