Could You Get Around?

The first week that I spent in Thailand, I had the chance to do a bit of walking either around the campus or at markets. Since then, every day has usually consisted of at least one walk to campus or perhaps to Carrefour (somewhat like Walmart..). Walking in Chiang Mai is a task, to say the least. When there are sidewalks, which there are not always, they may seem to be more dangerous than having to walk on the side of the road. A lot of times, they are composed of bricks--lopsided and often missing. Usually, in the middle of the sidewalk, there will be trees that the bricks go around. This has proven to be dangerous for those of us who can, in general, walk safely on two feet. I have found the idea of trying to travel around on crutches, in a wheel chair, or blind to be almost unimaginable. I find this strange, especially since there seems to be a rather large blind population in Chiang Mai.

While I am at the dorm, I've noticed that yes, there is an elevator, and there is a ramp, and the rooms do seem pretty accessible. At the same time, the minute I reach the building where I have the majority of my classes, I think that it would be rather impossible for a person with a physical disability or injury to get around. Each day, we climb to the fourth floor of the building, and although it's good exercise, I'm pretty sure that many people would take the elevator if the option were available. Of course, this is not just a problem on campus. Often, many restaurants or stores I visit have steps to get inside without any sort of ramp, or if it is possible for someone in a wheel chair to enter, certain facilities are not accessible inside.
For instance, I went to a movie this weekend, and although the mall has several elevators, the theater seemed very in accessible. It is possible that there is a way to get to the theaters from an elevator if one cannot go up the large flight of stairs next to the concessions, but once we entered the actual theater, to find our seats we had to first climb and then walk down a lot of steps.

Perhaps if someone is simply injured for a period of time--he or she broke a leg or had surgery--this would not me much of a problem, but to never be able to see a movie in a theater simply because one cannot walk may be upsetting. At least there are many other things to do at the mall?

Of course, for someone in a wheelchair to get to such a location, he or she would have to find adequate transportation. The sidewalks are impossible, and the red trucks probably aren't much better.. If a wheel chair fit inside, one would need a makeshift ramp as well as some sort of contraption to keep the chair inside the vehicle.

On Wednesday of this past week, a woman to visit the place where I volunteer. When I saw her driving up to the building, I was amazed. She was driving a motorcycle while sitting in her wheelchair.

She had asked a mechanic to attach the steering mechanisms to the front of a cart, and she sits inside in her chair to drive. The body of the motorcycle is attached, and she could take a passenger for a ride as well.

The next day, I visited her house, which I learned had been specially built for her. It had ramps, wider doors, and the table outside had three seats around it and a space so she could pull her wheelchair up to it. While I was visiting her, she discussed how difficult it can be to get around--and how some places are just not options. It is interesting to think that one cannot have certain experiences simply because he or she does not have access due to a physical disability or injury, especially coming from a culture where there are designated spots for parking to increase accessibility as well as designated stalls in bathrooms and seats in movie theaters.