• Where am I... without Google Maps?

    December 2, 2018 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The air is warm and thick with humidity. It’s about 26 degrees and about 80% humidity at Changi. The flight is 40 minutes late landing, due to congestion, so the last of dusk has vanished allowing the city lights to illuminate the skyline.
    It is getting on for 10pm before I have managed to navigate myself to my hostel with out the assistance of the internet, the Wi-Fi at the airport is not kicking in I’m even more reliant on my memory of what the map looked like and the signage. A skill I’m sure will become increasingly rare in generations to come. Where are we without that little blue dot on Google Maps?
    The first train takes me from Changi airport to Tanah Marah and the second from Tanah Marah to Raffles Place. Now comes the memory part, it’s very much a “I’m down by the river and I need to walk in that kind of direction and find Circular Rd”. As I make my way to the river, I am leaving the business district behind and entering a more tourist and nightlife scene. This is convenient because in tourist precincts there are usually maps for points of interest and it’s whilst I’m looking at one, getting my bearings again, a British gent in his 50’s asks, “where are you heading?” and points me in a more accurate direction. Ten minutes later I’m in my hostel and 30 minutes later I’m ready for bed. I had planned on seeing some on the sites tonight but I’m knackered. Sleep will allow me to make the most of my day tomorrow.
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