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Lost? Phone a friend (or get an iPhone)
I'm new in town. There are no mountains to establish my location. Roads don't follow a tidy grid. Pedestrian and motorbike thoroughfares duck under highway overpasses, with nearly a dozen outlets – or so it seems.
So, walking back to my hostel one night I got lost.
Since it was late I jumped into a cab, thinking I could let the driver know when and where to turn. That was a good idea, until it became very clear that I was clueless. Not only could I not pronounce the street my hostel was on, I had no idea how to get to it. After backtracking until we were back where we started, I paid the apologetic cabbie and started walking again, testing each pedestrian outlet in the underpass until they all began to look the same.
Since it was late I jumped into a cab, thinking I could let the driver know when and where to turn. That was a good idea, until it became very clear that I was clueless. Not only could I not pronounce the street my hostel was on, I had no idea how to get to it. After backtracking until we were back where we started, I paid the apologetic cabbie and started walking again, testing each pedestrian outlet in the underpass until they all began to look the same.
While we've probably all experienced being lost in a foreign city, I had walked this particular route a half dozen times already and gotten lost in the underpass just as many times.
After my tenth surfacing and multiple attempts to "ask the audience," I decided to use my "phone a friend" option. I called mostly because I was frustrated and a little freaked out at this point, map-less and language-less, and wandering around in the dark of an unfamiliar city.
Phoning my friend advanced me to the next level, however. I knew the name of the street I came from as well as my hostel. My friend looked it all up, and with a little Google map action, was able to talk me home.
After my tenth surfacing and multiple attempts to "ask the audience," I decided to use my "phone a friend" option. I called mostly because I was frustrated and a little freaked out at this point, map-less and language-less, and wandering around in the dark of an unfamiliar city.
Phoning my friend advanced me to the next level, however. I knew the name of the street I came from as well as my hostel. My friend looked it all up, and with a little Google map action, was able to talk me home.
"Turn west at Xichang," he would say.
"If I'm walking 'down' on the map, is that left or right on Xichang?" I would respond.
If I ever had doubt that there is an iPhone-shaped hole in my life, this experience overpowered it. Until I can afford one, however, at least I know that friends are standing by with laptops and Google maps -- and it doesn't matter where in the world they are.
Read more about my life in China here.
"If I'm walking 'down' on the map, is that left or right on Xichang?" I would respond.
If I ever had doubt that there is an iPhone-shaped hole in my life, this experience overpowered it. Until I can afford one, however, at least I know that friends are standing by with laptops and Google maps -- and it doesn't matter where in the world they are.
Read more about my life in China here.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Shawn Nov 19th 2009 12:13PM
If you want to take it one step further, get an android phone such as the Droid :) Then you can use google latitude to see all your friends on your google map in real time. So if you are lost and trying to find someone, you can see where each of you is exactly at all times.
CherrySlurpees Nov 19th 2009 12:27PM
Until recently I had always been the "phone a friend" for my family members since I work in front of a computer all day, they knew I could help. Then I got an Android phone that came standard with Google maps. All of my siblings and most of the rest of my family now either have a G1, myTouch3G or a Moto Cliq (yes, we're a T-Mobile family...love their cheaper data plans and world phones).
Thanks to Google Maps Apps on the phones I am no longer Rand McNally and there's the added benefit of them being able to Google things for themselves while on the go (ie: the name of that burger joint we went to that one time on Broadway). I've also found that I no longer need to travel with a laptop since I have the Internet on my phone and can find suggestions for restaurants or hours for museums while on the Metro.
Having a true smart phone can make your life and traveling oh so much easier.
Mike Nov 20th 2009 4:57PM
That's a great story, we've all been there. On more then one occasion I've been woken up at 3:00AM with a phone call from a panic stricken friend uttering the classic words "I'm Lost". It's good to know we all have friends we can count on.