Nischal Niraula narrates adventurous tales of a few people with disability — they travel in their own way and at their own pace
Pemba Gurung was rather nervous and a little hesitant that particular day. “I hadn’t really travelled afar since I had lost my legs,” shared the 16-year old wheelchair user, “let alone partake in an adventurous activity”.
Gurung lost her legs to tumour around two years back. And nearly a year ago, as the jittered sixth-grader got her harness tightened by Jagan Timilsina, he dispelled her fears with his safety tips. Reassured Gurung knew it was time and what happened next was nothing short of a miracle.
A teenager who hadn’t walked for two years was suddenly flying via zip line over the picturesque hills of Kakani.
“I felt like a bird soaring the sky,” said Gurung who still gets excited recalling the day, “It was so exhilarating, I did it all over again.” Even though the tumour claimed her legs, her spirit of adventure and wanderlust remains as strong as ever.
Then, it was Sumit Rai’s turn to try his hands at the audacious activity which he completed with ease. The bold activity with the zip line makes even the adults sweat bullets but the 15-year-old wheelchair user was rather undaunted and even looking forward to more of such activities.
Rai started using a wheelchair about two years back after a failed operation of his legs. He was always fascinated with the game of basketball. But just the fact that
Rai has to use wheelchair, didn’t stop him from pursuing his passion for the game. In fact, he now rules as the captain for Spinal Cord Injury Basketball Team, often visiting places like Chitwan and Pokhara for various matches. Rai mostly travels by bus to these destinations, usually via the help of enthusiastic volunteers. “We had a game next month but it got postponed due to the coronavirus scare,” shared Rai.
Timilsina, the Founder of Freedom Social Foundation and also the CEO of Freedom Adventures, organised the outdoor expedition in 2019, enabling the children who use wheelchairs to partake in fun-filled activities like cricket, zip line and hike on wheelchair. With the aim of promoting independence, the children were tasked with preparing their own dinner and sleeping in tents. Gurung describes the experience to be a learning curve where she acquired new skills and was also able to further bond with the group.
“Just because they have a disability doesn’t mean the children can’t partake in outdoor activities,” explained Timilsina, “It’s true setting up activities for children with disability require more work and research but if it brings smile to their faces, then it’s worth walking that extra mile.”
The concept of inclusive tourism and adventure is fairly new in Nepal. However, there are institutions and individuals striving to make it more commercial. Four Season Travel & Tours is one of the few companies that works to provide an inclusive form of travel catering to customers with specific needs — people with disability and the elderly.
The 27-year old company incorporated inclusive tourism packages into its array of products in 2014. After the devastating earthquake in 2015, it took the charge of commuting around 60 people with disability affected by the earthquake to Godawari.
“A lot of those people had never been to Godawari,” explained Pankaj Pradhananga, Director of the company, “Their travel to Godawari acted as a mentally engaging and empowering tool.”
The company also worked to engage stakeholders such as International Development Institute and Nepal Tourism Board to develop an accessible 1.3-km hiking trail in 2018. Social activist Sagar Prasai was one of the first persons to trial the trail. Prasai, as a wheelchair user himself, informed that the trail is equipped with a guiding railing for the visually impaired, internationally accepted signboards, availability of resting spots and accessible bathrooms.
Being a wheelchair user since a child, Prasai’s first concern is always toilet. “The toilet needs to be wide enough and accessible for a wheelchair user,” he said. Besides that, as a person who extensively travels abroad alone, the next concern for him is if someone is going to assist him in the airport with luggage and transportation.
And it’s these details that make Prasai feel welcomed in Pokhara, one of his favourite destinations in Nepal. He cited, “The footpaths are wider and most of the hotels are accessible.”
For visually-impaired Sarita Lamichhane, however, the first thing she notices when she reaches her destination is the sounds. “I like the soothing sounds of sea tides and flowing river, birds chirping and dry leaves crackling,” she explained.
Lamichhane mostly relies on her sense of touch, smell, hearing and feel to experience a destination. “People with sight tend to forget about 80 per cent details of a destination due to visual distractions,” she explained, “Since I don’t get distracted by the sight, I have a longer lasting memory of the destination.”
She has travelled to countries like Ireland, Australia, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland among other international and domestic destinations.
Akin to Prasai, Lamichhane also looks for accessibility when commuting to a new place, and of all the places she’s travelled to, Japan stands out as the clear winner in terms of accessibility. “There were proper systematic guiding blocks for the visually impaired in the roads of Japan,” she continued comparing accessibility of Japan to Nepal, “meanwhile, in Nepal, when you follow the guiding block placed in Durbar Marg, you’re bound to crash with a pole”.
Lamichhane has a deep love for water sources, it’s something she looks forward to while travelling. “I often dip my leg in a pond, lake or a river and write a ghazal,” she concluded
