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Tired yet undefeated at a midnight worksession in Mumbai, India.

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Starbucks in Delhi is the same as Starbucks elsewhere – consistent and unpalatable. The mangoes she’s selling right outside on the pavement seem promising.

un·pal·at·a·ble
/ˌənˈpalətəbəl/
Adjective
Not pleasant to taste.
Difficult to put up with or accept.
Synonyms
unsavoury – unsavory – unpleasant – disagreeable

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This series of posts typically feature things that work, and work well – it’s about things that promise, and things that deliver. Never have I found myself loving a tool more than my iPad. It’s a constant companion for someone like me who does not use a smartphone (whatever that term means – I think a phone can only be as smart as the user, and will expound on it another time) – I write on it, I draw, I eBay, shop, research, communicate, navigate.

Much as I love driving, I am a terrible navigator – I like to think that I am a terrible navigator precisely because I am a highly involved and very good driver, but whatever the reason, I tend to get lost quickly unless I can navigate using landmarks that I know. That’s fine for a city I am familiar with, but beyond useless for unfamiliar surroundings.

And that is the absolutely main reason that I loved the iPad – it came with Google Maps baked in, which mapped India brilliantly – I could reach places, and could help other Indians / locals reach places by routes that were perfectly mapped with traffic alerts – coupled with a local Vodafone 3G sim (much better speeds than AT&T, at a tenth the price), it was a wonderful, liberating, blissful experience for this author.

Fast forward to last week, and OS6.1. Today, I tried using Apple maps to navigate to Gurgaon, a vast, sprawling, totally well connected town just 10 miles from where we live Delhi – welcome to the story of my biggest disappointment in international navigation, told in pictures.

Directions not found? Something’s clearly broken here since I can absolutely see roads connecting the two on the image below, and plan on getting there later today along with a few hundred thousand other commuters, beloved (and somewhat OS6.1 neutered) iPad turned off. Sigh.

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In transit. Marigold petals at the ITC Maratha, Mumbai.

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In transit. Turkish Airlines Lounge, Istanbul.

I’ve seen nothing that beats it thus far – a distinct point of view (design wise), superb food, a music hall, a projection room, a library with pool table, and lovely ceramic cups holding intense little pools of Turkish coffee.