For my first independent holiday after my injury, a friend and I dived head first into the deep end and booked a nine-month round the world trip.  We started with backpacking around South-East Asia on a shoestring budget, moved on to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Rarotonga, and then did North America in a campervan.  Before my injury, I'd only been on a plane a couple of times, but now I've been to something like 48 countries and there are still numerous places I want to visit.

"Damn you, Paradise Island!"

Of course, travelling can be difficult in a lot of ways.  When you are away for a long time you need to arrange to have your medical supplies sent out to places along your route.  And there will be times when you find yourself needing to be manhandled.  But if you take control it'll be OK; sometimes it's what's required to get to those places that you want to see.  The less developed countries can be easier than you think - there might be paths full of potholes and accommodation that is far from accessible, but it can be done.  A lot of the time, I'll just push down the middle of the road rather than negotiate a bumpy path and local labour is so cheap that you can always hire people to help.  In Indonesia a couple of guides got me into the jungle where seeing orangutans in the wild made all the effort worthwhile.

You have to be prepared to leave your comfort zone a bit, and learn what you can and can't get away with.  Hygiene is important, but you can bend the rules and reuse catheters and leg bags.  You need to get used to being stared at too, and accept that in many cultures it's not considered rude.  I volunteered at a Spinal Unit in Bangladesh and so much of the interest stems from their expectation that Western medicine has a cure for everything.  Seeing that's not the case, but that you can still have a good life, helped the patients and their families.

Rob and his pregnant partner next a painted campervan

Travelling is the most enjoyable experience you can have.  We've got a baby on the way so I'm taking a break from it at the moment.  In the meantime, just thinking about the high-pitched background street noise in Thailand makes me smile.  My friend and I coined a phrase on that first trip: "Damn you, Paradise Island!"  It was a reminder that all those little annoying things are probably totally insignificant when you stop and look at your surroundings.  Sometimes, you need to quit complaining and get over yourself.

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