Update: The app below is now discontinued, but my tours are now available via the VoiceMap app, for iPhone and Android. Check them out here.

Well, it’s taken the better part of 18 months, but the Bangkok walking tour app that I’ve helped put together is finally available for download! As of launch, there are 4 tours available that take you on foot through some of Bangkok’s most interesting areas, from a quick food walk through Chinatown to a half-day route that takes you clear across the city (don’t worry – part of it is on a boat). Using your iPhone’s GPS, you follow the mapped route while listening to an audio track (ahem, me) talk about the area you’re walking through. Bonus: headphones block out the noise of Bangkok!

The app started almost two years ago when my friends Bessie and Kyle asked me to put the content together for a walking tour app. They had already launched one for Vienna and wanted to see if they could add Bangkok to the mix. It sounded like a great idea, so I got started.

However, I soon found out that mapping a route, researching its noteworthy points, writing the script, and recording, re-recording & editing the audio took a long time, much longer than I had anticipated. On top of all that I had my regular job and life to lead, so the process got stretched out a bit.

What you'll see on iTunes.

What you’ll see on iTunes.

And then the anti-government protests started up (again). It wasn’t a problem until people started getting killed (again), travel warnings were put out for Thailand (again), and a coup and curfew threw everyone into panic (again). So when, after 6 months, things got back to “normal” (or as close as they can, anyway), we thought it was finally okay to release.

If you’re coming to Thailand, or even live here and want to dig a bit deeper into an area you might not be familiar with, please give the app a try. It’s $2.99 (95 baht) on the app store (sorry, no Android) which is less than a Starbucks coffee. Well, at least the one I buy every day. If it’s received well, I have a few more tours in the back of my mind that I’d love to add in the future.

Two screenshots from inside the app.

Two screenshots from inside the app.

And if you’re wondering, yes, I was a bit concerned that using my cartoon face as the icon for the app would seem a bit douchey, but we decided that it was colorful, unique, and representative of me. That app, after all, is called Greg’s Bangkok.

I hope you like it.