Originally Posted by
john m flores
Rethinking this, my favorite method is asking a local because very often they'll not only tell me how to get to where I want to but also interesting places I was not even aware of.
Yeah, GPS is great and all but it can also be isolating.
Also can be one of the worst methods, particularly in China.
Admitting a weakness is culturally verboten, "I dunno" is unheard of. The answer to how far to xxx is invariably 2km. Mentally draining to have completed 150 km in mountains, nearing your target town, and be told 2 km over and over for 20 km.
Then you run into locals that have never left their village in 50 years, and some who don't know their settlement even has a name.
Don't forget the other 58 non-han minorities with their own language and script, many whose only Chinese is "I don't speak Chinese."