Tony Giles, blind traveller and author.
Website: www.tonythetraveller.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theblindbackpacker
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/TonyGilesTraveller
eBooks:
Seeing a Slice of Southern Africa My Way, an enlightening journey
Buy from Amazon, Apple or Nook (Barnes and Noble).
Seeing the Americas My Way
Buy from Amazon, Apple or Nook (Barnes and Noble).
Seeing the World My Way
Buy from Amazon, Apple or Nook (Barnes and Noble).
I was born in the seaside town of Weston-Super-Mare, south-west England, on 6th September 1978.
I was roughly 9 months old when a problem was discovered with my sight. It was eventually realised through an ophthalmologist that I had a rare genetic visual impairment.
I was born with Cone Dystrophy and Photo Phobia. This means I have no colour nerves in the back of my eye, greatly exposing my optic nerve to light. Hence,
having Photo Phobia (light sensitivity).
My first few years of life was spent living in darkness whenever possible. I was eventually given dark glasses that I wore indoors and outside until about the age of fifteen.
I played in the street with non-disabled friends, learning to listen for traffic. My street was a cul-de-sac and I knew the traffic came from one direction.
I attended a day school for disabled children in Bristol from the age of five. This was a journey of 20 miles (32 kilometres) in a taxi – I was often car sick.
By using my light sensitivity, I learnt to read and write. I could see or sense large black lines on white paper. I learnt the alphabet and numeracy. I also learnt to play snooker by detecting the different balls through shade. I had my rods, the nerve cells that helped me see or sense black and white images and shade when I was young. However, by the age of nine or ten, this light vision was beginning to fade.
My eye condition has never changed (it can’t because I don’t have the nerve cells), but my pain threshold became stronger, and my light sensitivity lessened as print became smaller and more complex. I stopped using my lenses as it became harder to view objects.
By the age of ten, I had stopped learning and needed a new medium to continue my education.
When aged approximately four-five, it was discovered that I was partially deaf in both ears. This could be from a related genetic condition, but it is yet unknown. I was given analogue hearing aids. My hearing has become progressively worse over the years. At present, I am approximately 80% or (severely) deaf without hearing aids. I now wear digital aids, which are fantastic and give me roughly 80% hearing capacity in a one-to-one conversation in a quiet room. This is reduced in crowded places or on streets with busy and noisy traffic.
In the Spring of 1989 I attended a boarding school for visually impaired and blind children in Coventry, West Midlands. I was aged ten and a half; it changed my life and this is where I eventually gained my independence.
I spent six years at Exhall Grange School in Coventry in the West Midlands. I was given mobility training, whereby I learnt how to use a long white cane to locate objects on the ground, to find drop-downs on curbs in order to cross roads, and ascend and descend steps safely. I learnt to catch public transport, and find locations. I received fantastic training. I was also taught Braille: a blind person’s method of reading and writing through a series of six razed dots in two vertical lines of three. These six dots in different combinations create the entire alphabet and numbers. I used it up to A-Level mathematics. (A-levels are academic subjects a student can take to enter into university in the UK education system.)
I engaged in all subjects, from pottery to swimming, chemistry to athletics, music to drama, as well as the usual academic subjects.
I took my GCSE exams in the Summer of 1995 (GCSE are exams taken at the end of high/secondary school in England, when aged approximately sixteen). I passed the majority of my subjects with a C grade and gained a B in Information Technology. I failed my English and Maths!
I next went to the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford to undertake A-Levels.
I had wanted to become a physiotherapist, but was informed that having a dual disability would prevent me from pursuing this career. This, I later, discovered to be incorrect.
At boarding school in Coventry, I had been exposed to children with different disabilities. This gave me a sense that being blind and partially deaf were not the worst disabilities in life. Some of my friends had walking difficulties, speech impairments, asthma, seizures and a variety of other conditions.
I considered myself lucky and still do. My best friend had Muscular Dystrophy, a muscle wasting disease and was slowly dying. This had a significant impact on me. He died just as I began my courses at RNC Hereford, October 1995. My Dad had died of old age only two months previously and I found myself in a strange place, without friends, alone and full of grief. I eventually turned towards alcohol and studies as a refuge.
I retook my GCSE English and maths, passing them successfully on the second attempt. I also took A-Level history in my first and second years and studied A-level maths and biology in my second and third years. I passed all three A-Level subjects, gaining a C in history and D’s in biology and mathematics respectively!
I wanted to study eighteenth-nineteenth century British History as a degree but could not find a suitable course. A history tutor suggested American Studies to me and after researching the subject, I applied.
was accepted onto a course at my second choice university in Northampton and went off to study and learn about life for three years in the East Midlands.
I knew something of America before starting my degree, having visited Boston, Massachusetts on a school trip as a teenager in 1995. I also visited New York and Washington DC with a disabled friend in August 1998, just before starting my university course.
My American Studies Degree enabled me to study at Coastal Carolina University, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in January 2000. four months were spent in the South, learning about American culture and life before going travelling around California with a fellow student from Australia. New Orleans and Hawaii were also visited during that trip – I getting completely inebriated in the process!
I attended University College Northampton (Now Northampton University), 1998-2001, gaining a 2-1 Degree with Honours in American Studies.
I did not attend a university for the blind or disabled: thankfully, none exist, in the UK at least. I attended classes with other students, most who were none-disabled. I was given a grant from my Local Education Authority to purchase computer equipment with speech software in order to write essays and read handouts and books. Academic texts are extremely difficult to obtain in Braille, and braille is too bulky and cumbersome to read. More academic material has since become available on the internet, but in 1998 this was less available and I was still learning the basics of computer technology. I was a confident typist, having been taught touch typing at school, but speech screen-reading software ‘such as JAWS’ was still in its infancy.
I can touch type without speech, but having software that reads every letter I type and, the entire screen if I command it, makes studying, researching and writing much easier. It’s how I plan my solo travels today. I employed fellow students to help me research books, find quotations and correct my spelling and grammar.
I have a scanner with speech software that enables me to read any typed text including my post (mail). This piece of equipment enabled me to function at university at the same level as sighted students. I scan the books myself and then listen to the entire text. This took twice as long as a student reading with sight, but it made me more determined to learn.
Between October 2001-March 2002 I backpacked independently around part of the southern hemisphere; visiting Australia, New Zealand, part of southern Vietnam and spent a week in Thailand.
It was during this trip that I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and kidney disease, a condition that gradually deteriorated. In December 2008 I underwent a successful kidney transplant operation, receiving a live kidney from my Step Dad. The operation for both individuals was very successful and, after a recovery period of approximately three months, I returned to travelling in the UK and went abroad after seven months. My kidney function dropped to slightly under 11% before the operation; I only missed requiring dialysis (artificial kidney function) by roughly a month! It’s still unknown why I have this condition, it could be genetic, but doctors are unsure.
After returning from travelling in 2002, I stopped drinking alcohol altogether and with help from some close friends became clean. I was on the verge of becoming a full alcoholic. I’ve been clean since September 2002.
In October 2002 I began a one year masters degree in Transatlantic Studies (History of US Foreign Policy) at University of Birmingham, England. I graduated in December 2003.
In January 2004 I embarked on an epic backpacking solo world journey; visiting parts of South and North America, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Cuba, a large portion of lower Canada, and most of Southern Africa.
During that year-long journey, I ventured to the most southern part of the South American Continent. I also undertook my first solo hike in the Rocky Mountains, Canada and, technically speaking, put my feet in the Arctic Ocean when I entered the water off Churchill, Manitoba, north Canada.
In February 2005 I rented my first flat in Erdington, Birmingham, England and began writing my first, in a trilogy, of travel books.
Between June-October 2005 I visited several European countries; Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic and the Netherlands and Belgium, briefly. Between 2006-2008 I revisited the US and Canada, travelling
to the remaining US States and Canadian Provinces. I have now visited all 50 US States and all 10 of Canada’s Provinces. See www.tonythetraveller.com for individual lists of US States and Canadian Provinces.
In mid-February 2008 I crossed the Arctic Circle by boat off the coast of Norway.
To date, I’ve visited 125 official UN countries, totally blind and partially deaf!
Bungee jumped seventeen times and sky dived on three occasions. Been Zorbing twice; both times in New Zealand, driven jet boats, a large jeep, ridden motorbikes, jet skied and water skied, to name a few activities. I had a thrilling motorbike ride after semi-illegally crossing the border between Dominican Republic and Haiti in November 2018.
In 2004 I nearly drowned whilst white water rafting on the Zambezi River in Zambia, Southern Africa. A frightening, but thrilling experience! I’ve also survived being trapped in Mali during a military coup d’etat and being helped in an outdoor compound for twenty-four hours without my passport by Ethiopian border police!
At present I live in Teignmouth, Devon, by the sea in far southwest England and when not travelling, divide my time between England and Athens, Greece.
My family consists of my Mum and Step-Dad and one Sister eight years older and one Brother six years older. I have two young nieces from my Brother. None
of my family are disabled in any way.
My hobbies include, playing the drums, listening to late 1960s rock music, listening to sport, such as football (soccer) and international cricket on the radio, reading historical fiction, walking, sailing and attending rock concerts and also international cricket test matches, particularly ones involving England.
My favourite authors include; Stephen King, Colin Forbes, Thomas Harris, Ian Rankin, Lee Child, Patricia Cornwell, Sebastian Faulks, Ken Follett, Jack Higgins and Alistair MacLean, John Grisham, Stewart McBride, among others.
My football (soccer) team is Liverpool.
I enjoy most cuisines except olives, uncooked vegies and salad! My favourite foods are pork or beef sausages, vanilla ice cream and chocolate. Although I do appreciate a well cooked Spaghetti Bolognese!
As foreign foods, Japanese cuisine is the best I’ve tasted to date. There are so many different textures in one simple dish!
I’ve eaten minke whale, Most parts of cow/bull, including the brain and testicles! Had camel, which is delicious, eaten ostrich, kangaroo, emu and crocodile plus, springbok and impala in South Africa.
Black is my preferred choice of colour.
My favourite singer-songwriter is Bob Dylan.
My favourite band is Led Zeppelin. Closely followed by artists such as: Jimi Hendrix, Jackson Browne, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Iron Maiden, ACDC, Janis Joplin, the Rolling Stones (early albums), Cream, Black Sabbath (first seven albums), Aretha Franklin, Red Hot Chile Peppers, Tina Turner, The Band and, more recently, Munford and Sons, Scorpions and Gary More. I have been fortunate enough to have experienced several of these artists in live concert.
I plan to travel for the remainder of my life and visit every world country, both official and unofficial nations.
I have been in a relationship with a lovely Greek lady: Tatiana for several years and we’ve visited the USA together twice, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Russia, Egypt, Canada, Turkey and, roughly, half of Europe.
My aim is to continue writing travel books and eventually publish some travel fiction. One day I would like to live in New Zealand with my partner and maybe open a hostel. I also wish to attend a pottery class if and when the time is available!
My biggest passion is travelling and hostelling. However, in the last few years I’ve discovered Couch Surfing, which is an even better way to travel.
I’ve couch surfed in over forty countries, most experiences being unbelievably positive! Other activities I wish to try: scuba diving, skiing on snow, drive a snow cat, drive a tank (this would be really cool), try ice climbing, climb the 3 highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales, eat guinea pig, eat snake, do a wing walk on a fixed wing aeroplane, visit the Amazon Rainforest and Amazon River properly and many more yet, undiscovered activities.
Check out these links of Tony being interviewed about his travels and ebooks
Interview with Steve Collins, 6PR, Perth in September 2016
Third interview with Steve Collins in February 2018:
Tony’s interviews with Eyes On Success – a US based podcast and radio broadcast focusing on issues that mainly concern blind and visually impaired people, but open and welcome to all:
Radio NZ, Night show with Brian Crump:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/201821269/our-own-odysseys-seeing-the-world-his-way
I’ve recently become involved in making documentaries for the BBC Travel Show, about how a blind person manages to travel independently and successfully through foreign countries – relying on the generosity and honesty of the local public for guidance and support. This is something I hope to continue to do as I travel onwards and further to more difficult countries around the globe.