Chen Nan-ting (陳南廷) lost her eyesight as a child, but has not let that stop her from traveling to the US, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
Over the past four years, Chen, now in her 50s, has experienced places through walking, biking and running.
She has run marathons in Hawaii and on Kinmen and Matsu islands, ridden a tandem bicycle in Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture and taken a four-day, 100km “sightseeing” walk — her latest adventure — in Taitung County, Chen said on Sunday.
Photo: CNA
People often ask her why she spends her money on traveling and how she can enjoy it being blind, Chen said.
Despite not being able to see, Chen said she can still “feel the atmosphere of places through touch, smell and hearing.”
At this year’s Taipei International Book Exhibition, which ended on Sunday, Chen served as a “living book” in the Human Library set up by the Taipei-based League for Persons with Disabilities.
At nine years old, Chen became ill with Stevens-Johnson syndrome and, within a year, was completely blind.
However, her parents and sisters did not treat her as vision-impaired, Chen said, adding that she attended normal schools and was required to help with household chores.
“My parents’ other gift to me was taking me traveling,” she said, adding that traveling allowed her to explore the world and satisfy her curiosity.
“Even though I am blind, as long as I make my way bravely forward, I can do anything a sighted person can do,” Chen said.
Someone once suggested that she save money by listening to travel programs on TV, but “it is not real travel if you can’t feel it,” she said.
When running, Chen is accompanied by a sighted escort who describes the landscape of the places that they run past, which gives her an image in her mind as she smells the scents on the wind and feels the warmth of the sunshine.
“Different places smell different,” Chen said as she explained how she “sees” the places that she visits.
Chen sometimes records sounds when visiting places, such as the sound of people celebrating local festivals, she said, adding that she can feel the road surface when running marathons in unfamiliar locations.
She has also tasted and smelled Europe by touring wineries and perfume factories, and experienced Mongolia by riding a camel in the desert, she said.
Chen collects miniatures of popular tourist attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, so that she can “see them by touch,” she added.
“Adventures make life enjoyable. A sense of sight is not necessary for travel, as there are also the senses of touch, smell, taste and hearing,” Chen said.
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