We were informed that the shuttle service to KINTEX, the venue of the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly, would leave the hotel at 7.00am. I requested that the front office give us a wake up call at 5.45am. I wanted to go through the morning routine without having to rush through it. We were at the designated stop at 7.00am sharp but the first bus only left the hotel at 7.56am.

The journey to KINTEX took 50 minutes. A team of volunteers were swarming around the bus providing assistance to participants who needed it. As I got into the building, the sight of so many people in wheelchairs overwhelmed me. I have never seen so many wheelchair users congregating in one place before.

There was a long queue of participants waiting to get their identification tags and vouchers for the conference kits. I waited for nearly one hour before mine was issued. We were then quickly ushered into the main hall where the opening ceremony of the World Assembly was to be held. The rest of the day went by in a blur as we moved very quickly from one event to another.

The most memorable event of the entire day was the Qianshou Guan Yin (Thousand Hands Bodhisattva) dance performance by the China Disabled People’s Performing Arts Troupe. All the dancers had hearing impairment. Their timing was impeccable. Never in my life had I seen such an incredible performance. If I ever have the opportunity, I would love to see them in action again. It was truly an unforgettable experience.

When we got back to the hotel at around 10.45pm. Even though, there was nothing much to do on the first day of the World Assembly except attending the opening ceremony and the welcoming dinner, it was tiring nevertheless. The size of the venue made moving from one location to another strenuous. By the time I finished bathing and got ready for bed, it was already 1.23am.

Non-step bus to ferry participants to the 7th DPI World Assembly from Grand Hilton Seoul to KINTEX.

KINTEX - Venue of the 7th DPI World Assembly in Seoul, South Korea.

Getting down from a lift bus.

With Prof. Akiie Ninomiya, Chief Advisor of APCD at KINTEX.

First view of Exhibition Hall 1 at KINTEX.

Opening ceremony of the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly in progress.

7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly Help Desk.

The 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly opening ceremony still in progress.

Portable toilets at the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly.

Cleaning lady manning the portable toilet at the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly.

Cleaning lady assisting me into the portable toilet at
the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly.

Hyundai exhibiting a ramp van at the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly.

A Hyundai lift van at the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly.

Posing with a guide dog at the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly.

Freshness Burger - one of the few food outlets at KINTEX.

7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly Welcoming Dinner
The China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe performing the
impressive Qianshou Guan Yin (Thousand Hands Bodhisattva).

Independent Living Leader Reception at the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly.

Independent Living Leader Reception at the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly.

Calling it a day on the first day of the 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly.

Grand Hilton Seoul.

We woke up late as we did not sleep well in the aircraft the day before. The Grand Hilton Seoul has several restaurants. We decided to eat at the Atrium Cafe. I had Farfalle Primavera. Peter ordered something similar. Our first meal in Seoul cost RM150.

Ginkgo biloba fruits.

Nothing was planned for that day. The reason why I added an extra day to the original schedule was because I wanted more time to settle down. I knew that my body was no longer able to withstand the rigours of four full days of the World Assembly.

New found friends Yen and Vivek.

The weather was nice and cool with the temperature hovering around 20°C. We went for a walkabout around the hotel. I took some shots of the hotel for memories not knowing when I could return to Seoul again, if ever.

Itaewon.

I looked at a row of trees planted by the driveway and thought the leaves looked familiar. Indeed they were! Those were ginkgo trees! With fruits too! The tail started to wag again. I had always wanted to see how a live ginkgo tree looked like and there I was looking at them with fruits.

Yen, Vivek and I at Itaewon.

After the walkabout, we went back and met two fellow participants of the 7th DPI World Assembly who were also staying at the same hotel. Yen is from Vietnam while Vivek is from Singapore. When we exchanged name cards, Yen realised that she had quoted some of my blog entries regarding AirAsia for an article that she wrote.

Antique shop at Itaewon.

Apparently, Yen and Vivek were waiting to take the hotel’s shuttle bus to Itaewon. Peter and I told them that we would follow them since we had nothing planned for the day. We would also like to catch some sights of Seoul before the hectic schedule of the next few days.

McDonalds at Itaewon - The Golden Arches is everywhere in Seoul.

The trip from the hotel to Itaewon took 40 minutes. Itaewon was a street with shops and walkways of stalls selling souvenirs, apparels, footwear and other knick-knacks. There were also a host of restaurants offering authentic Korean and international cuisines, fast food and bars. After we had finished traversing the entire length of the street where we bought some souvenirs, we slowly made our way back to the bus stop to wait for the shuttle bus to take us back to the hotel. So much for the plan to rest before the World Assembly.

Our ride to the hotel was a Hyundai van fitted with hydraulic lift and floor modified with a bay for one wheelchair. It was a new van acquired specially for the convention as it reeked of that familiar smell of new vehicles. As I was enjoying the ride to the hotel, I thought how wonderful it would be if we could run a few of these vans on the streets of Kuala Lumpur while waiting for RapidKL to make those 100 buses fully accessible and safe.

Hyundai lift van.

The one-hour journey was an eyeopener. Many parts of the scenery were filled with beautiful landscape and pine trees. Some of the trees even had cones. That was the first time I saw real pine cones on real pine trees. Yes, I am still very much a country bumpkin. Novel things like these never fail to get me excited. If I had a tail, I would be wagging it endlessly.

Beautiful landscape along the Incheon International Airport highway.

At the hotel lobby, I met Saowalak and Mai. Soawalak was the Assistant Regional Development Officer for DPI Asia-Pacific. We had met twice before – once during the DET Training in Kuala Lumpur in 2005 and the other when I was at the Asia Pacific Centre on Disability in Bangkok last year where I also met Mai. Saowalak has since taken over the position of Regional Development Officer, taking over the position from Topong Kulkhanchit who left us so suddenly.

Seoul panorama taken from inside the 6th floor food court.

The accommodation provided by the organisers at the Grand Hilton Seoul did not include breakfasts. We had a discussion with the coordinator to see if we could be put up in a cheaper hotel where rooms come with breakfasts. In the end it was decided that all speakers had to stay at the same hotel for logistic purposes. Breakfast for one person cost KRW24,200 which is approximately RM90.

My first meal in South Korea.

Failing to convince the organisers to change hotels and as it was way over lunch time, we decided to find cheaper food elsewhere and at the same time buy foodstuff for breakfast over the next six days. Saowalak arranged with the concierge to get 2 taxis for send us to a place recommended by the concierge. The concierge also said that the distance to the supermarket was very near and other taxis may not want to pick us. He suggested that we book the same cab for the return trip too.

E-Mart, the supermarket where we bought our groceries.

One thing that I noticed about Seoul is that its terrain is very hilly. Everywhere I looked, there is bound to be a hill or crag. The journey from the hotel to the shopping complex took about twenty minutes. As we were famished, we headed straight to the food court on the sixth floor. It was then when we realised may Koreans do not speak English and none of us spoke even a smattering of Korean. We had to point to images of the food that we wanted to order.

Another familiar sight somewhere in Seoul.

When the food arrived, I took a look and told myself that if all Korean food were like that, then it was going to be a long week for me in Seoul. There was a piece of pork chop, rice with potato curry, shredded cabbage, kimchi, pickled radish and a bowl of soup with a taste that my palate did not quite agree with - not my kind of food but I was hungry and nothing else in the food court captured my fancy.

Hyundai Sonata - Korean taxi.

After lunch, we bought food for breakfast for the next few days at the supermarket. I got a loaf of bread, a comb of bananas and bottled water. When it was time to go back, we waited at the appointed place. As we waited, we saw one person after another bringing in bottles, separated them by colour and left it there. I believe that was a recycling centre for the supermarket. Besides bottles, corrugated boxes were folded and neatly stacked in trolleys. Koreans are really serious with recycling.

Dole bananas in Seoul.

On the way back, we asked the cabbie about the fare. I could not believe my ears when the cabbie mentioned the amount – KRW25,000 for both ways. That was around RM90. Never in my life have I taken a taxi ride that was so expensive. The most I had paid for was from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to the city. That cost only RM67. As we paid the cabbie, I wondered if I had enough Korean Won to last me the six days I would be there.

Low-protein meal.

My flight was scheduled to depart at 1.00 am. The usual procedure is to board wheelchair users first and then the other non-disabled passengers. As I was transferring from my wheelchair to the aisle chair outside the aircraft, the other passengers were already boarding the plane. This annoyed the escort who was assigned to assist me as he had difficulty trying to get me into the aircraft with the other passengers streaming in.

Land ho! Somewhere over South Korea.

The first thing that I did after I was comfortably seated inside the aircraft was to ask one of the cabin crews if they have the aisle chair that I had requested. Unfortunately, there was none. However, he said that he will carry me to the toilet if needed. I glanced at the toilet at the midsection of the plane and asked him how I was going to fit into it. He just smiled at me. The journey took about six and a half hours. Prior to boarding I had also emptied my bladder and controlled my fluid intake. But my diaper was fast filling up.

Accessible toilet: Green button to open; red button to close.

When the plane finally touched down at Incheon International Airport, my diaper was almost full. To add insult to injury, I was informed that there was no request for an aisle chair to get me out of the plane. A Malaysia Airline staff at the airport offered to carry me. I had to agree as I was afraid that my diaper would leak anytime soon. As he lifted me up from the seat, my head hit against the overhead compartment with a loud thud. He apologised profusely for that incident later at the arrival lounge.

The welcoming party for the 7th DPI World Assembly at Incheon International Airport.

At that time, the only thing that was in my mind was to look for a toilet to empty my bladder and change diapers. The first toilet that we stopped by was occupied. We went to the next. It was a déjà vu. The toilet was similar to those that I was so used to in Tokyo. It was fitted with the green and red buttons for opening and closing the door.

The Golden Arches beckoning at the Incheon International Airport.

At the arrival hall, I saw a sweet young woman holding up a placard of the Disabled People’s International World Assembly and waved at her. She asked if I was attending the DPI WA. I said “Yes,” and she led us to the reception counter for us to catch our ride to the hotel. While waiting for our transport, I loitered around. One airport is the same as the other. The difference with this airport is that there were more security personnel patrolling the premises in twos. Just opposite the counter where we were waiting were the familiar colours and sights of McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

My luggage for the trip was only fully packed at around 4pm – about 4 hours before I was to be at KL Sentral. As the convention lasted 4 days, I had Wuan pack 4 sets of clothes and some extras for the other days. The luggage was packed to the brim. Peter, my cousin and personal assistant for this trip, dropped in to go to KL Sentral together with me.

When I checked in at KL Sentral, my request for an aisle chair inside the aircraft and low-protein meal was not in the system. I had to wait a while for the counter staff to send the instructions and confirm those details. That was one of the reasons why I contacted Malaysia Airlines‘ call centre one week before the journey to reconfirm those instructions after I received the air tickets from the travel agency that I bought my tickets through.

The staff at the call centre refused to entertain me. According to him, since my tickets were purchased through a travel agency, he could not access the information. I had to double-check with the agency again. I find this ridiculous as all he needed to do was key in those information again into the system. Nevertheless, I called the travel agency again to confirm my in-flight requests.

Peter and I took the KLIA Express to the airport. When I arrived, I went to one of the check-in counters to inform them of my presence and informed them regarding checking-in my wheelchair just outside the aircraft, the need for an aisle chair for me to transfer into the aircraft and my request for a cabin chair inside the aircraft to facilitate my passage to the toilet.

To my consternation, one of the officers retorted that the request for an aisle chair was noted and that I should check with the cabin crew if there indeed was an aisle chair inside the aircraft. To be told of this at the very last moment before boarding was very unsettling but I had no choice but to try my luck.

So much for my insistence on flying with our national airlines and one that had won international awards. There were suggestions that I fly Korean Air but having not encountered any problem since the damaged wheelchair incident, I reasoned that flying with an airline that I was most familiar with would make the journey more pleasant.