Seeking directions to your destination - Your preferences

We are so used to punching in the name of our destination on Google Map on our smartphones, that the thought of following directions like these seems almost blasphemous.

SS-Traveller recently shared this with other BHPians.

I just came across this rather interesting but old-fashioned set of directions to reach a resort.

We are so used to punching in the name of our destination on Google Map on our smartphones, that the thought of following directions like these seems almost blasphemous. We follow the GPS directions, at times so blindly that we sometimes land into more trouble than we bargained for, or even imperil our lives.

Yet, even as late as at the beginning of the 21st century, we depended on paper maps, landmarks, and local pedestrians & shopkeepers to tell us where to go. Road trips involved possessing bunches of paper maps, which included Survey of India maps, TTK maps, and the mother of them all, the Automobile Association of Eastern India's Motoring Guide of India.

As someone who had begun embarking on roadtrips well before GPS and GMaps were household words, I am used to looking at paper maps and asking truck drivers as well as locals for directions to specific landmarks. The latter option (asking locals) may not be possible in many First World countries today with their freeways and lack of habitation along these roads, but it still has its uses in India. Today, I depend on Google Maps for most of the directions to an unknown destination, but I am not averse to asking locals either. Paper maps have all been stored away at home, and I don't even know where my copy of the Motoring Guide of India is - to me, paper maps nowadays are a cumbersome item to carry around and refer to.

So let us hear from you: when travelling to an unknown destination, how do you find your way?

Also, tell us anecdotes about your unique experiences while searching for directions, using whatever means (GPS, paper maps, asking locals).

Incidentally, the credit for showing us the directions to the resort goes to BHPian ALTIMAed. He asked the owner what stopped him from marking the place on Google Maps. Apparently, the last 250m of unsealed road to the resort have not been mapped by Google, and GMap consistently tries to send drivers through some other route if they follow a pin dropped on the place.

Thanks to SS-Traveller once again! Check out BHPian comments for more insights & information.