My Google Maps Addiction, and Why You Should Use It, Too

Today I'd like to talk about how I log what I do for fun around town. It's really nerdy!

For several years now (maybe 4?) I have been using Google Maps to document all the cool places I've visited, what I've eaten, and all the great coffee I've had to drink.

It sounds kind of inane now that I'm saying it out loud, but I absolutely love using this service, mostly on my phone. It has even become something of an addiction, I'd say! 'Must get rid of the yellow marks...!'

Here's the overview of my immediate neighborhood, for example:

• Blue checks are the places (cafes and restaurants, mostly) that I've visited and reviewed.
• Yellow checks are the ones I haven't been to yet but want to visit. 

The orange ones are the standard google maps suggestions, which are sometimes accurate for your interests and sometimes not. I don't let Google track my location, so these are pretty random for me, personally.

Let me tell you about why this is a great way to explore HCMC, or any city - click through for more!

Why track your experiences on Google Maps?

1. There's an infinite variety of places to try. Seriously.

Ho Chi Minh City is one of the best food destinations in South East Asia, hands down. You can get almost anything here, at any price point from street food to haute cuisine. 

On top of that, Vietnamese cuisine is INCREDIBLY wide and deep - there are the three regional cuisines, and endless permutations, and all can be found here. Some good, some great, some mind-blowing, and the occasional dud... but never boring.

This is a city of 13 million people, which means food and coffee and smoothies and everything for 13 million people, every day. That is A LOT of restaurants and cafes, and every one is unique! (Except the chains, of course, and I don't often frequent chains.) I have no idea when (if? stupid COVID) I'll be able to leave Vietnam again, perhaps for good, and I want to know this city's food scene inside and out before I go.

Example: The highest-rated entries for 'Pho'

2. Keep track of your favorites.

By mapping your experiences in Maps, you can track where you've been, what new places pop up around you, and maintain a to-visit list for the future. This is personally helpful because if someone asks me my favorite cafe, I instantly blank, and my first question would be something like: "What kind of cafe? Garden? Retro? Traditional? Streetside?" and it's a very annoying process for my questioner.

Here's a wider (but, notably, NOT COMPLETE map of the city - it is enormous!!) view of my maps, including most of the center Districts:

(Sadly, this even leaves out much of Districts 2, 7, 9, and Thu Duc, all of which I have places I want to go to. As for the Northwestern districts, Tan Binh and Tan Phu, District 12, and Southwest, Districts 6 and 8... those are so far away from me and not on my way to work, so I rarely get to visit. But always willing to travel for something exceptional!)

3. You're ready to answer that eternal question, "Where do you want to meet?" at any time, for any area.

With a to-visit list hundreds of places long scattered over a dozen or more districts, there's something near whatever part of the city I'm on my way to visit, no matter how near or far. There's an army of people logging their new experiences every hour of every day - take advantage of it! To top it off, you can also prepare for upcoming vacations by checking out the highest rated places in your destination. I frequently dig through Maps looking for specialties or specialities before visiting a new city or area.

Example of a food street I want to visit but haven't had the opportunity yet.

4. It's a cheap hobby.

It's not like eating is a hobby you pick up - you kinda have to do it.

You can get a cup of coffee for 1 or 2 USD, a meal for 3-4 bucks, and there's a functionally infinite number of places to try... if you're going out for lunch or to work in a cafe anyway, why not check out someplace new? It costs you nothing extra but the gas in your motorbike. I've discovered some of my all-time favorites this way, places that I recommend to friends and visit again and again.

An typical entry for a visited cafe.

5. It's a game.

Google Maps uses gamification, which means it has a badge and point system which reward contributions to the platform (sadly not with money, haha). I've recently reached Level 9, and I feel really good about it! That's a lot of pictures helping people make decisions (10 million picture views is not nothing, true story)! It gives you a sense of satisfaction and achievement just for doing your normal coffee breaks and lunches that you'd go to anyway.

6. You're helping others who come after you.

By making sure that information is up to date, menus and prices are clearly posted, hours are noted, new places are added, and shuttered places are erased, you're helping other people make decisions about where to go and what to eat and drink. In such an enormous city, like HCMC, this is a seriously useful service.

If someone's looking for coffee on a budget, they might not want to get into a cafe only to realize it's nice but out of their budget. The same for meals - Vietnamese reviewers can be VERY picky about their food, and it's nice to read about what people are thinking before committing yourself to a bowl of noodles you might find unpalatable.

Check out prices and dishes/drinks before you go.

7. Find new dishes!

One of my favorite aspects is that this is how I've discovered a whole bunch of Vietnamese dishes that I have *never* heard of before finding them on Maps. From obscure regional specialties to almost extinct dishes (truly!) that only a few places still prepare, you can find them here and make your plans to visit.

In the end...

If you're curious and looking for new places to try, my recommendation is to set up a list in Maps and start tracking your favorites and looking for new favorites. You won't regret it.

Another great resource for reviews of places in Vietnam is foody.vn, which hosts reviews (mostly in Vietnamese) and pictures. The reviews are often more in-depth than you can find in Google Maps, and very useful for double checking hours of operation or if a shop is closed permanently. The youngsters are all over this.

What resources do you use to find hidden gems in your city?