Was this risky or what!?!?!?

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So this morning I went to a mall near my university to go shopping for some fruits. There is a bus that takes you from the university to the mall in about 15 minutes. The bus terminal at the mall looks like a bus hub with all kinds of different routes that passes by the mall. When I was done shopping, the route that takes me directly back to university was not here immediately (there is one every 15 minutes). I saw another bus that I was totally unfamiliar with but it said "Fairview Mall". Now, I knew that Fairview Mall was in the correct general direction (with the univeristy in between). So I decided, without looking at the map or asking the bus driver, to just go on that bus.

The bus route went to unfamiliar residential streets. I finally got off when I saw a stop with a familiar street name. However, it took me over half an hour to walk home after I got off the bus.

I guess one of the reasons why I did what I did today was because I have always lived a somewhat sheltered life and I just so desperately wanted to explore things on my own. I also don't mind taking time to go from one place to another. Some people want to get to destinations as fast as possible but I love exploring new things.

er.. I'd probably just ask the bus driver if it goes past bla bla
Half an hour isn't much of a walk. Wouldn't call it risky.

Oh, I don't know, for some of us getting on a bus that takes a different route from our usual is quite risky! My sense of direction is absolutely lousy, and the times I've tried taking new routes are scary for me! I got lost in my own neighborhood a while back while walking my dog -- I tried a new path with him and got ridiculously turned around. I know when I was dependent on the bus I was very firm about only taking certain buses, and I made my husband help me decide which ones to begin with. Now that I drive, I'm utterly dependent on my GPS to get me places, and I still tend to get lost the first time I go to a new location!

I checked the map on the internet and I shouldn't have gone off that early. I think the bus goes right by university.

If you don't know the area that far from your uni, then you need to do this more often.

When my husband and I go on vacation we often just get on a bus and go where ever it takes us. It is cheap and we see alot of the city we are in. If we get to the end of the line we just get on the next bus going back that way. If we get really lost then we call a cab.

When I visit an unfamiliar city, I ride the buses as a way to get acquainted with the area. However, I am forearmed with complete routes and schedules; I would never just hop on a bus. I can't even do that in my own city.

Oops, sorry. How did I end up here again? See how easily I get lost?

Only you can measure what's risky for you and I think you did feel like you took a risk.

In my opinion it paid off because you found your way around and now that area is more familiar to you.

Way to go!

I've been doing that for years, it's really helped me get to know the surrounding area. I usually talk a walk around for about half an hour, sometimes an hour if there are a lot of interesting sights, when I find myself in a place I'm unfamiliar with.

I inherited my grandfather's sense of direction though, I can't remember street names to save my life, but as long as I know the direction I came from or the direction I need to go I can find my way to wherever I am without looking on a map.

I once got lost in the middle of a five-block or ten-block tourist market in Hong Kong. So yeah, I've been known to do stuff like that on occasion. But, it's really hard to get lost in New York if you know the general area, since it's a grid.

I bike through ghettos. My mom freaked out cause she was late to pick me up one day in middle school and I walked halfway through the ghetto my school was in before she arrived. It really isn't that bad so long as you don't make enemies along the way.