Geocaching as a travel tool

[backPAQer]

I'm running geo-scout on my PDA which allows me to download Google maps of anywhere at various scales and of Map, Terrain and Satellite views which are then cached on the device itself so I have local maps at my fingertips in foreign countries without needing that uber-expensive data connection.

We recently visited Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia and, yes, we did some geocaching...but the big and unexpected surprise for me was that travelling around by taxi and having ready access to a map with my current position available really helped get my bearings in unfamiliar places. I learned how to say "turn left, right, go straight, turn around" in Vietnamese and taxi drivers were very surprised that a tourist could guide them around.

Having a GPS was also very handy in keeping the taxis honest. There are taxis over there that have very dodgy meters. One taxi meter reckoned we had travelled 9.5km...I showed him that we had only travelled 2.2km, told him to stop and got out of the cab (he was trying to take us a long way on top of that also...horrible little man)

I was able to guide a Cambodian cabbie to our Quad Bike adventure tour which I think he knew where it was...but because the operation wasn't run by local Khmer people - he refused to acknowledge that such a place existed...but I had the map...turn right, turn left...down here...ah...here's the place!!!

[SamCarter]

I have downloaded the appropriate OSM maps when I have been travelling, mainly because of an intention to go caching, but I too enjoy the added bonus of being able to get oriented and anticipate what is happening as a traveller. It's great, too, to be able to go for a "wander" around the local area and be able to get back to your hotel!

[covert]

Before I started Geocaching I traveled over to the UK with nothing but a backpack. I exited the airport and waited for my GPS to get a fix. From there I guided myself over 200 miles by public transport without feeling lost once. Being comfortable with a GPS when you travel is great.

I did the same in Thailand with Garmin maps and had a great time when I hired a scooter. Knew where I was going, and how to get there. Taxi's did not even bother to try to scam us when they noticed our GPS.

Wish I new about Geocaching then I traveled then...

[Richary]

I was in Cambodia in 1992, well before GPS times. Of course I had great trouble explaining to the cyclo riders where I wanted to go, even showing them the hotel business card written in Khmer didn't work. Luckily it was next to the Independence Monument, so I just opened the Lonely Planet guide I had bought and pointed to the picture. But to get somewhere else unless it was UN HQ often took a bit of work, maps and GPS would have been perfect.