When we were living in the States, Dear Hubby and I couldn't seem to leave the house without our Garmin. We had come to rely on our nifty little street navigator for getting around the city (kind of wonky in Manhattan though because of the tall buildings, but great to have for a general sense of direction), more so when we were going out of town and had to take the freeway.
One time a friend of ours who stayed over our place accidentally packed our Garmin (they had the exact same model as ours), as we were about to go leave for a roadtrip to Hudson Valley. We felt like an arm had been cut off when we had to stick to our convoy while our friends led the way because we had no idea how we were going to our destination. That really made us realize how much our Garmin made our lives so much easier.
But my favorite Garmin story would be that of our friend Eric's. He entered a one way street where an NYPD police car was parked and a tough looking cop flagged him down. He was about to be handed a ticket when he told the officer that it was the Garmin who made him turn on that street. He even showed the Garmin screen, pleading his case and all the cop could do was let him go. Talk about passing the blame on a machine! Haha!
So guess how psyched I was when I found out that Garmin nüvi® can now be used in the Philippines! Say goodbye to getting lost talaga! Don't know how it'll go down with our local traffic enforcers though when you use it as an excuse for a violation. Hee! Pre-loaded with Philippine roadmaps - from the tip of Luzon all the way to Mindanao, those with a poor sense of direction now don't to have to panic if you find yourself in an unfamiliar place.
In fact, when we went looking for Basil, this new Thai restaurant that Dada's friend recommended, we took our Garmin with us just to make sure we could find it right away. As for the food in Basil? That deserves a post of it's own! So yummy! Watch out for it!
In case you are not familiar with how Garmin nüvi® works, it gives directions through an audible voice kind of like Siri (no Q&A's though), and a street map on the screen. By plugging in your destination, you are told where to head out to, turn, or make an exit until you reach your desired location.
Now, isn't this the perfect little gadget to give that stubborn guy in your life who hates asking for directions? Or a birthday present that the girls can pitch in to get for your girl friend who breaks down in tears when she finds herself lost while driving alone? It's also the best thing to have if your family enjoys going on road trips. Basically, it is something nice to have in the car, for peace of mind - because it also tells you where to find the nearest gas station, restaurant or mall. Saving you valuable time and fuel and from panic attacks and arguments in the process.
Have a blessed Easter break ahead everyone! Stay safe on the roads!
Road GPS models start at P8,500. If you have a Garmin from the US or Europe, you may load the Philippine road map via NAVCO/Garmin Philippines.
Garmin products range from fitness watches and street navigators to outdoor handhelds. Garmin is available at ROX, Time Depot, Toby's, Electronics Boutique, Automatic Centre and other selected stockists.
Garmin products range from fitness watches and street navigators to outdoor handhelds. Garmin is available at ROX, Time Depot, Toby's, Electronics Boutique, Automatic Centre and other selected stockists.
5 comments:
If you have an iphone, the Maps app also works really well here. It can route road routes. I have used it several times when navigating the Manila area. It works except maybe for 1-2 one way streets that they have not identified :)
Interesting. I have a TomTom with N. America+Europe maps. No Asia/PH, though. Does the Garmin have "walking" option (gives routes for when one wants to walk to one's destination, rather than drive)? Thanks.
Chat: True! Hard lang when somebody calls in the middle I guess, hehe!
Anon: The model we have doesn't, but I think it can still be used for walking routes. The Garmin nuvi we used in the US didn't have walking options but I also used it around Manhattan as a walking guide sometimes - just to get a general sense of direction.
So timely, as we are looking to buy a GPS now :). Which model is that you are using? Do you happen to know whether there are only specific models that can be loaded with the Philippine map?
Hi She! All the Garmin nuvis sold here have Philippine maps. I remember asking the distributor if they can load Philippine maps on our old Garmin and he said they can too! Not sure, but I think as long as you can download maps into your Garmin, any model is ok :)
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