I invite you to examine the map above. Notice where the ‘Ostello’ is. It’s right between the QT8 metro station and the Lotto metro station.
When we got to the youth hostel the first time, it was simple enough. Sign-boards guided us from the metro-station QT8 to the hostel.
On day two in Milan, we had different plans. We thought we would be a little adventurous. We were backpacking through Europe: we had to do cool, new things; we had to forge new paths!
We decided to begin by getting off at Lotto, instead of QT8. No crystal clear directions here, but we had a map, which we could use.
Of course.
We walked enthusiastically.
Then we walked some more.
And we walked even further, wondering whether the hostel was equidistant from the two metro stations.
We had been told to get off at QT8, so we reasoned that Lotto must be a wee bit further on. A slightly longer walk.
So we walked.
None of the roads marked on the map was around. We could see nothing familiar. We avoided asking for directions until, finally, we seemed to have no choice. That’s when we had our episode with traffic-policemen and accosted a delivery-boy. The Italians spoke to us slowly, clearly, with elaborate gestures – but in Italian. We walked everywhere.
We reached and lived to tell the tale; that much is evident.
We were exhausted, but we looked at the sunny side of the deal. That day, we had achieved two things:
1) We had been planning to walk around our locality and get to know it: we could mark that off as done.
2) We learned the important lesson that at least our way, QT8 is MUCH closer to the hostel than Lotto.
This is something like what I encountered in Mexico City – I also wanted to be “adventurous” and carrying a map with me, I tried to discover a new route to my hotel – I walked for more than an hour and when I asked a road-side food vendor owner to show me where I was on my map, he told me in Spanish that my location was about 4 kilometers “outside of my map” 🙂
🙂 We discovered that, like everything else, map-reading also gets better with practice!
Yes – I agree…experience makes you a better map-reader and a better backpacker 🙂 I just wanted to tell you that I am really enjoying your blog – lovely descriptions – you have the ability to convey so much in so few words and you do have a great sense of humour. I have been backpacking for the last 10 years – wish I had the writing skills that you have…even 10% would have been more than enough…
I forgot to tell you one more thing – I have kept all my tickets – train tickets, bus tickets, tickets for music concerts, dance shows, museum entry tickets – everything safely inside my locker, exactly like you 🙂
🙂 Thank you, Aviroop. Writing, for me, is joy in itself, but when someone else finds what I write enjoyable, my happiness goes to another level.
Sometimes, I’m on the verge of throwing all my memorabilia away. From the first time I went, I even have my luggage tags because everything was so new and exciting. I haven’t been able to throw anything away yet (maybe I’m still too young and sentimental), but I have started storing fewer random scraps of paper!
I also started travelling around the same time (2005) and have been travelling alone on almost all of my voyages. One of the main benefits of travelling alone, apart from the fact that you can do whatever you like (you don’t have to go to Disney Land skipping the wonderful Versailles), is that you get to meet and interact with a lot of local people and fellow travelers – you make friends which would never have been possible if you travel in a group. I remember in Mexico there was this place called Garibaldi Square – one of the most happening places with people in whites playing guitars all day and night wearing those huge Sombreros and bustling with people of all ages wearing colourful costumes – there I met a wonderful girl called Marcella and we became real friends and we talked for hours – she was a prostitute by profession and one of the nicest persons I ever met – when we separated, she scribbled her name and number on a piece of paper which is one of my prized possessions now 🙂
So don’t you ever throw away those bits and pieces of memorabilia – each has its own story…
I will be off on one of my voyages this June – I will be off to Italy and from there on to Slovenia and then to Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey and from there I will be taking the Silk Route to Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Don’t know whether you have been to these parts. Presently I am reading Rebecca West’s masterpiece ‘Black Lamb and Grey Falcon’ on her experiences in Yugoslavia and Colin Thubron’s ‘The Shadow of the Silk Road’ – both are wonderful reads 🙂
That sounds just fantastic! I have not been to any of these places. Of late, I’ve been visiting more of India. Forests fascinate me, and what better place than India for wildlife? Especially considering Africa is too expensive! 😀
Enjoy your travels; I would love to hear about them.