One of the newest entrants into the street-level imagery field is the Chinese search engine Soso, which gives us a first-hand look at the portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs above Tiananmen Gate.

In addition to covering major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hainan, Soso gives viewers a rare look into the steppes, deserts, and mountains of Qinghai and Tibet; for example, this breathtaking mountain lake in the Himalayan foothills.

The Tibetan capital of Lhasa was captured on a busy market day, where we can see numerous statues of Buddha for sale in this stall (and numerous marketgoers in protective surgical masks).

Interfax is a Belarusian site that has fairly extensive street-level imagery in the cities of Minsk and Hrodna. It’s not especially high-resolution, but we do get fantastic shots of places such as the main intersection in Minsk – yes, even the largely advert-free capital has a McDonald’s – and the palatial-yet-futuristic Drama Theatre of Hrodna.

Offering imagery at an even lower resolution is Greece’s Kapou. For example, here’s a full-size shot of the legendary Panathinaiko Stadium, birthplace of the modern Olympics in 1896. Kind of underwhelming, isn’t it?

By contrast, the Romanian site NORC is loaded with high-res imagery in Eastern and Central Europe. While Google have a fairly decent presence in Romania, one place they have yet to visit is the Danube River. NORC not only did that, it did so by mounting its camera on a boat, allowing viewers to travel right down the middle of the Danube, through the forest and swamps of the Danube delta and right into the Black Sea.

Amarillas, the Chilean answer to the Yellow Pages, host what they call Street Diving on their Planos mapping service for the capital of Santiago. Founded in 1541, the city is home to numerous historic buildings, including the Palacio de La Moneda, the seat of the Chilean president.

We end our look at Street View rivals with MapJack, which currently shows high-resolution coverage in the major Thai tourist region of Phuket. Not only are the roadways covered, but beaches as well (sometimes in the same shot).

ED: Remember what we said in Part 1 about Google uploading new Polish imagery between the time this article was submitted last week and now? Yup, they released imagery for Thailand that day as well. Fortunately for MapJack, as you’ll see below, they’ve still got imagery in places Google haven’t reached yet. It should also be said that MapJack’s imagery is much sunnier.

At Phang Nga Bay, MapJack even takes you right onto the beach, where there doesn’t seem to be a soul in sight – a rather relaxing way to end our tour (preferably lying on a deck chair with a stiff beverage in hand).

Locations: Belarus, Chile, China, Greece, Romania, Thailand / Categories: Buildings, Crowds, Monuments, Natural Landmarks, Stadiums and Sport, Street Views

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The walls are riddled with cracks, as though the building had been rocked by a huge earthquake. Just one of several Ripley’s attractions in this tourist-destination city, it is a relatively recent building. The original museum here was destroyed by a real disaster in the form of a fire in 1992.

Tourist towns are a natural fit for Ripley’s bizarre collections which include genetically mutated animals (two headed creatures are a favourite) and relics from infamous events. In Niagara Falls, Ontario, visitors who tire of watching water flow over a cliff can walk up Clifton Hill where they’ll find a prostrate version of the Empire State Building, complete with King Kong.

The details are worth noting, including the person hanging out of a window and the helicopter on the ‘top’ of the building.

Meanwhile Blackpool’s beachfront museum has a veritable trove of exterior oddities, including Jeep embedded in the entranceway with an explorer climbing a rope to escape and a pair of legs sticking out of the wall. On the roof there’s a dinosaur wearing a large clock – maybe he thinks he’s Flavor Flav?

It’s a little hard to make out on the satellite view, but the Odditorium in Thailand’s resort town Pattaya has a plane crashed into its walls. Something similar also happened at the Ripley’s in the small town of Wisconsin Dells.

Another transportation-themed museum is found in Panama City Beach, Florida, where an ocean liner has ‘washed up’ several hundred metres from the shore.

The Street View car even pulled into the parking lot for a visit – giving us a close up look at the lifeboat!

In Branson, Missouri, there is another ‘earthquake-ravaged‘ building, while in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the museum looks as though it has been damaged by the many storms that hit this hurricane-prone region.

Finally, the Ripley’s museum in Guadalajara, Mexico, is not at all architecturally unusual, but Street View does allow us to see an exhibit – a silver Rolls Royce, which I believe (if Google Translate is correct) was once the property of La Doña Maria Félix, a notable Mexican actress.

You can learn more at Wikipedia, or Ripley’s official website.

Locations: England, Florida, Mexico, Missouri, Ontario, Tennessee, Thailand, Wisconsin / Categories: Buildings, Street Views, Weirdness

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Chiang Mai was the original capitol of the Kingdom of Lanna, who built and inhabited of the area until 1558, when it came under Burmese rule. The Lanna people fled to Lampang, just east of Chiang Mai.

In 1767, the Burmese attacked the city of Ayutthaya in the south. This triggered the northern Lanna people and the southern Kingdom of Siam (now the Kingdom of Thailand) to combine forces to remove the Burmese from both cities. The wall did not hold long after that, and today can only be seen in small sections, mostly isolated in each corner.

The city lay abandoned and in ruin until 1796, when Chiang Mai became a part of the Kingdom of Siam. During that time it was used as a separate northern trade centre, second only to Bangkok. Bangkok is roughly 580km (360 miles) south of Chiang Mai and transportation at the time was dangerous. It wasn’t until the 1920s that transportation became more readily available and Bangkok once again was the centre of the Kingdom.

Today, Chiang Mai has expanded beyond the borders of the moat, and the population has grown to nearly one million. The influence of the Lanna is still present today – the local handicrafts, cuisine, ceremonies, and much more are distinctive from the rest of Thailand.

Locations: Thailand / Categories: Structures

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The north island of New Zealand is home to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki- maungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

Generally called Taumata, the Maori name for this 305m high hill in it’s full form can be translated as The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one, though there are a number of other forms with different meanings.

In Wales we find the the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Often shortened to Llanfair PG, the name was invented in the 1860s as a means to attract tourists and can be translated as St Mary’s church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave. Wikipedia has a helpful guide to pronunciation should you wish to visit.

Massachusetts is home to Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaug.

More commonly called Webster Lake, the name comes from the native Nipmuck language and means fishing place at the boundary, though again there are other forms with different meanings.

While the above are all names with a single word, the Guinness World Record for longest official name gives the title to the city of Bangkok: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.

This translates as The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukam. More info at Wikipedia.

Thanks to Shea Marshall and Dave Lartigue.

Locations: Massachusetts, New Zealand, Thailand, Wales / Categories: Natural Landmarks, Weirdness

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Starting in Britain there’s an E-3 Sentry at RAF Mildenhall. This is one of seven that the RAF purchased and named Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Bashful and Doc.

Hopping over to France we see 3 of 4 E-3s owned by the Armée de l’Air.

Further afield there’s Khorat airfield in Thailand. I think this is actually a US E-3 and part of “Cope Tiger”, an annual, multinational exercise for practising interoperability with U.S. Forces. There’s also various fighter planes to see just to the South.

The US Air Force owns 34 E-3s in total and 28 of them are stationed at Tinker AFB (although I only count 13). Tinker AFB’s claim to fame is that in 1948 the first ever Tornado warning was issused from here (about 3 hours before it hit).

Also worth seeing while we’re in the area is another Children’s Play Area and B-52 and B-1B bombers which, according to submitter “West,” are being refitted with new electronics to allow them to carry and drop JDAM munitions.

Thanks: Don Mecoy, Mike, DFarmer, DDA, Grant hutchins, West, pooms, CraX & teuf

Locations: England, Oklahoma, Thailand / Categories: Aircraft

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Told you it was ridiculous.

Thanks to DC.

Locations: Thailand / Categories: Weirdness

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And despite all these huge numbers, apparently the restaurant fills up completely by mid-morning. Typical!

Thanks to Matthew Sz

Locations: Thailand / Categories: Buildings

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Also noticible is the temple’s golden pagoda which contains holy Buddha relics attracting Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world.

Thanks: Hendrik Räcker

Locations: Thailand / Categories: Buildings

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