China
Google Maps in China makes you get lost so often
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Johan Kruseman
Updated on 19 August 2024
Updated on 19 August 2024
And it‘s true: Facebook is blocked. But frustratingly enough, they still let the notifications come through, so you‘re constantly reminded of how many messages you‘re missing. Google Maps is even more annoying: they let the map data come through but with a deliberate offset of a few hundred meters in a random direction. This made it a bit challenging to find the metro station. And finding a toilet was the next challenge. I have never been in a country where they speak so little English. Even in the capital, when you ask “where is the toilet?” or simply “toilet???”, prompted by Asian politeness to always give an answer, they respond with “yes yes!” And of all questions, this urgent one is so difficult to explain with gestures in a crowded restaurant.
However, that evening, we (by now, I was with a friend from the Netherlands who has been living here for 5 years) also discovered the advantages of being a tourist. Club Latte had free entry and free drinks all night for white people (and despite two months of sun in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, I still met the selection criteria).
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Traveled route: Trans Mongolie Express,Beijing, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Tian'anmen Square, Great Wall of China, Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, Qingdao
× Google Maps in China makes you get lost so often
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Did this story inspire you to go to China? Read more on what China has to offer, what the best months are for visiting and check the handy links for backpacking there.
