Have you ever lost your way when going somewhere ?
It can be a frustrating experience – especially if you are
running late or meeting someone important – especially if you don’t know the
person very well or to be more specific – well enough .
I seem to be specializing in getting lost and that too at
the opportune moment .
Now let me put things in the correct perspective - I am no dim wit. I am energetic , enthusiastic
and pretty clued in too .
I drive a great car with an amazing navigation system , I travel distances over 150 km quite often
and I move quite fast . This is the UAE after all and the roads and signs are
the very best in the world
I also use Google maps and have tried WAZE ( on my
smartphone ) and manage okay with both or
so I think .
However I still manage to get lost on quite a few occasions . This results in arguments , allegations ,
counter allegations and blame . Others in the car often gang up against me but
I soldier on manfully !
Here are some of the scenarios .
1.
I have to go to a particular location . I feed
it into both ; the phone and car
navigation system just to be sure that
all is well . Now , under normal
circumstances both should take you to your destination without a fuss - but no , that does not happen – at least not
with me . So Waze tells me to turn left after 150 meters and the car navigation
tells me to go right after 200 . Now that’s
quite a quandary to be put in when you
are on the highway , travelling at 100 kmph or more and looking for the exit
while listening to the blues ! Having a
back seat driver who does not drive and who has probably never been in the area
does not help either . Finally after
going around in circles and squares for
some time I reached my destination- LATE . By then Waze and my car has decided
to make up so to say and both informed me that I had “reached my destination” . THANK YOU .
2.
I have to go to a particular location and I have
a good idea where it is, so I set off
without using the navigation system and there my friends is where the trouble
begins . The UAE being the UAE , sees roads literally being built overnight . You go on Thursday , you take the
usual exit and then you turn right – Presto there is the place you had to go to
. Childs play for a driver like me . Come Friday morning and that exit has vanished
without a by your leave – there is now a
diversion complete with a proper road ,
signage etc and of course the mandatory ,
“SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE” sign as well . Arrows point you in the direction
of travel . However this is confusion confounded and before I know it , I am speeding along on the highway to Oman . Many detours, exits and phone calls later, I
reach my destination ( if I am lucky ) and yes I am late.
3.
About 10 years or so ago I had to take my
daughter for private tuition . It was a 10 minute journey , so you can say it
was in the vicinity and just a few kilometers away from our house . I had seen
the building umpteen times and had a good idea as to the direction of travel .
So we set off on the first day . After a few kilometers , I saw the large grey
building on the right and was thrilled . This was a no brainer or so I thought
. So I took the right loop ( read EXIT ) . No sooner had I done that when I
went through an underpass . When we resurfaced , there was no sign of the
building . So I took another loop and returned the same way . Building on right
– so far so good . This time I took the
left exit but frustratingly when I looked for the building , it was on the
opposite side of the road and there was no way I could get to it . In a few
seconds the road took me in the opposite direction to the building ! Needless
to add I traversed the road twice more
and finally found the correct exit & the building . No don’t laugh as I was almost
crying . We were late as well .
4.
Once we decided to have an evening out at the
Dragon mart which is a good 30 kilometers away . As I was not taking my car
but that of a relative , I was a trifle
apprehensive as the lady who professed to be an expert on roads and who decided
to be the navigator, is actually more confused than I am . We set
off happily and yes , before we knew it we had travelled
about 45 km and there was no sign of the Building . Now I was on the highway to
a place called Hatta . This time I can swear I was following someone else’s
directions and that gave me a little consolation so I was relaxed and smiling . We must have gone up and down the same highway
a couple of times , taken various exits,
loops , bridges , fly overs and underpasses – no sign of the wretched Dragon
mart . I did the next best thing –
decided to return home . So at the next exit , I turned without knowing
where we were going and then lo and
behold , a few kilometers ahead was the mall.
By then I was too fed up so it was a drive in vain .
5.
I have had similar occurrences when travelling
to other emirates as well . In the UAE, if you miss an exit or take the wrong flyover
you could travel anything from 5 – 15 kilometers extra just to get back in the
right direction .
6.
I cannot end without mentioning a rather funny
incident that took place a few years ago . I was scheduled to visit a school
Prize day function and it was almost dark . I set out with my GPS on but from
an entirely different location and I guess that threw me . As I began , I saw a
small white car pull out after me . Whenever I looked in the rear view mirror
that same white car was on my tail – at a respectful distance but there it was
. All was
going well and I was confident there was no way I could get lost . However mid-way
through the journey, Murphy’s law
decided to make its presence felt and yes – I missed the exit . Mysteriously ,
the little white car did as well and I began to really feel uneasy . On one hand I was lost and would be late and on the other hand there was this car .
All sorts of strange and weird thought began going through
my head . Was it the police? Had I
committed a traffic offence ? Was there any reason for them to follow me ? Were
my lights OK . Had someone banged my car and I had not noticed it? Maybe they
were not traffic police after all but
plain clothes cops , who would soon pull
me over and arrest me for something I had not done . Was it a case of mistaken identity and they
were following the wrong man ? When I sped up, the car kept pace . When I
slowed down , it refused to overtake me . To top it all , the white car had its
headlights off . Surely this was trouble waiting to happen
To get to my destination
I must have travelled an additional 25 km and you guessed it right , the little
white car did the same . Finally, I
breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the school ahead . I turned into the gate and so did the white car . By
now I was worried and confused but I rushed into the Principal’s office and soon put it out of my mind as I met other
guests .
At the dinner after the function I related the story
to a group of staff . It was then that a young teacher informed me rather sheepishly that she and her friend were
in the white car . They said
that they spotted me as they had set out and
as they were not very sure of the way themselves , they decided to follow my car so as not to get
lost . So obviously when I got lost , so
did they !
All’s
well that ends well – but I have to admit, say what you may and snigger all you
want - I AM A PRETTY GOOD DRIVER
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