Chawin: I used to be a freelance photographer. I was asked by the Google team if I was passionate about traveling, able to deal with unexpected situations, be observant and fast working—I answered yes and I got the job.

 

Anuchit: Right now, we’ve shot 25 provinces. By the end of the year, we are launching the Street View special collections, which involves the use of a camera backpack to capture areas that cars cannot access.

 

Chawin: The Street View camera is very expensive and I need to take good care of it. Each operator drives alone. It takes independence and a strong mind. 

 

Chawin: They’re curious, but mostly in a positive way. Many people ask me who we are and what we are doing. We explain to them that we are promoting tourism, like when we met Burmese troops controlling the border in the Northern provinces. We simply told them that we want to show images of the area so that travelers can be aware of the real situation there. 

 

Anuchit: Our safety is the most important thing; when any of us are in trouble, we stop working, and go and help each other. I am based in Bangkok, and every morning I turn on the GPS tracker to see which car has their device on. If one’s not on, I’ll call them to check if everything is OK or if there’s been an accident. 

 

Chawin: They thought our car was suspicious, not knowing that the equipment on top was a camera. We showed them the documents and explained our project to them, saying that we worked with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to promote tourism. We were lucky that the head of Street View was a local and can speak their dialect. This made them more accepting of us. We were asked to confess the truth in front of the monks. We did it and showed our respect to them. We’d been trained on what to say when locals approach us. We are trained to be polite, calm and truthful to villagers; to respect their property. 

 

Chawin: I drove past a spirit house, the camera captured the location, and then all the power turned off. I don’t know what happened!