Sunday, October 12, 2025

Google Maps Bug

There's an annoying bug with Google Maps that I've encountered a few times whilst being in Indonesia.

You need scooter directions in places like Canggu and Ubud. They differ greatly from car directions.

When I have a VPN on (set to Australia) Google Maps defaults to the Australian settings which I guess is fine in and of itself. However, for some reason scooter directions are not enabled by Australian Google Maps. So I get car directions which often take double the amount of travel time.

The only way to turn this no scooter setting off is to switch the VPN off and clear the app cache (or delete the app) which is very annoying. I just don't understand why Google can't just offer scooter directions when it knows I'm in Bali based on my long and lat (even if my IP is in an Australian location).