Jeff Cangialosi

On a recent trip to Mexico City, I had the experience of stepping outside of the airport and trying to find a taxi. I was having issues getting my phone to connect to the local cell network, so Uber was not an option (gasp!). This was in no way a real challenging situation. I was an American with money in my pocket, but there is something overwhelming about stepping out to hail a car and having 10 different people yelling at you in another language offering you rides. What are they saying to me? Are they legit drivers? Will they overcharge me?

In this instance, I quickly identified a taxi stand where I could provide a kind woman with my hotel’s address and pre-pay my taxi fare. I was saved from the barrage of yelling drivers; however, this quick incident brought me back to memories of living in India and traveling around Southeast Asia. This was 2015. Uber and other ride-hailing apps were available or staring to become available in most countries, but they were fair from ubiquitous. It was also a time when having a globally adaptable SIM card was not necessarily the norm. Often your phone would not automatically connect to the local cell network, and if it did, it would be super expensive to use. When I stepped off the plane in places like Mumbai, Calcutta, Colombo, and Yangon, I had to face the barrage and figure out how to get where I needed to go.

I was always fortunate enough to have enough funds for a cab fare (although I would often try to use public transport if it was available), but this scenario of stepping outside of the airport required some pre-planning and your wits about you. They were basic techniques, but before heading to a new place, I would do a quick google of the airport to see if fellow travelers had dropped any advice on navigating transport. I would of course always have cash on and a notebook where I had penned the name and address of the location where I was going. It was nothing revolutionary, but I think this simple effort of needing to navigate getting from A to B taught me a little resiliency and gave me confidence that I could get around. Maybe this is all useless now as connectivity and AI come to dominate, but if nothing else, I am glad I at least had the experience of making my way around the world in the dark ages of 2015.