No matter how experienced you are in walking, there will inevitably be a time when while walking down a steet you realise you're walking in completely the wrong direction.
The obvious solution, which is to simply turn around, is OK if you are alone. However, in the presence of other people it may lead to a sudden collision and subsequent disruption to the flow of pedestrians, as well as making you look an idiot.
If you want to preserve your dignity, you could do one of the following:
- Stop, turn 90 degrees, pause and look at your watch, then complete your turn around and carry on.
- If there are any nearby shop windows stop and look into one of them for a few seconds, then turn back.
- Pretend you've dropped something, bend down and pick it up, then walk back. Unfortunately, this runs the risk of attracting ridicule for the mere act of bending down.