A Google spokesperson noted that the voyage was no mean feat as the Google Trekker weighs in at 18kgs and the imaging unit is a good 70cms above the wearer’s shoulders. He added that mapping out the tea plantations in just the northern mountains saw Panupong wear out four pairs of shoes.
The batteries of Google Trekkers only last a maximum of eight hours before a recharge is needed. They also only take good images on clear days. These two factors extended the duration of the mapping quest.
The 150 new locations include the historical parks at Ayutthaya and Sukhothai, the Death Railway’s Hellfire Pass and the huge swathe of strawberry fields at Ban Nor Lae. The image of the strawberry fields at the village comes courtesy of android headlines.
Buying travel tickets from 12GO ASIA can get you to, or very close to, the bulk of the new sites mapped out by Mr Luangsa-ard.
Triathlete maps tourism sites on two year Thai travel odyssey
News in Asia
A Thai triathlete has spent the last two years on an odyssey that saw him add 150 new tourist sites to Google Street View. Panupong Luangsa-ard clocked up an estimated half a million kilometres on the expedition which saw him travel to the various sights and then collect images on foot with a Google Trekker strapped to his back.