Downtown map app failed me, paper map from the gas station won

I was visiting Portland last month and had to pick between using my phone's navigation or buying a $3 paper map from a Shell station. I trusted the app because it was easier. Big mistake, it sent me down a closed street and put me 20 minutes behind for my reservation at that food cart pod. The paper map had the walking paths and local bus routes marked by hand from the cashier. Has anyone else ditched their phone and gone old school while traveling? How did that turn out for you?

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grayb645d ago

And honestly that cashier marking up the map by hand is the REAL hidden gem here. You get local knowledge that no algorithm can match, like the shortcut through that parking garage that saves you 10 minutes or which food cart actually has a line worth waiting in. I did the same thing in Nashville once, bought a map from a bodega owner who circled all the spots where the locals actually hang out, not the tourist traps. Got me to a honky tonk bar that wasn't even listed on my phone. The battery dying on your phone is just the excuse to try it, but the real payoff is finding stuff that doesn't exist in any digital database.