Globe-trotter travels 280,000 miles despite being blind and deaf

Globe-trotting Tony Giles has travelled 280,000 around the globe and visited 54 countries – despite being blind and deaf. The intrepid backpacker has travelled hundreds of thousands of miles across the globe despite being unable to see any of the beautiful sites. He is also 80 per cent deaf but claims that he experiences the stunning settings through the local people and his sense of touch and smell.

Tony, 30, is determined to visit every country in the world and has now crossed off 54 – 26 in the last three years – all with the help of his white stick. And despite a few incidents of pick-pocketing, he always emerged from his travels – organised by his parents – unscathed. Tony, from Teignmouth in Devon, said: ”I have proved that nothing – not even disabilities – can stop you living a full life.



”Travelling is more than just seeing the beautiful scenery or landscape with your eyes. It concerns using all the body’s senses. It is being able to engage with people, feeling different textures, eating unknown foods and hearing new kinds of music, being exposed to an alternative, exciting culture and emerging into another country’s qualities, and to return home knowing more than I did before I left. I can travel blind because of four things – confidence, wanting to travel, good mobility skills and good planning. That’s all anyone needs.”

Tony claims that his sense of smell has let him experience the beauty of the four corners of the earth. He said: ”My favourite places so far are Alaska, Tierra del Fuego, Cuba and New Zealand. Getting to places is a challenge but that adds to the beauty.” Tony has now released a book about his travels entitled Seeing The World My Way.

Full story with more photos here.