Disabled-Friendly People/Estalishments

I find it very considerate when an article ends with a sentence or words signifying the accessibility of a restaurant or resort. The last I read which had that was one written by Margaux Salcedo in the Sunday Inquirer Magazine. How thoughtful. (She wrote on IN-YO).

SM malls are also particularly attentive to the needs of the wheelchair bound. Years back we had this standing joke, my husband and I, that whenever the CSRs (customer service relations) people saw me, they looked the other way or fled because otherwise, they'd have to escort me to the elevator near their storage area. Back then, the elevators weren't for customer use and were therefore not evident unless one asked. When Megamall came to be, however, SM became very disabled-friendly. It has even hired elevator girls who would explicitly tell customers wishing to ride the elevator to let the disabled get in first. Or if no one would budge, the girl would return for the disabled, express style, to ensure there would be room for the wheelchair bound. How nice. SM Malls were the first (and possibly the only ones) to have wheelchairs available for rent (or borrowing) for those who needed it while shopping in the mall. Their theaters except for the one in Podium, are wheelchair friendly as well. (I haven't seen the one in Podium for obvious reasons but a friend told me there were steps leading to the theater).

Now watching movies on a wheelchair is often a problem, except in Greenhills and Power Plant where there are ramps. In Shangrila, Gateway and Greenbelt, the theaters are built such that the wheelchair of the disabled have to be positioned on the first floor. The first Harry Potter movie was punishment for me. I couldn't wait for it to end. We watched it in Shangrila, the first time we ever watched a movie there, and the last time too, and I developed a stiff neck. I pitied my husband and son who had to suffer the same for my sake. Same with Gateway and Greenbelt, though not as bad, possibly because their first rows are farther from the screen.

Elevators are also a problem. Tagaytay Highlands is lovely. It's like what I would imagine Paradise to look like without the serpents lurking. But one of their lodges Spa has this tiny elevator where the wheelchair could just fit, and barely. At first we even thought it wouldn't. It was just so tiny. Even worse is the elevator in Glorietta where Hard Rock is. Glorietta has a bigger elevator but it stops operations early and doesn't provide access to Hard Rock. So we took the other elevator which was even smaller than the one in Tagaytay. Heavens, not only was it small but it closed so very quickly. Luckily for us, there were people who held the elevator button outside to keep it open long enough to let us through.

Restaurant tables are usually too low for the wheelchair bound to be positioned facing the table such that the person could eat off the table like a normal person. So i have mastered the art of eating side view or off my lap. Or to eat facing the table as though I were playing the piano with the chair moved back. That means straining my arms so I could reach my food. Offhand I cannot think of a restaurant that allows me to eat like a normal person but I'll be sure to take note of it if and when I find one.

Oh and there have been ramps in certain establishments where when you reach the top you don't see access nor a pot of gold but a huge plant in a terracotta pot. Who's to move that if the disabled were alone?

Am I complaining? Not really because being disabled has shown me the good side of so many people as well. But such experiences should be written about in a separate blog.