Vineet's London-Europe Trip 2017 Day 8 ( Olten, Switzerland)

12th June

Today our entire group left for " Jungfraujoch", a glacier-saddle between two high of the highest peaks of the Alps in Europe. (Here is the wikipedia link - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungfraujoch ) So to reach it, you have to catch a train from Interlaken (in the valley) and change it from Kleine Scheidegg again to reach the top.
We did not go. I had read reviews of Jungfraujoch before coming and they said that it was a highly over-rated tourist spot. That was the first reason and also we were already scheduled to visit Mount Titlis the next day, which was also a snow-covered mountain (though not so high as Jungfraujoch). Then there was the biggest problem of breathing at that height which I cannot bear. I have suffered due to it when we had visited 'Zero Point" in Sikkim, India earlier. I did not want to risk that trouble again. Fourthly, there were changing of trains to be done and frankly I didn't know how much of a trouble it would be for Vin in his wheelchair. And lastly, we wanted to take a bit of rest after all those hectic days of continuous touring.
So. We slept. We slept so late that we almost missed breakfast! 😜😅Then we had lavish baths 😄and after a delicious lunch (from the hotel restaurant), in the evening we got dressed and decided to go for a short walk towards the town of Olten nearby where we could also see some church steeples and I wanted to visit one 🙏


                

It was a lovely walk and we enjoyed walking beside the fields of Switzerland into the town where we saw very few people and some kids on bicycles. We saw sheep grazing and finally we found a church where we went in and prayed. We thanked God for the beautiful trip of our lives and returned back to the hotel where we met our group buddies who had already returned. And we found our dinner packed neatly and left for us by our Tour Manager. God bless him! 😇

Also I would like to share with you all the awesome "adaptable room" we got here , even though it was on the 1st floor. The door to the Bathroom was wide , there was a shower tool, toilet had handle bar, and there was even an Emergency thread! Have a look at the pics -

 

And here is a short video I made of us -

Vineet's London-Europe Trip 2017 Day 4 (Paris Disneyland)

8th June 2017

Today we were slated for Eiffel Tower and Disneyland Paris. We opted out of going up the Eiffel Tower as we wanted to use that time for going around it☺😋So we went towards the wheelchair entry which was closed (strangely why we didn't ask),  but as it was early on,  the main queue was short and we proceeded through it. We crossed over to the other side towards the river and the bridge and took fotos. Then we crossed back again towards the garden side and took a lot of mandatory poses with the Eiffel Tower. Then we proceeded towards Disneyland.

Disneyland was on the outskirts and covered acres of land area. But once inside, we were amazed to see the sea of people in there!  Our tickets were pre-booked and we had the option of going either to the Disneyland Park or Disneyland Studio. So people with kids(like us) opted for the former and off we went.
No one at the ticket checking counter told us about the Special Green Card (sorry I can't find it to upload a pic of it, but will do so as soon as I find it 😋)

 It is absolutely necessary for visitors on a wheelchair and though I had read about them in my SB groups on FB,  it completely escaped my mind that day. It was only when we went to go for a boat ride that the lady escort told us about it and by then we were half beyond the castle. Its funny for a place like Disneyland not to have a Notice or Poster regarding this. We were tired, disappointed and didn't know what to do. Papa is a loving papa 💕 and said he would go and get the green card for Vin while mummy and Tia would go around. It was long before they came back with the card and by then it was time for the parade. We enjoyed the parade and it was time to leave. But we had a good time and brought back with us some beautiful memories.... 😊☺😍

Here is short video I made of the Disneyland Parade - 

Vineet's London-Europe Trip 2017 Day 3 ( Towards Paris)

7th June

When we woke up the next day with the sun shining brightly through the blinds,  I muttered under my breath 😜😅 This weather could have been yesterday 😠😫😭
Anyways,  we found that the front seats of our coach had been occupied again, and this time our dear co-passenger refused to give up his seat inspite of our Tour Manager's requests. So our Tour Manager gave up his own seat and some other good people shifted back to make space for him. He announced it in the bus that since we have a special child with us,  could everyone kindly leave the first seats for him and his dad on one side as he would not be able to have any front view which others could have by standing.

When we arrived at the border of U.K. towards France, we had to clear our Immigration. And here it was very kind and thoughtful of an official to come up to our bus and get it done for Vineet and our family without having to go into the building which was some way off.That was really really sweet of them! 😊☺

Anyways we moved towards the Eurotunnel. Oh and another thing!  This morning Papa had an idea- he suggested we put 2 diapers one on top of other,  so when one got soiled, we would simply remove it and there would be no hassle to put on the second one as we realised there were no changing beds in disabled toilets. It WORKED! 😃 Wherever we stopped for lunch we changed him - it became a routine for the next few days ☺

Into the Eurotunnel (From U.K. to France side)

In the evening when we were checked into our hotel on the outskirts of Paris,  we realised that even the lifts were of so small in size that only Vinisha could squeeze into it along with Vineet in his wheelchair. The rooms were also not wheelchair-accomodating, although I realised afterwards that maybe there were, but not available for us... So if you are planning for a similar trip as us, please do ask your Tour manager for a ground floor room or a specially-adapted room for people on a wheelchair. We got one only in Switzerland. 

Vineet's LONDON- EUROPE TRIP 2017 Day 1 (Air Travel stories)

At Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, India

Our tour was to start from the 5th of June from London. For this,  we were allotted an 'Oman Airways' flight from New Delhi to Muscat (capital of Oman) on 5th morning at around 11 a. m. I made Vin's 'khichdi' in the morning before leaving and prayed to God it would pass through security 🙏 ( I had gone through a lot of posts online regarding what types / consistency of food that were allowed in-flight. We had breakfast and left.
       We opted for Vineet's wheelchair to be bubble wrapped alongwith our baggage and transferred Vineet to a wheelchair provided by the airlines as we had had a bit of a harrowing experience during our flight from Mumbai to Kolkata after the Justin Beiber Concert in May this year. (You can read about it HERE
         I was on top of the world when Vin's "khichdi" went through the security 😇😃😄 After a 2 hours flight we landed in Muscat Airport. We had a halting of about 2 hours and we raced to clear our immigration and we also had to feed Vin his lunch as it was past his time!  Add to that the emergency of changing his diaper as well. 😞
BUT!!
when we landed,  we were told we would have to wait for 10-15 minutes for a wheelchair to arrive. As we were short of time, we opted to carry Vineet from the airplane to the transfer bus. Only to find there was no wheelchair for us at the Airport gate!! I rushed in and asked the man at the gate where I could get a wheelchair and he pointed vaguely inside. There was hardly anyone inside and all our fellow passengers had proceeded towards the security counters which was quite some way off. I saw that Vineet's papa had been dropped off the bus with Vineet in his arms and panicked and proceeded to where I saw 2-3 airport lady workers to ask about the wheelchairs. Luckily by the grace of God,  at that instant Papa was shown the wheelchair room by some officials who saw him struggling. What the heck? 😠😑😒. We didn't get any airport escort for Vin at Muscat airport on landing and I thought to myself,  Wow,  and they call India a third-world country 😒😐😑

          So now we proceeded towards the security point but before queuing up, Vineet had his "khichdi" lunch. Now I was a happy mom 😊☺ We breezed through security and straight went for the washroom/toilet. We spotted the 'disabled'- toilet and YET Another obstacle!!
WE COULDN'T CLOSE SHUT THE DOOR AFTER WHEELING IN VINSY!  😧😯😖 The length of the toilet was too less to shut it back after wheeling in. In fact there was not much space to even push in the wheelchair unless it was folded. So now Papa had to scoop up vin, I had to fold the wheelchair and wheel it in, open it again and then Vin was seated again. We changed his diaper and wondered whether it would withstand the next 8 hour flight as it has a maximum holding capacity of around 7 hours according to Vin's water intake. We added another diaper folded into the first and hoped it would work.Keeping our fingers crossed, we proceeded towards the immigration and security again before the next flight which was also 'Oman Airways'.

 Now the boarding was grand 😏 You can see a video HERE
Vin was taken first into the airport bus.  Then from the bus we were led to the 'Hydraulic Lift Bus",  where Vin was transferred into the aircraft directly but then again had to be carried by Papa to his seat which was quite some space from the aircraft door. Anyway,  we were just relieved to be in the final stage of our long journey and soon we were served lunch. After around 4 hours of flying,  Papa asked the steward for some hot water for Vin and some baby food. We got a small packet of cereal powder mix,  but no hot water! 😠 They kept telling us we are looking into it,  but it didn't come. So I mixed some cornflakes in normal water,  let it soak for some time and then mashed it up for Vin. Then we all went in for a nap😴

                We landed at Heathrow Airport at around 5 p. m. G. M. T.  which was around 4. 30 hours behind I. S. T.  There was a long wait in this airport battery car as the escort had to collect all the specially challenged from our flight into it,to be taken to the immigration counter.We were hungry again and also worried about Vin's diaper,and luckily our Tour Manager, who took charge of us and the group at the airport,  settled us in our bus and took us straight to the Indian restaurant for dinner. There, our family was arranged to be seated on the ground floor while the rest of the group went up the stairs to the first floor. He made arrangements Vineet's hot milk and chapatis which I soaked as it was too thick to be had immediately.It was cold and windy with drizzling and we longed to be in the comforts of the Hotel soon which we did after dinner.By the time we had checked in, it was way past midnight !! (according to our Indian time watches and our bodies too!)

    And it was HERE that we learnt the FIRST LESSON of our Trip -
First we wheeled in Vineet into our Hotel room, then we started putting in the luggage one by one, and since the room was not so big enough, the suitcases got lined in the doorway and mummy went out to get another suitcase and 'BAM'!The door shut close behind her with Vineet inside the room with the keys!! OH NOOOO!!!! He couldn't open the door as his way was blocked and neither could we! As we panicked, Papa said he would go down and get the staff to open with the duplicate keys.As we were waiting for him to return, after 4-5 minutes, the door opened with a click from inside and Vin's face emerged and we asked how the hell did you do it??!! Vin said - I became Michael Jackson zombies from Thriller!! and grinned 😁😅 We went in and saw the suitcases lying by the sides. Awww.. I have a strong boy there 💪💪Papa came up (without anyone) and asked what happenend and we told him. From then on we decided that Papa would keep both  the room keys with him and Vin should never be alone in the room ever.
Hmmmmm. Aye Sir 😌😊☺
       
   

Vineet's First Overseas Trip 2017 (A preview)

Have I been waiting to write this very special event in Vineet's life or what 😃😀😀!!! It was a very special blessing by God in All our lives as we had thought of going on a Europe Tour sometime later in our lives,  but we had no idea that it would happen so soon!  This year itself!

            So going back a little into my earlier post on the #JustinBeiber Concert post, we were going through a  couple of travel brochures online just for fun,  and we stumbled upon this very attractive offer from #ThomasCookTravels for a Budget Europe Trip . We sat and calculated a lot of things 😌😀 and thought it was a nice deal considering our family of four.  We consulted friends and finally one day Papa clicked on the "Book" tab and there was no looking back then 😃☺
            To cut the story short,  let me just say that in the next few posts,  I will be sharing our travel details but mainly I will be focussing on the #accessibility issues and how we managed Vineet's incontinence. Also his fooding part. So if you are thinking of doing something as exciting (and adventurous 😁😜) as us,  you can read on and also contact us at - spinabifidainindia@gmail.com

P. S. - We stocked on Vin's diapers and all his stuff ( but naturally) and took 2 of each - one set for the main luggage and one smaller set for the hand luggage. We bought a small size 'Rice-cooker' for his daily "khichdi' lunch meal and rice and dal along with his fav cornflakes. I also took some meal supplements for emergencies ( airplane companies are playing up these days and can't be trusted all the time as I was about to realise 😒😒😑) And of course,  another folding wheelchair (coz the earlier one got spoiled by the sea waters of Puri)

I would also love to have feedbacks on these posts from travellers on wheelchairs and maybe some more travel tips and hacks for our future travels (hopefully 😊)

Thankyou for going through!  🙏💕