Time travelling via Google maps

How cool is Google….I have a new found love for Google maps today. I always liked it even before, when I lived in the US where it’s so easy to travel from one place to another thanks to Google. There you don’t stop on the road to ask a paanwala or a random person to ask directions – no paanwala’s or frankly it’s not as crowded as India J But seriously, travelling is so easy there with efficient devices like GPS or new mobiles that have Google maps. In our first few months we’d just get directions on Google maps..note down the lefts and rights and drive down to new places. Travelling used to be sooo much FUN!

Then we bought the GPS device in a sale and had a full refund of the money we spent on it by going to tens of places!

At work yesterday, I was reading news about Syria and the events happening there. I went to Google maps to confirm my knowledge of how Syria is a small country caught up in age old border and religion conflicts. I had seen a foreign movie once from the Redmond public library, showing how common people across the borders are caught up in conflicts due political games! It is very miserable and unfortunate for innocent people to be caught in such environments! L

Anyways, read enough about the ongoing Syrian crisis and then for some reason I dragged the maps to see USA. And soon I was browsing the streets on which we lived…turned on the satellite view and a whole different experience. I took a snapshot of the apartments where we lived in Spokane. The satellite view is so clear and feels real. The yellow colored children nursery in front our apartment is visible so clearly! The community we lived in, neighboring church parking, opposite street and apartments, the super market down the street, Manito park etc….all visible clearly on GMAPS! I had a great refreshing experience of walking down the same old streets of Spokane, Bellevue.

Our home in Spokane, WA

GMAPS is like a time machine, where I can go back in time to places I lived in. And really, times FLIES! Looking through these satellite images made me feel like I was there YESTERDAY! Google your rock!