Thing 90: Go from A to B using a map

I was in London the other day and just got out of Kings Cross. It was a relatively cold night, but not that cold so I thought to walk. After careful consideration though, I took the tube and got out to the station that was indicated on the map printed on my hotel's reservation. Thing #90 was just about to be completed! Or so I thought!

You see, maps are usually supposed to help you. Not confuse you. In this case the map was a small square one about 3inches by 3inches that had only the major streets labeled. If you thought that the hotel's street would have been labeled to help you find the hotel easier, well think again. The good news though was that there were maps on every bus stop so I was able to use them to figure out the hotel's street. That made me fell very proud for my problem solving skills!

Anyway, I got out of the metro station and was instantly faced with the big decision. Shall I go right or left? Hmm... left, no right, no left, probably right or... left. OK, right it is. After wondering around the block for some 30 minutes I found myself back to point A. Deja vu! Surely, I have been here before!

I could not believe how difficult something so 'simple' had become. I mean the hotel was supposed to be 5 mins walk from the station, and in fairness it was, provided you knew how to use the map. Standing outside the tube station, for the second time, I decided to go left. This is when I learnt a very important lesson about using maps: you need to be in the right direction.

10 minutes later I was finally there. Yes, I wrote above that the hotel was 5 mins later, but what made you think that I suddenly became an expect on map reading?