David Fraser Travel Blog
The Journey to Tunisia
On the 22nd of December I packed all my essentials such as passport and documents, medication and Doctor’s letters and evidence in case the metal plates in my head set off the security alarms or I needed to provide evidence in relation to my medication. I then went to my travel agents with my passport to provide evidence of my identity in line with Advance Passenger Information requirements. Then I travelled from Newquay on the 23rd December to Birmingham on National Express coach. At Birmingham I stayed with family until 26th of December. I did not know my good friends were also travelling on the same aeroplane to the same destination. We arranged to share a lift to the airport and it was reassuring to have their company on the journey. We checked in at 2.00 pm and I was asked by check in staff if I needed any assistance. I said no as I was travelling with friends. I looked around at disabled access and it was good.
The plane set off at 3.40 pm. We managed to share seats together at the front of the plane. This was because these seats have more leg room and were near the disabled toilet. The disabled toilet was close to where the food was stored and was too small for a wheelchair user and did not have support rails. The tap handles were not adapted for disabled use and the only difference between this toilet and one for able bodied people was the sign!
During the flight a stewardess came around with an embarkation/disembarkation card (which you can see above) and a visitor’s card for us to complete. This was difficult as the cards were small and the text was difficult to read. The spaces were also too small for someone with a writing disability to fill in. No other method of completing the cards was available and I found this very frustrating. I asked the stewardesses to help me but they were too busy so I was pleased I had my friends to help me. It would be a good idea if travel agents or airport check-ins had this embarkation/disembarkation card so that the form could be filled in before boarding the plane in a place where English is spoken and you can have time to fill it in rather than trying to fill it in under pressure during a flight. This should be an issue of duty of care for the airports rather than the flight crew.
When we landed I went to passport control and was asked what the nature of my visit was. I replied I was there to do some research. Once through passport control I met my Thomson rep who was helpful. The rep helped me to find which number coach I was on. I was separated from my friends because they were on a different coach. The rep that had met us at the airport travelled on the coach with us but did not accompany us to the hotel. On arrival at the hotel I was asked to complete a Traveller’s Card but again the card and text were so small it was very difficult for me to complete.
Day One
Tunisia, Sousse
26 December 2012
Arriving at my destination on the 26th of December 2012. It was so difficult for me to communicate with the receptionist because of the language barrier and my speech impediment. The daytime receptionists sometimes spoke English but the night-time receptionists didn’t. This made me uncomfortable because the receptionist gave me a tiny form for my passport details. The form was so small and difficult to read.
This made it difficult to complete due to the language barrier. The hotel receptionist tried to do their best for me at that moment but it was so difficult overall to communicate. The receptionist took me to my hotel room but this was on the ground floor at street level and I had booked a disabled room near to the reception but not on the ground floor. I was uncomfortable that the room was too close to the street and not secure enough. The room was also not adapted for someone with a disability. I asked the receptionist if another room was available near the reception and adapted for people with disabilities. The receptionist changed my room straight away which was good of them and once this was done I went to bed.
Day 2
My alarm went off at 7.30 am. I got up at 8.00 am and was a bit jet-lagged from the previous day’s journey. I had breakfast and then met up with my rep, Louise. I asked her what risks to look out for whilst staying in Tunisia. I also asked what facilities and events were available at the hotel. My rep advised me to be cautious about things like taking a taxi ride. She said I should ask how much a journey was before I got in to a taxi as some taxis tried to charge more. She also advised me to look out for pickpockets. She also advised me that some people pretend to be reps for the hotel. I talked to her about the different excursions available because I like to get to know my surroundings, the local people and fellow tourists.
There were lots of tourists from foreign destinations and some tourists could speak English and some couldn’t. It was a challenge for me to communicate with those that couldn’t.
Day 3
I went into the harbour area of Sousse. My receptionist booked me a taxi for 11.00 am. One of the tourists I had met told me the journey should cost about 5 Dino (£2.50). The taxi driver tried to charge me a lot more, asking for 16 Dino (£8.00) but I told him that I would take another taxi. He then agreed to charge 5 Dino. My own opinion as a disabled tourist is that the taxi driver tried to charge me more because of his perceptions of my disability. My friend in the hotel told me that the journey was not even 5 minutes drive down the road. I went around Sousse and all the way around had street vendors trying to sell me things such as caps, ‘Rolex’ watches, jewellery and other things. I had to put my foot down and say “no” and “Goodbye”. In the shops I had to haggle a lot over the price of goods as many were over priced. I had something to eat, had a look around and went to my hotel. My perception of the risks was high.
I had a good evening getting to know the other guests, where they had come from and it turned out there were people from my home town of Newquay staying in my hotel. This was very bizarre.
Day 4
There were tourists at the hotel from lots of different countries some of whom did not speak English and it was sometimes difficult to communicate because of the language barrier and my speech impediment. However it was good to meet such a range of people as it provided me with a challenge to find a way to communicate. One of the things that helped us to get to know each other was a two day trip to the Sahara desert. My friends had asked me to accompany them on this trip. We left at 6.30 am picking up other tourists from hotels on the way. We were going to stay in a hotel in the Sahara desert near Chott El Djerid. This was a journey of about 300 miles. In total 52 tourists were on the coach which made it a bit cramped with no room to get comfortable. There were no toilets on the coach so we had to wait until the coach stopped to use the toilet and to get refreshments. The tour rep had said the journey would be about 6 or 7 hours but in reality it was nearer to 12. Everybody was tired and worn out and if I had known the journey was going to be so long I might not have gone on it because on the way we stopped to visit an Ancient Roman games arena at El Jem. When we arrived here the rep on the coach hurried all the tourists off. I needed to take my tablets and felt very rushed; this made me and my friends angry.
When I told the rep that I needed a bit more time he was more lenient. The rep on the coach had not been informed of my disability.
Day 5
The arena at El Djem was easy to reach but not well adapted for tourists with disabilities because there were a lot of high steps leading up to the top of the arena. There weren’t any handrails on these steps which made them feel quite unsafe. The surrounding area was quite poverty stricken and there were lots of beggars. We spent forty-five minutes here then carried on to another tourist site.
We arrived at the Troglodyte tunnel about 2 hours later and were hurried off the coach again. We decided that this was to give us more time in the tunnel where, according to the rep, people were supposed to still be living. I suspected that we were told this simply because we were tourists. There was a woman outside asking for donations. We spent twenty minutes here looking around before rushing back onto the bus to get to the restaurant where we would have lunch.
The restaurant was an hours drive from the cave and the lunch when we got there wasn’t particularly nice and didn’t include any drinks. We only spent half an hour here.
When we got back on the bus we travelled for another 2 to 3 hours to get to the desert in time for a camel ride.
We arrived at the desert before nightfall and in time to take a camel ride. Some tourists preferred horse and cart but I chose to ride on a camel. The ride was a bit uncomfortable and sometimes I felt as if I might slip off if I didn’t hold on tightly. No adaptations had been made for people with disabilities. The rode was good but unfortunately my camel decided to wee on me! My friends found this very amusing! As the night got darker people were offered the opportunity to have their photograph taken and I said yes as it would be a good memory to keep. After this we all travelled back to the hotel as the rep had advised us not to travel outside of the complex after dark because it was too dangerous. In order to keep costs down I shared a room with my friends for the night and got my own back for the camel incident by snoring loudly all night! My friends did not have a good night’s sleep. The rooms at this hotel were cold in the desert at night. I hadn’t been asked if I needed a room adapted for someone with disabilities.
We all left the complex at 6.15 am to travel to the Salt Lakes. It was so beautiful and we had ten minutes to enjoy the scenery of natural beauty. We then carried on to the pick up point for a Jeep Safari which was great fun and I ran up some sand dunes and fell back down again. It was extremely cold but we travelled right to the border of Algeria where I saw some wild camels. From here we made our way back to Elmouradi. On the way the Jeeps got lost as everything looked the same in each direction. On the way back we stopped to have a nice meal at a fantastic restaurant. Sixteen miles from our destination one of the coach tyres burst. We were unaware of this at first as the coach continued driving which was obviously hazardous. The delay was frustrating as we were all tired but overall the trip was worth the money. My only complaint is that the trip was too short for all the activities involved and an additional day would have made it more enjoyable. When we arrived back at the hotel we socialised for a while and then I had an early bed.
Day 6
My alarm went off at 9.30 am and I had a social and chilling time, joining in with some activities throughout the day. My friends surprised me by turning up spending the day with me. I prepared for the evening at about 5 pm.
The evening entertainment and meal were very good. They were up to my expectations. I shared a table with some English tourists to make it easier to communicate. My friend in the hotel arranged this for me.
The entertainment included a disco and other entertainment through the night. The service was very good and there were loads of staff working. I didn’t have to pay extra for this party it was all included in the price. I met other, different foreign tourists. Everybody had a good New Year’s evening dancing. Everybody said it was value for money.
Day 7
We all left the complex at 6.15 am to travel to the Salt Lakes. It was so beautiful and we had ten minutes to enjoy the scenery of natural beauty. We then carried on to the pick up point for a Jeep Safari which was great fun and I ran up some sand dunes and fell back down again. It was extremely cold but we travelled right to the border of Algeria where I saw some wild camels. From here we made our way back to Elmouradi. On the way the Jeeps got lost as everything looked the same in each direction. On the way back we stopped to have a nice meal at a fantastic restaurant. Sixteen miles from our destination one of the coach tyres burst. We were unaware of this at first as the coach continued driving which was obviously hazardous. The delay was frustrating as we were all tired but overall the trip was worth the money. My only complaint is that the trip was too short for all the activities involved and an additional day would have made it more enjoyable. When we arrived back at the hotel we socialised for a while and then I had an early bed.
Day 8
The night before I set my alarm to go off at 7.30 am. I got up at 8.00 am. I had breakfast before we all went to Sousse market. It was an interesting day , loads of local people trying to sell different jewellery, caps, bags and lots of haggling. It was very busy. I had to be aware what was going on around me because of pickpockets. At this moment it was interesting from a disabled persons point of view as there were lots of risks I needed to look out for. As well as the pickpockets the locals were trying to sell their goods at very high prices and I had to stand firm. If I said ‘No’ they continued to pester me. We arrived back at the hotel about 2.00 pm. The taxi driver tried to charge over the normal price by asking for 16 Dino (about £7). We all had to be firm and in the end we paid 8 Dino (about £4). We then had a couple of drinks and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon before tea. In the evening we relaxed over a meal and some drinks.
Day 9
Once again we stuck to the same routine in the morning. After lunch we all went out of the hotel complex to have something to eat and drink and later we went to an Irish Bar for a Karaoke evening. I went up and sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and everybody cheered! We all had a great evening. I went up with my friend because I wouldn’t do it on my own. The Irish bar played English music and my friends were able to relax and get to know the people who were staying at my hotel and they said they found the change of hotel good because the staff were friendlier and more polite.
Day 12
Once again we stuck to the same routine in the morning. After lunch we all went out of the hotel complex to have something to eat and drink and later we went to an Irish Bar for a Karaoke evening. I went up and sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and everybody cheered! We all had a great evening. I went up with my friend because I wouldn’t do it on my own. The Irish bar played English music and my friends were able to relax and get to know the people who were staying at my hotel and they said they found the change of hotel good because the staff were friendlier and more polite.
Day 13
The entrance to my hotel was not very disabled friendly because the pavement and steps were made from marble and it was difficult to see the edges of the steps and the steps were uneven. Some steps were different heights and widths to other steps and with the difficulty seeing the edge of the steps I nearly fell over on more than one occasion. The marble was also very smooth and slippery which would be very difficult for many disabled tourists.
On my last evening, my friends and I had a last night meal together and it was fantastic. We booked the table specially and at the end we tipped the waiting staff to say thank you for making our stay enjoyable. The waiters were always smiling and very friendly and helpful. At the beginning the language barrier was a problem but the staff made such an effort to help that by the last night this had largely been overcome. After the meal we all had an enjoyable evening playing games. We posed for a photo outside the hotel as a souvenir to remember the holiday. Overall during my research trip the hotel staff were very accommodating and helpful. Local people generally saw tourists as simply a source of income and were less helpful unless money was involved. We had a late night.
The next morning I got up early to get ready for the journey home. I had packed all my essentials the night before so that it wouldn’t be a rush in the morning. Before I left I noticed that my camera with all my research photos on it was missing. I asked at reception if any camera had been handed in but it hadn’t. I was angry and annoyed. We left at 9.00 am and I tipped the receptionist to say thank you for their help. I caught the bus to the airport and arrived there at about 10. When we arrived I met up with my hotel rep and checked in. The check in desk asked if I needed any assistance and I confirmed I did not need assistance because I was travelling with friends. I went through passport control and set off the alarms with the plates in my head and arm. I showed the security staff my doctor’s letters and documentation regarding my disability. They were satisfied with this. I didn’t need to fill out any forms. I was amazed how small the airport was. We boarded before 11.00 am. I had booked to have some extra leg room so I didn’t sit by my friends. The boarding crew let me get on the aeroplane before the other passengers. We set off at 11.00 and landed into Birmingham International at 2.00 pm GMT. The day after returning to Newquay I had an epileptic fit which I think was due to the change of climate and the stress of travelling. It won’t prevent me from travelling in the near future.
