Thai triathlete Panupong Luangsa-ard spent about two years walking roughly 500 km across Thailand with an 18 kg Google Street View Trekker camera on his back. In March 2016 Google added more than 150 new Thai places of interest to Street View, many of them reachable only on foot.

Panupong Luangsa-ard carrying a Trekker camera between planted rows
Panupong Luangsa-ard carrying a Trekker camera between planted rows. Gallery attribution: Google Street View.

Panupong Luangsa-ard and the Street View Trekker

Street View cars cover roads, but temples, beaches, plantations and island trails need a different tool. The Trekker is a backpack fitted with a tall mast of cameras that capture 360-degree panoramas as the wearer walks. Google lends it to partners through its Trekker programme.

Luangsa-ard, a triathlete with the stamina for long days on foot, carried the 18 kg rig across the length and breadth of the country. A Google representative said that while collecting just the tea plantations and strawberry fields he wore out four pairs of shoes.

Thailand Street View imagery – photograph by Google Street View, 2
A Street View camera travelling through a waterside neighbourhood by boat
A Street View camera travelling through a waterside neighbourhood by boat. Gallery attribution: Google Street View.

Thai places added to Street View in 2016

Google announced the new imagery on 29 March 2016, in a post by Street View programme manager Cynthia Wei. Among the 150-plus additions were:

  • Sukhothai Historical Park, ruins of the capital of the 13th- and 14th-century Sukhothai Kingdom, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. The name is said to mean “dawn of happiness”.
  • Wat Chai Watthanaram in Ayutthaya Historical Park.
  • Phanom Rung, a Khmer temple complex built between the 10th and 13th centuries on an extinct volcano in Buriram province.
  • The Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya, built entirely of wood and under construction since 1981.
  • Ancient Siam, including its Old Market Town and the Pavilion of the Enlightened, and the Erawan Museum in Samut Prakan, crowned by a 29-metre bronze three-headed elephant.
  • Viharn Sien Chinese cultural museum, Thai Thani Art & Culture Village and Elephant World, a home for retired elephants.
  • 2000 Tea Plantation and the Ban Nor Lae strawberry fields.
  • Koh Samui’s beaches, the Hin Ta Hin Yai rocks and Koh Nang Yuan.
Thailand Street View imagery – photograph by Google Street View, 3
Thailand Street View imagery – photograph by Google Street View, 4

Using Street View to plan a trip to Thailand

Panoramas are a practical planning tool. Before you travel, use them to:

  • see what the entrance to your hotel or guesthouse looks like;
  • find the ticket office and main gate at a big site such as Sukhothai or Ayutthaya;
  • spot landmarks near a bus stop or pier so you recognise it on arrival;
  • judge how far a beach or viewpoint really is from the road.

Check the capture date shown on each panorama, since shopfronts and paths change. On the day, follow the marked routes and the site rules around sacred buildings.

Thailand Street View imagery – photograph by Google Street View, 5
Thailand Street View imagery – photograph by Google Street View, 6

The person behind the panorama

Street View usually hides the person carrying the camera. Luangsa-ard’s photos put him back in the frame, the camera mast rising above his head as he walks between planted rows. Every smooth click from one panorama to the next on a temple terrace or island trail started with someone walking that ground.

Google’s Street View site collects the Thailand imagery alongside its other special collections.

Thailand Street View imagery – photograph by Google Street View, 7
Thailand Street View imagery – photograph by Google Street View, 8
Thailand Street View imagery – photograph by Google Street View, 9

For another distinctive Thai setting, see our guide to the White Temple near Chiang Rai.

Sources