Thailand Gets Street View

Wat Arun, Bangkok

With all the excitement of the release of Street View in the Amazon the release of Street View imagery in Poland and Thailand has almost gone unnoticed.

Poland now has Street View coverage in most of the major towns and in Thailand there is a lot of coverage in and around Bangkok and in the north around Chiang Mai.

The Thailand Floods on Google Maps

The floods in Thailand now look set to affect the capital, Bangkok. The government has decided to open flood gates to try and control the flow of the flood waters through the city's canals.

The likely affect will be flooding around the canals and officials have urged residents in seven Bangkok districts to move their possessions to higher ground.

The Thailand Flood Monitoring System is using Google Maps to show the areas currently affected by the flooding.

Google Crisis Response has also created a Google Map for the 2011 Thailand Floods.

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Thailand Floods - Google Crisis Response

In Thailand flood waters have swamped more than two-thirds of the country. Google Crisis Response has created a Google Map for the 2011 Thailand Floods.

As well as providing emergency contact information for people in the country the map contains a number of selectable layers. The map's initial view shows the flood affected areas across Thailand. It is also possible to view:

• Flooding extents
• Recent satellite imagery
• Bangkok risk areas and water barriers
• Shelters
• Parking areas
• Flooded highways

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Where Street View Fears to Tread

There are still quite a lot of gaps in Street View's coverage around the world. Luckily a number of other providers have created their own Google Maps based Street View applications to try and plug these gaps.

China - with City8

In China City8 have created extensive interactive 360 degree panoramas in 45 of the country's biggest cities.

MapJack

As well as providing Street View type imagery in the USA, Canada, Singapore and Sweden Mapjack has also ventured where Google Street View has so far feared to tread. MapJack has great coverage in Malaysia, Thailand and Puerto Rico.

Norc

Norc has great coverage in central and eastern Europe, including in Poland and Austria, where Google's Street View cars have yet to drive.

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Google Maps of Bangkok Traffic

Bangkok Traffic

Bangkok Traffic is a driving directions application for the Thai capital that also displays real-time traffic information.

To get driving directions you can drop two map markers on a Google Map or enter your starting point and destination into the search box. Your route is then displayed on the map and listed in the map sidebar.

Also displayed on the map is real-time traffic information, showing current traffic speeds on the city's roads. It is also possible to click on the webcam map markers to view real-time images from the city's traffic cams.

Via: ProgrammableWeb

Traffy

Traffy is another very good Google Map of traffic conditions in Bangkok. Roads on the map are coloured green, yellow or red depending on the current traffic conditions.

Traffy can also provide driving directions. If users define a start point and destination Traffy will provide the best current route, avoiding where possible traffic jams. Traffy also includes map markers of traffic cams. When you click on a camera map marker an image of the current road conditions is shown in the map sidebar.

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Thailand Protests on Google Maps

Red Crisis in Bangkok

The Bangkok Post have produced this Google My Map to show the extent of the troubles between the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) and the army in Bangkok.

The map seems very up-to-date (as I write it was updated 1 hour ago). However, according to The New York Times, staff members of The Bangkok Post "were forced to flee attacks in the capital".

The map shows the locations of the clashes in the city between government forces and protesters from the UDD.

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Explore Thailand with Google Maps

Thailand Globetrotter

This stunning looking Google Maps mashup from the Tourism Authority of Thailand showcases some beautiful photographs of this Southeast Asian country.

The homepage features a full-screen Google Map with a photo thumbnail menu. If you roll over any of the photographs the map automatically zooms to the picture's location. Clicking on any of the photographs takes you to the main page for that location.

Each individual location page features a slideshow of the area and its own Google Map. Every map on the page has a tinted overlay to ensure the map fits in with the overall design of the website. It really is a beautifully designed website.

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Google Map of Thai Real Estate

ReThai

ReThai uses the Google Maps API to show properties for sale or rent in Thailand. Anyone can advertise a property listing on the map for free by registering with the site. Real estate agents can even add a logo and business details to their properties added to ReThai.

It is possible to search for properties on the map by price range, property type and location. Clicking on a property's map marker opens an information window with information about the listing and direct contact details of the property's owner.

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