Easy Maps!

So you're in London now. Congratulations! You are in one of the world's largest metropolises. If you were like me and pretty much just stormed in with little notion of what your surroundings are like, here are a few tips on how to find your way around.

1) Google Maps.

Kneel down and build a shrine because Google Maps is your new deity of choice. Insert your address and what you're looking for (argos, post office, supermarket, etc) and it will not only tell you the nearest options, it will also, if asked, plot a course for you, either on foot or by car.

2) Cheap GPS
If you're like me and you have neither a printer nor a fancy cellphone with a built-in GPS, and don't feel like spending a ton of money on mobile phone internet access, a good and cheap way of finding your way around is thus:

You will need:
a) laptop with internet connection
b) bluetooth (either by USB dongle [heh, dongle] or inbuilt)
c) cellphone with bluetooth

So here's what you do. You printscreen the google maps page with your course plotted out and paste it onto MS Paint. You then cut out the map bit where your course is outlined and paste it on a new document, saving it as an image file. You then do the same with the written instructions (you know, turn right at x street, take the second exit on x crescent's roundabout, etc). You should end up with two files that look like this:

You then transfer these files onto your cellphone via bluetooth. You can either use the software that came with the dongle (such as BlueSoleil) or, if you have Windows 7 at least, you can use the in-built bluetooth access to connect the two devices.

If your cellphone allows you to view images, then it will most likely allow you to zoom in. I mention this because although the map was fine, I had to zoom in on the instructions to make sure I was going the right way.




Thus equipped, you are ready to boldly go where many have gone before, but you have no idea how to get to.