NROP: I don’t wanna go down to the basement.

Flying back from Sydney two years ago, I had a seven-hour-long layover in Dubai. While I did go out on the town and got to see a few of the most popular tourist attractions, I still ended up with a few hours to kill at the airport. It was the middle of the night, after a 13-hour-long flight, and before many more hours of flying. Saying that I was tired would be a massive understatement. Getting a hotel room for a few hours seemed a little excessive, so I opted to spend the remainder of the time at the airport.

Even though I knew I would not be able to fall asleep at the airport (like many others had), I was at peace with being stuck at a mostly-closed (middle of the night) airport for a few hours. That was the case until my fellow traveler announced that they found a still cost-efficient, but more comfortable option for us to catch some “z’s”. We were to take a nap in small pods located at the airport. These were tiny rooms that were only big enough to include a twin bed and a bit of space for your carry-on luggage. Some might say it sounds claustrophobic but as long as there is a bed, I do not really care.

We traveled from one terminal to the next to try and locate those “pods.” At the time of our travels, there was a lot of construction going on at the airport, so we got a little bit confused and ended up unnecessarily changing terminals at one point. When we finally arrived at the right place, we found out that the rooms were not there. Further research showed that those pods, too, were under construction. Just our luck.

Sleeping Pod [Source]

As I was researching those beds for this post, I found out that there is more than just one option for people who want to get some shuteye at Dubai’s airport. In my opinion, that is an amazing idea and should be adopted by other airports as well. If you are curious about how it all works, take a look –> HERE <–. (I get no benefits from sharing this.)

When someone I know traveled to Mumbai a year or so ago, they were hellbent on finding the cheapest hotel they could. It was no surprise to me that they opted out of staying at the hotel that they initially booked once they arrived there. Thankfully, they were able to find another cheap place to stay in a much better neighborhood. The service was reported to be great and the cleanliness was on point, too. However, I was surprised when I found out they slept in a slightly altered version of a coffin. Those pods are like the mortuary cabinets, only with windows. To me, that looks and sounds slightly unnerving. It is not just the length and width of a room that matters. The height makes a huge difference when you are trying to emulate a feel of a bedroom.

Pod beds hotel [Source]

Last year I wrote a post entitled “Population control – necessary or immoral,” in which I discussed the crowding of our planet. The article sparked a great debate in the comment section with some people saying there were too many humans on this planet, and others saying that we still had so much space. I happen to agree with both. Yes, there are a lot of uninhibited areas on Earth. However, as someone who has been primarily a city dweller their whole lives, I cannot overlook the fact that there are more and more people trying to fit into a square inch. growing up, my family home was located within city limits, but far away from the center. We had the best of both worlds – city life with the space and comfort of a suburb. By the time I became an adult, that area became densely populated, ridding us of all the nature and space we were used to.

Since then, every city I have lived in, no matter how big, has only grown in population. People complain about the cost of living, but if the demand is higher than the supply, then there is no reason for the supplier to keep the costs down. People are creating their own problems. If they only stayed away from big cities…

The first example, in Dubai, is about convenience (a bed at the airport). The second, in Mumbai, is about cutting down the costs (cheap). The final example, in San Francisco, is about creating enough room for everyone. Let me explain.

The housing market in San Francisco is densely populated (a lot of people coming in and not much more room for building development). A recently proposed plan sounds very innovative. A developer wants to build underground sleeping pods which would be 50 square feet (15m x 15m). Like in the India’s hotel, those would be stacked one on top of the other. Moreover, since those would be located in the basement, there would be no windows to look out of. You would not have any doors, either. You would only get a curtain for privacy to separate you from other tenants.

All of that made me slightly uncomfortable, but when I read that those would be priced $1,000 – $1,375, I laughed. It is not funny. It is terrifying to see how easy it is for stealing can be done legally. For that amount of money you would get enough space to fit in a bed and a desk. If you wanted to cook something or take a shower, you would do so in the communal kitchen or bathroom. It is like being back in the dorm. I shudder.

Apartment pods [Source]

While this seems to be the first subterranean proposition, pod living is not as innovative as I thought. Podshare is a company who started renting apartment room, which go for $1,200 last year. Here is how they look.

Stack-able rooms [Source]

https://youtu.be/maS68s9jpYo

Would you live in such a pod? Why? Why not?

What do you think of such innovative plans?

Stay golden,

.

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