Pains and perks of tall travellers
WashingtonPost
DURING our around-the-world trip, whenever I (Andrea) needed to locate my travel pal ( Jabin), I simply looked up. No matter where we were – a crowded landmark in Mumbai, a boisterous outdoor market in Hong Kong, a hectic airport gate in Madagascar – Jabin’s treetop head usually cleared the crowd by at least 6 inches, if not a foot. The risk of losing track of him was as low as misplacing a baby giraffe in Times Square.
Depending on the situation, Jabin’s height – a stately 6-feet-5 – was a blessing or a curse, an advantage or a disadvantage. In Mumbai, for instance, he slammed his head into a road sign that most people couldn’t even touch on tippy-toes.
At Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, he simply raised his camera over the mob of tourists and captured an unobstructed panorama of the skyline. By comparison, all of my images were photobombed by blockheads and selfie sticks.
As we hopped from country to country, Jabin noted the pros and cons of life as the Traveling Tall Guy ( TTG). Here are his observations:
CONS
- planes. I am often woken up by people and beverage carts hitting me on the elbow or legs. It’s a very rude awakening. There’s just never enough room.
- ways falling asleep on planes, even in business class. and insect habitats on hiking trails. I walked face-first into a spiderweb in Madagascar. smaller than queen-size. use an airplane bathroom.
- pensive mid-size car or larger. I can rent smaller, but it just kills my legs. as at the immigration counter at the Mumbai airport. The eye of the camera is set too low. shorter handle, the bag hits the back of my foot and flips over, causing a traffic jam. their seat up to accommodate my frame. take a picture with me. I was swarmed by photo-seekers at the Gateway of India in Mumbai.
PROS
in the dark recesses of a plane’s overhead luggage compartments. items rolling down an airplane Andrea’s cup on an Air Seychelles flight). point for taking photos. In Madagascar, I lifted my arms over my head, and the lens was eye-level with a lemur resting in a tree. hiking steps equals one mine. out assistance. of
- ly claustrophobic, it is nice to have my head above the crowd. -
- tically, I can use my tall-guy status to get better seats. People take sympathy on me, including friends. On the redeye from Seychelles, we were given one business-class ticket due to overbooking. TTG scored the more spacious seat because Average-Height Girl felt bad.