Ingrid Vandoorne aboard a tuk tuk.
Goa & Delhi, India in a Wheelchair
by Ingrid Vandoorne
© 2009
All
photos Vandoorne ©
2009
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Ingrid Vandoorne aboard a tuk tuk. |
If you look for a friendly, luxury and exotic (small) trip: Goa is the place to be! We, my husband and me (paraplegic and manual wheelchair), were already in India before and we liked it very much although it is not such a quite common destination for disabled people.
This time we went two days to Delhi and then took a flight to Goa. (2 hours flight) where we wanted to relax and enjoy the sea!
Last time we booked through timeless excursions and we still receive personal birthday wishes every year and so we didn’t hesitate to contact them again. We really can recommend this company, they welcomed us as we were family.
A very good and safe car picked us up at the airport after a good flight (Lufthansa) and we were transferred to a wonderful brand new hotel: The Lalit. So accessible! http://www.thelalit.com/Delhi/default.aspx The food was really exquisite, the room totally accessible as well as the whole hotel!
We spent time shopping, shopping… we also took a tuk tuk to visit some parts of Delhi we haven’t seen before.
In the evening we met Mrs Renu, the manager of timeless excursions, she remembered us since the last time and was so happy to see us again! She has a hart for the disabled people and we discussed many things that could be improved in Delhi such as ramps, toilets etc. As Mrs Renu has prominent connections and friends and such a big hart let’s hope there will be some improvement for the disabled! Not so evident in India!
After two days and the hustle and bustle of the capital we left for Goa. The domestic airport is more demanding and there are many security rules. The rules were increased due to the attack of the hotel in Mumbai. It took some time to convince them to take my own wheelchair with me to the gate, but after a while, it was ok. Lots of soldiers and checks.
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Goa's Taj exotica hotel. |
Goa's lush landscaping. |
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Ingrid enjoys a swim at
the Taj exotica hotel. |
Ingrid relaxes at the Taj exotica hotel. |
In Goa we were picked up again by are careful driver and a good car. Very hot and humid in Goa! The Taj exotica is a very nice hotel-colonial style. Everything is accessible! The room is spacious, the bathroom is smaller (they have to take out the door to enter with the wheelchair (66cm.).
We had a really nice and relaxing holiday! We also did a tour (everything careful organised by timeless excursions). Goa has not so many to offer as the other parts of India, but it is very relaxing with beautiful sea views, fisherman villages and the typical houses, build in Portuguese style. Old Goa is also nice.
Out of the hotel, there are small restaurants and shops. The restaurants offer very tasteful and cheap food, in one of them there’s a band playing and everyone dancing. I took my bicycle with me and we made walks (if not too hot).
Blue skies, blue sea and sun! The swimming pool of the hotel is very accessible, lots of privacy and the staff is very friendly and willing to help!
In the hotel there was an Indian marriage, it lasted three days and the bride entered the hotel with a big elephant! Just like a fairy tale…
We liked it very much en totally relaxed we flew back!
www.timelessexcursions.com/dis.htm
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