Lost in China

A few years back I was traveling in Shanghai when one evening we decided to go explore part of the city on our own. We got the hotel concierge to write down, in local dialect, the hotel and its location, and went exploring. The problem arose when we attempted to get a taxi to head home later that night. The drivers would look at our card, refuse to let us in their vehicles and drive away. To top it off, we weren't able to locate anyone who spoke English. We stopped multiple vehicles with no success and realized we had no idea of alternate ways to get back to the hotel. 

After an hour of walking around and failing at any progress, we found a lady in the back of a store who's minimal English was sufficient to come to our rescue. She hailed a taxi, had a seemingly heated discussion with the driver, and rushed us into the back seat. Luckily we ended up at our hotel shortly after! 

These days we never take for granted the advantages of technology when traveling!