Matt Gross on the art of getting lost
“The first thing you do when you arrive in a strange city and want to get lost is put your bags away. Getting lost involves — requires — intense wandering, and a suitcase or heavy backpack is only going to slow you down and make you long for a hotel, a shower, and a change of clothes. If you’re lucky, you’re already at the bus or train station, and the left-luggage office is perfectly equipped to care for your things as long as you like. And then, swearing never to glance at the map on your phone, you just set out.”
–Matt Gross, The Turk Who Loved Apples: And Other Tales of Losing My Way Around the World
October 3rd, 2013 at 11:03 am
I love this idea. Getting lost is the perfect antidote to predictability, and any seasoned traveler wants to avoid predictability. Any traveler, who is worth their salt, will find it increasingly harder to get lost, though. One’s sense of direction should improve the more you travel, and the likelihood of getting lost should decrease. Intense wondering is a nice way of saying “I’m playing at being lost.” I have no problem with being lost, or playing lost, but a good traveler should be able to use his whits to right his way around, without necessarily, using digital technology.
October 4th, 2013 at 3:37 am
[…] Matt Gross on the art of getting lost […]