I'm not saying it's hard or impossible, just extremely impractical. It'd be like insisting on walking for long distances when you can take a horse or train.

> or (shocking I know) ask people in the street.

Try that in a country like Sri Lanka and at best you'll get scammed by paying a commission for the reference.

Planning only gets you so far. You can't predict everything ( for instance I've had a museum that turned out to be closed, and another one that turned out to be in a really dodgy part of town recently).

As for my age, I'm what Americans who believe in that crap call a millennial, but I'm from Eastern Europe, didn't get my first phone until well into highschool, and my first smartphone slightly less than 10 years ago ( so I've spent more than half my life without a smartphone).

Sri Lankan here. I'm not sure why you have the impression that asking a random person on the street for directions will result in your being scammed. That's certainly not the culture here. In fact, the many foreign friends I've hosted over the years tell me that your average Sri Lankan will go out of their way to help a foreigner—no fees, compensation, or other inducements needed.

You do want be wary of anyone who starts a conversation with you (as opposed to your starting the conversation with them). And yes, if you're in a "touristy" area, you do have a significantly higher chance of meeting someone aiming to rip you off. But these are true of essentially every country in the world—not just Sri Lanka.

Probably bad luck, or more likely, your being in a tourist hotspot.

Putting ethical and moral values aside, your average person on the street (in say, Colombo, or any other "normal" area) has no interest in (or potential gain from) directing anyone towards a scam.

Maybe it's gotten worse due to the current economic crisis, or maybe it was just really bad luck, but multiple people we asked for help/directions tried to scam us ( by saying there's this amazing ceremony happening now and you have to take a tuktuk to get you there quickly, and waving to a seemingly random one from those passing on the street).

I have encountered hustlers countless times and never been scammed. Have a hard rule to never follow strangers. Take generously offered information and go your own way. Be careful of anyone being -too- friendly. The more time you spend interacting with strangers the sooner you start to learn how to spot a hustle from a mile away.

Most people are happy to help point someone in the right direction and maybe offer a tip or two. Tips from locals often reveal great chill spots to explore in a city that the tourist sites have not directed the masses at yet.