Google maps what?

Now, I use Google maps all the time in the States as I find its the most comprehensive and accurate. It includes pictures, reviews, and more. For the purposes of planning for this trip, I used it to peek at places in Vietnam. On the eve of our departure, I happened to notice I could download an area to later use when offline.

 It took a few minutes and some space to download, but I figured it might be easier than constantly referring to guidebook maps or having no available maps at all (like my Lonely Planet book proved for Cat Ba town)

I had no idea the actual information stored within. 

First, the maps are fully manipulative to zoom in and out to find street names and traffic flows (but not so applicable in the chaotic Hanoi)

Also, you're able to search by address and/or use previously marked landmarks, places, restaurants, and hotels. Best of all, you can save them as denoted by the yellow stars!

The coolest feature, which I was not expecting, is that it can still track your location. The blue dot is still there to tell your location, even though your phone is in airplane mode with no wifi or Bluetooth connections. 

This meant never getting lost! I discovered this on our first day in Hanoi as we attempted to find Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. I expected to use the map to find street names (very well marked in Hanoi) and know where to turn. To my surprise, that little blue dot kept popping up. 

As I followed down expected streets, the blue dot kept updating as we moved. 

Sometimes, it would take a moment to update upon reopening the app, and a gray dot would appear at the last known location. 

And then, just as quickly, it would reappear blue to correctly locate you. 

How cool is this to help you around town, save location you'll need, and make sure you're never lost? As stated in a previous post, we used this to make sure the metered taxi went on the most direct route. It could also be used to show prospective drivers where we want to go. 

From here on out, we just need to download a map area while on wifi for a future city of travel and then, once there, refer to the maps to find sites (like Ho Chi Minh museum above) or put in addresses to find places (36 Ly Thuong Kiet). It's proven an invaluable tool on our first week in country. 

Thank you Google Maps!