History of Google Street View / Laos
(Source: SV-Map)
In July 2014, Google Asia Pacific announced at the Don Chan Palace Hotel in Vientiane that it would be driving in various parts of the city in order to introduce Street View (Lao: ກູ່ເກິ້ລ ສຕຣີດ ວິວ) into the country.[1]
The project was supported by the Ministry of Cooperation and Planning with representatives such as Phoukhong Chitlooklok as well as approval from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of Laos.[2]
Google previously showed interest in mapping part of Laos since 2012, where several events were held to improve the country's database at the National University in Vientiane.[3]
In 2015, Google announced several products specifically for the Laotian market, namely the introduction of Lao to their translation service.[4] In addition, the first country coverage was also published in July of the same year around Vientiane and nearby areas.[5]
The project was overseen by Google Thailand, which sent a vehicle to the country to cover the city.[6] In 2016, Google introduced street view to more Laotian cities using a Gen 3 Trekker pickup, specifically Luang Prabang, Pakse and Savannkhet in addition to the tourist town of Vang Vieng.[7]
The project was supported by the Thai company “360 View Hub”, where several of its members had previously worked on street view projects in Thailand. In late August 2016, this company explained in more detail to the public about the expansion of coverage in these Laotian cities, where the mapping team photographed the Pakse Bridge (Lao: ຂົວ ປາກເຊ) passing over the Mekong River.[8] The mapping team also prioritized to capture the historical center of Luang Prabang, characterized by influences of Traditional Architecture dating back to the Lan Xang (Lao: ລ້ານຊ້າງ) period.[9]
Additionally, 360 View Hub clarified that one of the reasons why the project also included certain streets in Vang Vieng, a relatively small town located in Vientane Prefecture, was due to the presence of Asian tourists in this part of Laos, where they tried to photograph areas around the hotels.[10]
History
Note: We take into account the date when the coverage was taken, not the date when it was published.
Source: Laos' Coverage Dates - Emily Geo Website
| Year | Additions |
|---|---|
| 2014 |
|
| 2015 |
|
| 2016 |
|
Gallery
Trekkers
Gen 3 Car Cameras
Note: Many thanks to David Jessop for supplying us with these photos from the Google Street View car in the capital of Laos.
Gen 3 Pickup
Note: Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of the Google Street View Pickup driving through Savannakhet, Pakse or Luang Prabang, any photographic help would help us a lot.
References
"Google Street View to map Laos" (2014-07-23) WorkLiveLaos
"VO Google, in cooperation with the Lao government begins broadcasting images of Laos through the Street View technology" (2014-07-28) Lao National Television-English News Program
"Lao Map Maker Competition" (2012) GTUG Vientiane (in Lao)
"ສ້າງການມີສ່ວນຮ່ວມໃຫ້ Google ຮູ້ຈັກພາສາລາວຫລາຍຂຶ້ນ" [Translation: Encourage participation to help Google improve its understanding of the Lao language] (2015-11-11) Mahason Mazagine via Facebook (in Lao)
"Google brings net surfers street views of Vientiane" (2015-07-20) Lao News Agency
"Google unveils first Street View imagery of Vientiane" (2015-07-14) Google Thailand Blog
Take a Virtual Drive - More Lao Cities on Google Streetview (2016-10-25) LaoConnection
"ยังอยู่ที่ สปป ลาว Admin พาไปเที่ยว "ปากเซ หรือ Pakse" แขวง จำปาสัก ภาคใต้ของ สปป ลาว แปลกตาน่าค้นหา ไปข้ามน้ำโขงที่ ปากเซ กันครับ นี่เลย Google Street View พาไป" [Translation: Still in Laos, Admin takes you to visit "Pakse", Champasak Province, southern Laos. It's strange and worth exploring. Let's cross the Mekong River at Pakse. Here, Google Street View takes you there.] (2016-08-30) 360 View Hub via Facebook (in Thai)
"วันนี้ Admin นำ ภาพ Google Street View สวยงาม ในหลวงพระบาง เมืองมรดกโลก เต็มไปด้วย สถาปัตยกรรม สมัยล้านช้าง ดั้งเดิม สามารถเข้าไปดูได้แล้วนะครับ ใครจะไปทำธุรกิจ หรือ ไปเที่ยวที่ หลวงพระบาง ไปดูสถานที่กันก่อนได้เลยครับ" [Translation: Today, Admin brings beautiful Google Street View images in Luang Prabang, a world heritage city filled with original Lan Xang architecture. You can go and have a look now. Anyone who is going to do business or travel to Luang Prabang, go and see the place first.] (2016-08-30) 360 View Hub via Facebook (in Thai)
"สถานที่ท่องเที่ยวที่ ฮอตฮิต ติดอันดับต้นๆ ของภูมิภาค อินโดจีน ในตอนนี้คงจะหนีไม่พ้น วังเวียง Vangvieng มาแล้วครับ ตั้งอยู่ทางทิศเหนือของ นครหลวงเวียงจันทน์ (นี่ยังอยู่ในเวียงจันทน์นะครับ) นั่งรถจากเวียงจันทน์ประมาณ 3 ชั่วโมง ที่วังเวียงนี้อยากพักที่ไหน ให้ Google Street View พาไป อาจจะไม่ครบทั้งหมดแต่ก็ดูได้ พอเป็น ไอเดีย ก่อนไปเนอะ นักท่องเที่ยวชาว เกาหลี ญี่ปุ่น ใต้หวัน จีน เต็มไปหมด 5555" [Translation: One of the hottest tourist attractions in the Indochina region right now is Vang Vieng. It's located to the north of Vientiane (we're still in Vientiane). It's about a 3 hour drive from Vientiane. If you want to stay anywhere in Vang Vieng, let Google Street View take you there. It might not be all of them, but it's good enough to give you an idea before you go. There are Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese tourists everywhere, haha.] (2016-08-30) 360 View Hub via Facebook (in Thai)
