By Arden Benner
Much of the world is on lock-down this week and will continue to be for the next several. With that in mind, allow this week’s Map of the Week to take you on a virtual field trip—no travel necessary. Created by Bristol based design agency Green Chameleon, Inside Asia’s Step Inside map series is a tourism site unlike any other. With pathways through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma), once you select a country you are digitally transported into a beautiful and interactive illustration that allows you to take the reins. You can select from dozens of historic and cultural sites by scrolling across the map, and pop-ups will provide vibrant 360-degree photographs and brief descriptions of each place you click. The map is smooth, with clean transitions and minimal loading time, allowing you to get a great deal of adventure directly from your laptop or smartphone.
Although the Step Inside series may have been created with the intention of helping you plan your next vacation, that doesn’t take away from its everyday appeal. Entire countries have been intricately digitized, allowing you to explore whole nations in a matter of minutes from the comfort of wherever you happen to be self-quarantining. Even if you don’t have a destination in mind, the site is equipped with a “Random Location” feature—a button you can click that will drop you wherever it pleases in any of the included countries. No matter what type of adventure you’re looking for, Inside Asia has a plethora of options for you to step inside (see what we did there?). And if you do happen to be planning a post-pandemic getaway, now you have a place to start.