World record attempt in an Abler Adventure wheelchair

I have tried the Abler Adventure before (see previous post here dated July 23, 2008) and I enjoyed the experience greatly. The Abler Adventure is a superb well-engineered power wheelchair from Germany.

I chanced upon an attempt by a person who wants to break a world record travelling 1,000 miles or 1,600 kilometres in UK. Here are the excerpts from this attempt:

"I (Mary Laver) have a dream and that is to drive a power wheelchair from Lands End to John O’Groats UK in 29 days. After looking at many power wheelchairs I was told by wheelchair experts, that for such an adventure I needed a power wheelchair that you could change the batteries without getting out of the chair; that I needed a power wheelchair chair that had good suspension, up to date technology in fault finding. I needed speed and endurance as I would need to cover 40 miles per day for 29 days with the odd rest day, to complete the task I had set myself; then there was only one chair to fill all of these requirements and more, that was and is, the Alber Adventure."

To read further, click here.

Predator 4x4 all terrain power wheelchair

Predator 4x4 power wheelchair by Radical Mobility, South Africa. With the wet savannah mudlands at the company's doorsteps, it is blessed with testing and making power wheelchairs that can survive the harshest environment. Maybe it will build a power wheelchair which can outrun a cheetah (about 70 mph or 114 kph)?

Wheelchairs as fast as this cheetah?

Below is the philosophy of Radical Mobility:

"Radical Holdings (Pty) Ltd t/a Radical Mobility is a South African company that designs, manufactures and markets power wheelchairs, which maximize mobility and comfort for disabled people.
Martin Brown, founder and CEO of Radical Mobility is a C3/6 quadriplegic, confined to a wheelchair since 1998. His frustration in trying to find a power wheelchair that catered for his needs led directly to the formation of Radical Mobility.

Martin demanded manoeuvrability indoors but also the ability to drive on surfaces like beach sand. He needed comfort and support, and the ability to surmount obstacles and slopes and didn’t want his power wheelchair to look like hospital equipment. So Radical Mobility was born with inspiration from his Creator, friends and family. Martin teamed up with Pieter Nell to develop a range of wheelchairs that are affordable, comfortable, safe and versatile – especially in their ability to operate indoors and outside."

To read further, click here.



Up a steep slope with minimal effort.



Beach cruising

A voice-controlled power wheelchair

A cool wheelchair using one's voice to move it.

The next day 15 August 2008

My buddies Ricky, Philip and me after a hearty breakfast in the hotel. Although this hotel is not in the main cities like Bangkok, its breakfast buffet was better than a similar four-star hotel breakfast in BKK. Charoensri Hotel breakfast was really good :)
This was the first forest monk's temple we visited.
This temple belongs to one of the disciples of the great late Ajahn Mun. A doctor donated a real skeleton to remind the followers of the impermanence of life.
The temple hall.
The serenity of the temple's surroundings.

Me feeding the fishes as my other buddies went up to the temple which was not wheelchair accessible. This is outside Ajahn Fon's wat, one of AC Mun's disciples.
The view ouside the pond.
The great tudong master late Ajahn Mun's museum.

Personal artefacts of AC Mun when he meditated and wandered in the wild forests of Udon Thani.
Noticed the parasol which was the protection he had to shelter him from rain and sun when he meditated in the forests.

A path built for walking meditation in the forest.
A friendly monk at Wat Pa Yong who was also our translator when we visited the abbot there.

Thanks for viewing. Please come back again to visit my blog as I will be constantly adding new photos on the Udon Thani trip.

My recent trip to Udon Thani, Thailand

Just landed in Udon Thani, about one hour from Bangkok
Posing outside the Udon Thani domestic airport. It is a small airport with basic amenities and a canteen for light refreshments. Behind me is my buddy Ricky who was one of the three of us in this trip. Our purpose of the trip was to visit the forest monks in Udon Thani.
I was outside Charoensri Grand Royal Hotel where we stayed. I just had dinner at the nearby night market.
View of our hotel at night.
Our first taste of local food at the night market! We had a plate of ngio hiang dish or "chinese rojak", a huge steamed fish, fried chicken, mango salad and fresh coconuts for each of us. For dessert, we had "ching ting" which is the best I ever tried: its version had more than ten ingredients unlike the Singapore version of maybe 4-5 ingredients. The total cost? About S$16 for four of us :)

Launching of my blog Ts

Want to win one of my tshirts? All you need to do is to go up to me when I am travelling outdoors on my power wheelchair and say "Hello! Singapore Wheelchair Warrior!". You then have to visit my blog to give the answer to this question: What is my nickname used in the blog? You need to post the answer and also state the date/time and place we met. You must post your answer at the latest entry of my blog.

Discovering Singapore's newest green hub - The HortPark with Alber Adventure

Let me introduce two "firsts". The first is the latest attraction for nature lovers - the opening of HortPark, a seemless nature trail of parks connector of some 23 hectare of green space.

"HortPark is a one-stop gardening hub that brings together gardening-related, recreational, educational, research and retail activities under one big canopy in a park setting. It is a knowledge hub for plants and gardening and provides the platform for the industry to share best practices and showcase garden designs, products and services. This 23-hectare regional park in South-Western Singapore is also a park connector, connecting Telok Blangah Hill Park to Kent Ridge Park."

To read more, click here.

The other first is the testing of the fastest power wheelchair currently available here. The German-made Alber Adventure power wheelchair with a top speed of 14kph will blow you away. The Abler is one hell of a dream machine. I had this rare opportunity of riding this uber wheelchair due to the kind courtesy of Mr Cheong of Start-Centre, the person who is responsible for marketing it here. The photos below showed the dual joy of discovering Singapore's latest green lung on the fastest power wheelchair here.

The rather deceptive path leads to a flight of steps with no indication or signage of the imminent danger. There is however a flat path just besides it. From the wheelchair rider's perspective, it appears a slope downwards. I hope the NParks will look into this immediately.

The dangerous view from the other side.
The Alber was a joy to ride on - its excellent suspension coupled with comfortable seat made me feel like I am travelling on business class seat of my beloved Singapore Airlines. It is a continuous climb of slope of some 500 metres or about 10 minutes to reach the top of South Ridge by Alber power wheelchair.

Me and Alber. What an achievement reaching the top of South Ridge, well almost the top. Our journey was hampered by a flight of steps to continue a little further.

Feeling contented of conquering South Ridge without a sweat, I travelled down.
Feeling supremely happy with being in touch with nature, the Alber just made it so much enjoyable like travelling into the heart of Congo.