CeeGee Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Coming to Chiang Mai with a hire car,I have driven a fair bit in Thailand and have a Thai(female) to read the road signs. Once I get into Chiang Mai is a Gps going to be any good in locating hotels or is the system just not up to it.Anyone have an experience of using one in the town itself?Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justcruisin Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 GPS works anywhere in the world so why do you think it wont work in Chiang Mai? If the device is loaded with the latest version of ESRI maps you will find it invaluable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinnieTheKhwai Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 It could actually be useful because a lot of downtown Chiang Mai is one-way. Also it gives peace of mind when driving, that you know you're on the right track. So while it's not essential, because signage by and large is pretty good, it does help you a little in unknown surroundings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terminatorchiangmai Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Some months when there is a lot of smog it doesn't work at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippydedodah Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Some months when there is a lot of smog it doesn't work at all. hmmm... perhaps that depends on your brand of GPS... never found mine to be an issue during smoggy months. I have found that very rarely it tells me to go down a street the wrong way (meaning it is one-way the opposite way)... and i have been here 3 yrs, using a garmin and that particular street has yet to be updated on the GPS...other issues include getting the right english spelling for places and/or streets... the actual road sign might spell it Ban, but the gps spells it Baan... little things like that make me nuts, but letting the thai wife switch it over to thai language usually resolves that issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbrock Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I have been here nearly seven weeks, and have found the GPS on my phone invaluable. Typing in the address is dicey due to different naming conventions, as zippydedodah mentioned, but 'dropping a pin' where I want to go and routing from my current location takes seconds. I have dozens of bookmarks now, that makes getting where I want to go from wherever I am a hell of a lot easier than if i was relying on street signs. Occasionally, it has directed me into sois that are too narrow for the car (which I knew by going up there on the bike), but it's easy to reroute... After seven weeks here, I can get around fairly easy on my own, but it's good to have the GPS to check which is the shortest route, which I still haven't gotten my head around in some cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckarooBanzai Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 When visiting an area that I am not familiar with I spend some time on Google looking for interesting places to see and things to do. Keep some notes on your phone on what each site you want to visit (name) and what it has to offer. After loading these sites into the GPS a quick punch of some take me there buttons and I am on my way. They are the closest thing to magic made available to the public in quite some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbrock Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 They are the closest thing to magic made available to the public in quite some time. They truly are. I trawled through all the food and coffee threads in the CM forum, and have quite a few places bookmarked on my phone; whenever we're out and want to eat, it's always easy to find something good (or other people find good, but I don't, as has been the case...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simoncnx Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I agree. Got sygic loaded on my android its brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wales01 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Some months when there is a lot of smog it doesn't work at all. You are joking correct! You must have a Mickey Mouse GPS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckarooBanzai Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Some months when there is a lot of smog it doesn't work at all. You are joking correct! You must have a Mickey Mouse GPS I think you may have this thread confused with the "smoke detector" thread available somewhere else on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrry Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Some months when there is a lot of smog it doesn't work at all. You are joking correct! You must have a Mickey Mouse GPS I think you may have this thread confused with the "smoke detector" thread available somewhere else on the internet. Maybe he needs those yellow smoke glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefoot1988 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 it depends really. i find chiang mai road here pretty straight forward, if its just about making trips to your hotel and various other attraction points a gps might alittle overkill. just briefly check out the map online before you head out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckarooBanzai Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 it depends really. i find chiang mai road here pretty straight forward, if its just about making trips to your hotel and various other attraction points a gps might alittle overkill. just briefly check out the map online before you head out I enjoy exploring the Khmer ruins in the Northeast. These do not have big signs that say This way, Just ahead, Turn here, etc. To my mind the use of a GPS is far from overkill and in fact a necessity. I am adept at map reading but find the aid of a GPS unit similar to using a lighter instead of rubbing two sticks together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriginalPoster Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Some months when there is a lot of smog it doesn't work at all. ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FolkGuitar Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I enjoy exploring the Khmer ruins in the Northeast. These do not have big signs that say This way, Just ahead, Turn here, etc. To my mind the use of a GPS is far from overkill and in fact a necessity. I am adept at map reading but find the aid of a GPS unit similar to using a lighter instead of rubbing two sticks together. I use my GPS all the time. I have both hand-held and vehicle-mounted units, and though I don't need them to get to the market and back, they certainly do come in handy when I'm in new areas and don't know my way around. And after a day spend riding around back roads, just taking one after another after another in no particular fashion seeing what we can see, it's nice to just push the button that say's 'Go Home' and have the GPS show us the way... As long as the base map is up to date, it's a great resource. For Garmin GPS models, there is a 2011 road map available, with most of the major roads and many of the minor ones well marked. Sometimes the naming convention throws us off, but it's not usually that much of a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TongueThaied Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I absolutely live by mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBD Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 If you mean how good are the maps in the GPS at locating hotels, my Garmin is excellent. It doesn't have every single place in, but it has directed me to some out of the way places that I never would have found otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mic6ard Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 it sure helps, but very handy to have a map as well. Sometimes GPS will get messed up and take you for a side trip. Mine did that the other day. Or a totally fluke (happened once, never again) my dang GPS couldn't find the way home from Lumpoon!!!! Usually it'll take the most obvious route, but most often not the best route. Works wonder when you're inside the old city, the roads & soi there are a bit troublesome, have to really pay attention to the 'alerts'. Have to becareful of spelling, as sometimes there are differences between the machine and what you see on the map/internet. Eventually, if you are here long enough, it'll become a "just in case" equipment. sometimes I use mine just to see which route it'll take me home by, from different places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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