There’s lost, there’s really LOST, and wherethefukarewe…
I ‘won’ the third one last night…
Make ONE simple wrong turn in central Naha, and you can end up so far down the rat hole, there IS no light…
I swear I didn’t get two blocks before I knew I’d taken a wrong turn, but trying to get BACK to where I made the mistake just wasn’t happening…
Seemed like every turn I made took me deeper into the old residential area, and narrower and narrower streets. I swear I went by the same place at least three different times, and never got there the same way twice.
I finally just stopped on a little street and tried to figure out on the map where I was, without success (my Kanji is NOT good)…
A little old mamasan came out and asked me something in Japanese that I couldn’t puzzle out, but I mimed using a phone and said “Taxi”. She disappeared back into her house, and about 10 minutes later a taxi showed up.
He was confused as hell that I didn’t want a ride, but I finally made him understand that I needed him to lead me back to 58 (he didn’t speak engrish either). Then we haggled a bit over a ‘fee’…
I ended up paying him 1000yen and he pointed to 58 on the map and said, “Hai.” Which translates to yes, I nodded, said “Hai.” And off we went…
Three right turns (did NOT end up back at the same place, don’t ask me…), down an alley, two lefts, another alley, a couple of rights and lefts, and voila, back to an intersection with 58!
Best $10 I‘ve spent this entire trip…
And never did find the place I was looking for…
Sigh…
Reminds of most of Dallas. Once you pass a place… forget ever getting back, except by accident.
I once tried to ‘go back’ to a western wear store, and ended up half way to Oklahoma.
“You can’t get there from here”…
It’s worse if you’ve been drinking.
Now, ya see? That is exactly why every city in the world needs a neighborhood Waffle House. Those gals know everything. Not to mention a good dogburger with hash-browns scattered, covered and smothered.
A Naval aviator getting lost, then admittting it? Who would’ve thunk?
DC was like that. At least in Naha, you were not likely to get shot.
Never try and use GPS to avoid Belfast in Northern Ireland unless you really like looking at sheep for hours.
There’s a little place in Naha that has about 20,000 record albums on the wall.
You point to one and the guy there will play it.
But only if he likes it :).
I remember a place like that in Minorca.
I’m beyond amazed… man who admits getting lost, actually stops and asks for directions, takes directions, confesses same. Miracles Do Happen!
Yeah, but if his wife didn’t actually witness him doing it, it doesn’t really count.
Charlie, could be that he admitted it because…he doesn’t have a wife!
I got lost in Singapore once, but I found a good restaurant, does that count? 😉
off topic-http://keads-anotherday.blogspot.com/2014/12/hey-old-nfo-i-found-your-nav-chart.html
Art- LOL, yeah Dallas IS that bad…
LL- Oh yeah… sigh
CP- True! Since I’m staring at a rice bowl, I’d LOVE some scattered, covered and smothered about now…
WSF-I have NO problem admitting it! The first step to get ‘back’ and I was on a short timeline…
Juvat- True! I did end up in the wrong part of DC once, ran a BUNCH of red lights getting out of there!
Brigid- LOL, we did that once around Edinburgh, without GPS and a pilot trying to navigate, we damn near ended up in Glasgow… 🙂
Charlie- That would assume I could ever find it…LOL
Grog- In that case I’d call it a win! And yes, that does look like a correct chart!
Lafayette, LA. Every road there bends, there are no straight roads, they all follow old bayous or pig trails or something. There is no navigating Lafayette unless you were born there.
Lafayette, LA. All roads bend, they’re following old bayous or pig trails, or something. Three right turns get you nowhere, and are often required to go in something approximating a straight line. There is no navigating Lafayette unless you were born there.
True ‘dat.
Paw= LOL, yeah I ‘remember’ that… And SO true!
Glad you found your way back out of the rabbit hole!
I have been in the wherethefukarewe situation a few times
Yep, as an ex truckie, I’ve been to wherethefukarewe a few times…
I was once in the grassy rolling hills of Northern Panama with a few hundred of my closest friends. My “boss” called me on the FM “cell phone” (PRC-77) and told me and my 40 BFF’s to get on the next helicopter that landed near us. No indication of where we were going or what to do when we got there. The helos took off and I followed our course on my laminated paper “GPS”… until we flew off the edge of the map. We landed a short while later with instructions from the pilot to get out.
Didn’t know where I was. Didn’t know where I was going. Didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing. Had zero bars on my PRC-77.
Maha?
NAHA!
Sadly Jim, this is how my mind works.
gfa
Phlegmmy- LOL, me too!
Rick/Morris- Yep!
Prof- NOT good when you fall off the map… Just sayin…
gfa- LOL
Ghetto Garmin Cruises are the best. Love it! Been there and good thing most of the eastern US is square layouts of infrastructure. Go west, young man, and roads were made on top of cattle trails. Have you ever studied how cattle trail? It’s like caddy whompus and make no sense infrastructure where east might seem like south.
That name actually originated from a small Indian tribe in the midwest. After wandering for many weeks, their chief stood on top of a small hillside, looked around and said, “Wherethefukarewe.”
OK. OK. Lame joke. Oh well, it is Monday, you know.
Hey Old NFO;
We would give out the “Wherethefawkarewe” awards after every field problem….the losers(winners) had to buy a couple of rounds of beer at the club….as penance you understand….
I will never cease being jealous of all of your paid travels…but stories like this definitely help. Hee!
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Fargo- I’ve done both WITHOUT a Garmin…LOL
Scottie- Still true!
Bob- Heh, yeah that would work!
Murph- Oh THANK you!!! 😛