Modern technologies and especially the internet have changed many areas of our lives completely. I have always been a traveller and of course here at the Ashram we meet travellers all the time – which is why I get to reflect about the impact that technology has on travelling.
The first and main thing is that the whole world is now close to you wherever you are if you just have a computer and an internet connection. You can not only get information about every place on this earth, about the people there, the climate, the landscapes, the sights and the specialties but you can see the most beautiful pictures and videos of those countries, islands, oceans, mountains and rivers. You can even meet the people of those places online – as if you were there.
Realizing this, a question could arise: Is it actually still necessary to take the costs and effort to travel to another place on this earth if we can have it all in our home?
Not long ago we had a guest here at the Ashram who said that modern technology even spoiled travelling for her. In earlier times when you had not seen documentaries about every place of the world and when you could not look everything up online, you came to a new place like Mumbai and were simply amazed. You had no proper idea how it would be and you had experiences that you never thought you could have. This lady is of the opinion that nowadays you don’t get to see anything new. You have the feeling that you have seen everything and nothing can be that amazing anymore.
This is the second question: Does modern technology actually spoil your travelling experience? Is travelling less fun because of the vast possibilities online to see it all before?
I actually have a very clear opinion and answer to these two questions. A picture, a video or even a live video broadcast can give you a good impression and feeling for a place – but it can never replace the real experience!
All our visitors go from here to see the Taj Mahal, mostly in a day trip to Agra. Everybody has seen hundreds or even thousands of pictures of this famous building before even thinking of coming to India. During trip preparations it comes up so often that you think you have seen so much of it that you don’t need to go there anymore – but everyone goes and nobody ever regrets. Each single person who goes there is amazed by this great place, the architecture, the beauty and this majestic building regardless of the many pictures. It is a feeling that you have at this place that you cannot get from any picture.
There are simply things that you cannot transmit through a cable! A feeling, a smell, the real noise, the weather, the people, the culture of a place! Until you don’t breathe India’s air, you have not been here, you don’t know it! You see a nice picture of a beach with an ocean and a palm tree but until you are not there, you cannot feel the sand under your feet, feel the heat of the sun on your skin and be happy about the shadow you found under the palm tree. Until you are not at the top of that mountain, you cannot know the amazing feeling of having climbed it and looking around as if you were at the top of the world.
The same holds true for people and their culture – you can experience culture only when you are there.
No, travelling will always bring you a unique experience. Technology is great because it brings you the world to your home and enables also people to see the world who cannot travel. But it will not ever replace the real travelling experience!
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