IT LOOKED so easy on the map. Hollywood to downtown LA? Just walk Sunset Boulevard all the way! OK, it's ten miles. But what could be finer than a stroll in the early evening Californian sun?
A hour later my heart was thumping like a bass drum. There's Hollywood, tacky but touristy. And then there's North Hollywood. Not to be confused, I now realise. Especially after dark. Feeling as inconspicuous as a rabbit in a bear pit, I had passed through knots of prostitutes, vagrants and hoodies. At first I didn't feel threatened. Possibly because I was the first white man to walk along this street in years, they greeted me with curious looks rather than hostile intent. But then I heard gunshots from a shop just yards away. Two men stormed out. People dived for cover. Suddenly I felt that I would rather be anywhere else in the world - at the dentist, even having tea with my mother-in-law.
My salvation came in the form of a yellow cab. I ran out and waved wildly. The cab shot past. I felt panic. Then, 30 yards on, it screeched to a halt. A door was flung open, and a voice shouted: “Geddin now!” I did. The cabbie was about 50, Hispanic, female - and very cross. “What the hell's with you?” she demanded, as we sped off.
“Just walking back to my hotel.”
“Walking?” she exclaimed. “Here?!”
“Thought I might see more of the city.”
Long silence. Then the awful truth dawned on her. “You're . . . new here, aren't you?” she said. She proceeded to give me a long lecture on how to stay alive in Los Angeles. And I, in return, gave her the biggest tip I've given any cabbie. She was right, of course. I should not have been walking where I was.
But here's the curious thing. I've been to America maybe 30 times. I've seen the sights, bought the T-shirts, gobbled the burgers. Yet those few startling minutes, and that enthralling lecture, remain the most vivid thing I've ever experienced in the US. And it happened because I strayed wildly, stupidly, off the tourist track.
Here's another strange thing. That wasn't a one-off happening. Thanks to my congenital incompetence with maps, I've had similar experiences all over the world. I remember one vividly. In Frankfurt, late one night, I decided to walk from the city to my hotel on the outskirts. I took a wrong turn, and found myself hopelessly lost on wasteland. I ended up stumbling along a railway line, thinking it would lead to civilisation. In fact, it led to a printworks.
It was 2am. I staggered in. The workers were Turkish. In sub-GCSE German, I asked where I was. In excellent English, they told me. One even offered me a lift when his shift finished. On the way, he painted a wonderful verbal picture of Germany seen through immigrant eyes.
Of course, I recognise that there are risks when you stray off course in an unknown city. But there's a greater risk, I think, of getting a synthetic impression of a foreign country and its people if you stick to overpackaged attractions.
Spooked by horror tales of tourists being attacked, I think many people have become overly cautious. Like Blanche Dubois (though for less interesting reasons), I have always relied on the kindness of strangers to sort me out when I've gone astray.
So far, I haven't been proved wrong.
I totally agree. I have been offered accommodation, food and assistance by total strangers in most parts of the world.
Tony, Bristol, England
I fully agree with the article. It seems that too many people have forgotten that most places in most countries are populated by decent, honest and friendly citizens. I too have relied on the kindness of strangers when travelling, and have been let down no more often than at home.
mike, athens,