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In the Bangkok Post today, there was this letter from a disgruntled tourist:

No place for the handicapped tourist

This is just to express our incredible disappointment during our holiday in your country. We have a wheelchair-bound child and we found the complete lack of facilities for the handicapped disgusting.

Nowhere could we get across any road as no one stopped at the pedestrian crossings; the only way across was by "overpass", which has no handicapped facility. Most shopping complexes have no type of handicapped facilities including toilets for the handicapped. Taxis most of the time refused to take us because of the handicapped child with us.

Furthermore, holes in pavements and stalls on footpaths made it impossible to use a wheelchair. A warning must be issued by foreign governments on the dangers facing handicapped tourists here.

PETER

Although the situation in Thailand has improved over the years, there still aren't many facilities for wheelchairs to roam in the city. But then, coming to think of it, how many wheelchairs - and baby prams - do you actually see in the city? Do families hide their handicapped members at home because they are ashamed, or do we hardly see them because they physically cannot get around? Must be the latter because you rarely see babies too. But there must be more to it than that. Well this isn't exactly my experience.

Sure, Bangkok is difficult to get around and the pavements are full of obstructions and holes. But I've been other places in Thailand that are not quite so bad. As for traffic not stopping for you to cross, well that isn't unique to Thailand, and in Bangkok it is often so slow moving you can slowly work your way through it and across the road if you are brave enough!!! So yes, Bangkok is quite difficult in this respect, so for getting around we mostly use taxi's.

Which brings us on to the point about taxi's. We have never had any problems with taxi's and never been refused. Taxi drivers have mostly been very helpful and many have even balanced my wheelchair on the front passenger seat if it has proved too difficult to fit in to the boot of the car. With songthaews drivers have always allowed me to sit up front with them, even in some cases making their wife go sit in the back.

The comment about shopping centres I find most confusing, we do most of our shopping in shopping malls simply for the reason that they are so wheelchair friendly and do have disabled facilities, particularly accessible toilets... We have been to more different, Carrefour, Lotus, and Big C malls than I can remember and have only ever had one difficulty - we like to go drink coffee in 'Black Canyon Coffee' and there was a branch in Big C Pathumwan/Pratunam where the entrance was 'exactly' the same width as my wheelchair. We got in and out with some difficulty and the staff were very apologetic and said they would see if something could be done about it.

As for the person who wrote the letter to the Bangkok Post, I am assuming that they are writing it from an American point of view where disabled facilities seem to be even better than they are in Europe so are expecting a higher standard than we are used to. (My assumption for this is because they use the word 'handicapped' rather than 'disabled', and also another phrase that is also frowned upon by British disabled people.)

Like Richard says, I too have seen very few disabled people in Thailand, tourist or locals. I can think only of a young lady seen often around Pattaya and Jomtien at night time that has only one leg, she goes around photographing people for a small charge. And in the same area is a gentleman in a wheelchair that has no legs, he goes around with a basket of cigarettes and other small items to sell. And in Bangkok near to the New World Lodge hotel I have often see a car parked and on the registration plate the bit that would identify where the car is registered is replaced by the blue disabled person logo.

David