Sundar Pichai celebrates 15 years of Google Maps in unique style

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai celebrated the 15th birthday of Google Maps in a unique style by mapping his favourite veggie burrito restaurants around the world. The IIT-Kharagpur alumnus took to social media to post a Google Maps link that has a comprehensive list of restaurants from Mumbai, New York, London, Helsinki, Paris, Dublin, among others.

"I compiled a list of my favorite veggie burrito places from around the world. They're my comfort food when traveling, and I get pretty excited when I find a good one," wrote Pichai in his Instagram post with Google Maps link in his bio.

Google’s top executive, in a blog, said that burritos are one of the things that help him feel normal when jet-lagged between time zones. He added that it is easy to find in places like Dallas but it gets difficult when he is in a city like Helsinki or with people having food allergies. Pichai listed his favourite veggie burrito restaurants including Mumbai’s New York Burrito Company, El Nopal Taqueria in Paris, Tortilla Kings Cross in London, Burrito Box in New York, Tomatillo in  Seoul, and many others. 

“Finding the best burrito might sound trivial in the context of all the amazing things Google Maps can do...but for someone who finds as much joy in a good burrito as I do, it can be a magical moment,” wrote Pichai.

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Past commuting experiences

Talking about his past experiences in India, the 47-year-old business executive said that commuting in a strange city was difficult back then because of the lack of a clear structure to the address system. Pichai said that he always relied on local knowledge to find the destination and gave a landmark to an auto-rickshaw. “As I got close, popping my head out to ask for directions to the actual destination. Not always fast or easy,” he wrote.

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Pichai also mentioned the contrasting experience when he used Google Maps for the first time in India. Pichai said that he had arrived in Mumbai in the early morning hours and took a cab to reach a friend’s house which was difficult to locate. But using Google Maps, he was able to give the driver turn-by-turn directions without asking anyone.

“I was excited by how easy it was, but my driver was really blown away,” added Pichai.

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