HAYITSNAY

map girls inc.

as a kid i was extremely lucky to have had travel be part of my annual activities. though. these trips were often not the beautifully instagrammable adventures social media makes you drool at your screens for.

it was usually a lot of my parents dragging me and my sibling to various relatives’ and family friends’ houses. and no mum. i don’t know who they are. no aunty. i don’t remember your name. no uncle. i don’t remember when i visited last. and yes everyone. i have grown. that’s what happens when you apply time to children.

let’s be clear. these trips were not bad. i am extremely grateful to have been able to experience so many places and meet so many different people. but here’s the thing: i never did any of the planning.

i get in the car. and that’s that.

fast forward to the past few years. apparently i am now an adult. and if i want to go somewhere, especially abroad. i have to like. book it? pay for it? get myself to the airport? remember my documents? make sure i have enough time? remember to not pack liquids in my hand luggage that are over 100ml? empty my pencil case for scissors because they will find them. and they will bin them? what a faff.

but you know. i am a person who likes to figure out a system to deal with processes. so i can deal with this. i’ve made a master travel checklist for packing and for leaving the house. and now i don’t think about it twice.

getting to the place is now not the problem.

but you know what is the problem?

what on earth do i do when i get there?

beforehand. mum stormed into where i was sleeping. demanded i get ready because we were “leaving at 10am to [ ]”. mum did explain what we were doing. but to be honest. it never mattered. so i would get ready. get in the car. and that was that.

now. i’m in like seoul. my friend is asking me what i’m going to do because they are meeting an old friend for an afternoon, so i’ll be alone. and i realise. i have no clue.

how did i make it this far, you might be thinking. well. normally i just absorb the interests of whoever i am travelling with. be in sightseeing spots, museums or food establishments. once i know what the group is interested in, i just make it my objective to try and ensure we are able to do all the things they wanted to do. whether i cared for those things or not.

do i not have interests of my own? you know. this question makes me feel really guilty. because my answer is… no not really. i am so used to being dragged to places. the things we did were always the things the locals thought were important. and for me. that became my interest. some of the most interesting things i have done in countries across the world have been relatively minor things.

i will never forget eating ostrich meat in south africa.

i will never forget seeing a recently slaughtered goat being drained in the back garden in ethiopia.

i will never forget learning how to play rather aggressive versions of jump rope and ludo in ghana.

i will never forget lazy lunches (which bled into lazy dinners) in italy.

i will never forget the sheer size of everything in florida. cars. houses. land. supermarkets. everything.

so no. i don’t know what i am interested in. i am not self-centred enough to think i know what your country has to offer me.

thus i’ve found myself turning to travel blogs. while they might not be a local* at least they have some experience of the place. however. if i have already decided to go to the place, then i really don’t care about the travel writer’s own adventure. since. i’m going to be going there soon. what i care about is, where did they go? what did they do? what did they eat?

in this regard. itineraries and top 10 lists have been super useful. it’s just the key info. you’re in this city? hit these places. they are the best things around here.

BUT ITINERARIES AND TOP 10 LISTS ARE MILDY USELESS.

why are they useless?

because where are any of these places? i went to sapporo in hokkaido, japan with a friend. travel lists be like, “you have to Tour the Ishiya Chocolate Factory”. okay. sure. pop that into google maps. it’s a solid 30 minute train journey from where we are staying. that’s not an issue. but it is something that needs to be planned for. this is because we were to spend most of our time in the city centre where the snow festival was. also. most things to do in sapporo are within walking distance of the snow festival. so this would be out of the way.

which is why. i have a proposition. introducing: TRAVEL MAPS.

all the effort you put into writing that top 10 list or itinerary. stop. don’t do it.

travel blog writers. carry on. you are writing your personal experiences and people are reading for the flourish of story telling. this does not concern you.

but. if you’re making a document you expect travellers to use. don’t write a list. make a map. actually. do both.

and no. NOT a google maps list. i’m talking a google MyMaps map.

what’s the difference?

MyMaps are a google drive document, but in map form. you can choose the colour of the map. you can search up and pin places. you can choose the icons. you can choose the colour of the icon. you can add a description. you can add different pins on different layers so they can be shown/hidden at will. and most importantly, when opened, the the traveller can see where they are in relation to any of the places.

if you click on any of the pins it will give you the option to open it in google maps and you can get directions directly there.

professional move. if you wanted, you can even plot the walking routes which connect the places you are recommending together. this is for the ultimate guide. people would just have to follow along.

i don’t really know why this isn’t already much of a thing.

i’m a genius.

proof of concept: i travelled around Onomichi and the Seto Inland Sea (2021)

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*is there a culture of locals writing travel blogs/itineraries/MAPS for their own cities and towns?

i am relatively new to reading travel blogs. but for the most part it seems to be people who have gone and travelled to the place writing of their experience. is there a culture of locals making itineraries and guides for the own cities? that’s immensely more useful. if you’re reading this. go write a travel guide for your own town. and make sure you make a map too. go on. i’m waiting. you can post it in the comments. i’m serious. chop chop.