Planes, Trains, and Automobiles — none of it is designed for you
Every place is perfectly designed for the people who live there
Americans are known to come in all shapes and sizes. Although we idolize thinness, we tend to be larger and heavier than people from most other countries — at least on average. So, American chairs are built sturdier to handle our weight, arms are set wider on seats to accommodate our girth, and our stores and buildings are designed with our heights and widths in mind.
The same goes for the design of cars, trains, and planes — they are designed to make the people of that place comfortable, not you. Well, they are often designed to make the most profit from the people of that country so they are designed to at least accommodate the people of that place.
You may think that airplane seats weren’t designed with anyone in mind (with how uncomfortable they are, I completely agree with you), but international flights and local flights have drastic differences in seat size and comfort. Although international flights are certainly not comfortable, local flights can be so much worse. I have been completely unable to sit in certain planes because my legs were simply too long to fold behind the seat in front of me, or my hips were too wide for the structured armrests in the seat. Those local planes were clearly made for people smaller than me.
American cars, taxis, and buses are particularly large and luxurious — especially compared to most budget transportation in other parts of the world. An overnight bus here would have comfortable, reclining, cushioned seats complete with air conditioning, a compartment for your bag overhead, plus a bathroom on board. The nicest overnight buses in Myanmar, for example, have bench seating with immovable armrests on the aisle that fold in half to create an additional seat in what should have been the aisle, limited air conditioning (if you are lucky), and of course, there is no room for an on-board toilet.
I’ve had taxi drivers nearly drive away with passengers still on the street because 3 people filled up the entire 5 seater car. Rickshaw drivers cringe when big Americans want to get in their carts and navigating tiny train cars is quite an experience.
But, these things weren’t designed for me.
Each country in the world is designed to make its own people comfortable. Local foods are spiced with local flavor, architecture is built for the people intended to live there, and transportation is meant for them. It’s a really beautiful thing when you get to experience this perfectly designed “comfort” all over the world.
Just because it is designed to be comfortable for its people however, doesn’t mean it is comfortable for you.
As someone who is 6 feet tall, I can tell you that many countries are certainly not designed for my comfort. In Peru, I had to bend to fit through doorways, in Japan I hit my head on more hanging pots than I’d care to admit, and I often find foreign showers are pointed at my stomach. But the beauty is, my comfort doesn’t matter. I am not why the buildings or the city or the buses were designed a certain way — I’m the outsider who gets to glimpse this beautiful design.
When you travel and find yourself in uncomfortable situations, don’t let the discomfort get to you. Enjoy the experience and take note of just how incredible it is that every discomfort you feel is exactly what makes this new place unique, interesting, and home for so many people.
Leana’s an avid world traveler who has been to over 40 countries and will be venturing to her 7th continent in 2022. She believes in ubuntu and that adventures make life worth living. To follow her journey as a plus-sized woman with unquenchable wanderlust as she continues to seek out all that the world has to offer, you can check out The Overweight Adventurer.
