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  • I've visited over 125 countries,

  • and I've been to all seven continents of the world.

  • Old Town, Jerusalem.

  • Yet I've seen nothing.

  • My name's Tony Giles.

  • I'm totally blind,

  • severely deaf, yet, I travel the world alone.

  • I come from Southwest England.

  • I was born with a rare eye condition.

  • I could see shapes and shadows.

  • I was very light-sensitive as a child,

  • but by the time I was eight, nine,

  • my light sensitivity would go.

  • When I was 16, I got the opportunity

  • to go to the States,

  • and I was all excited.

  • And that's what I really loved.

  • I loved the adventure

  • and the unknown.

  • I thought, "Wow, I'm gonna travel for the rest of my life

  • and see if I can visit every country in the world."

  • So I thought I needed to take photos,

  • so I've got actual evidence that I've been there.

  • And I also think it's quite fun, you know,

  • the general public to see a blind person

  • taking photos, that must look like a

  • mess with their heads.

  • I find that quite interesting.

  • People think, "How can you travel when you're blind

  • and how can you visit all these countries?"

  • I got a series of different maps on my walls,

  • so I've got an idea

  • of what each country I'm visiting looks like.

  • I research the country I visit,

  • so I get on the Internet.

  • [Computerized Voice] L-E-B-A-N-O-N.

  • One British pound equals?

  • [Computerized Voice] Lebanese 2111.98...

  • And then I look up each city and

  • what I want to visit.

  • Is it museums or churches or mosques?

  • I try and find places with audio guides.

  • And in terms of visits, obviously, as a blind person,

  • I'm not going to go and see a country.

  • I'm not interested in looking at the beautiful vistas.

  • So I need to walk places,

  • I need to feel the atmosphere, touch things.

  • I rely on people everywhere I go to help me.

  • A lot of countries I visit, obviously,

  • English isn't their first language.

  • So, for instance, I'll ask

  • the staff to write down in Arabic

  • the places I want to go.

  • I meet people on the street,

  • and they give me directions

  • or they help me to go to places.

  • People ask me, "Are all the places you've been

  • in the same because you can't see them?"

  • And every city, every town, every country is different.

  • The thing I love about it most is

  • moving and actually getting from one place to another, that challenge.

  • So once you actually sort of reach,

  • reach the destination or the place you're looking for,

  • that's a huge achievement.

  • Yeah, that's why I do it.

  • That's the ultimate reason for my travels, really.

I've visited over 125 countries,

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