Saturday, November 12, 2005

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?



Carmen Sandiego was a fictional character on an education television series that taught Geography to kids. It was a television show that I watched with enjoyment growing up in my youth. This show taught me a lot about Geography and sparked my interest to learn more about the World. I always wanted to travel the World to discover the beauty that exists.

I have been fortunate enough through work to get an opportunity to travel to various cities. This summer, I spent a week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Although, I traveled alone, I was still able to gather enough courage to go out and experience the culture, food and monuments in Malaysia. You can check out my photos to get an idea of some of my experiences in Malaysia.

Two new technologies, Google Maps and Google Earth make it easier to view maps and satellite images of the world. Mapping Web sites have been around the Internet for a few years, but have been limited in terms of their user interface. Google maps allows you to drag maps around without having to reload the Web page. Some of my favorite pictures that I found are: Statue of Liberty, Eiffel tower, and the Mosque of the Prophet S.A.W.

Google maps mashups is a popular technology that allows Web sites to take advantage of Google maps for their own use. If you are looking to rent or sell a place in Toronto, this Web site allows you to see all of the available rentals available in Toronto using Google maps.

Technology enables us to see the World from the comforts of our computer. However, it obviously does not match the experience of physically being there. There is so much more in the World that I would like to see. I am always searching for travel partners, if your interested, send me your resume so I can determine if you are a suitable travel partner .

5 comments:

Ozair said...

I wish this Web site was around when I was studying in Waterloo. It shows you the available rentals near the University of Waterloo (other cities too) using Google maps.

Bilal Shirazi said...

Carmen Sandiego rocked. It was a really tough game to win. I remember going nuts whenever someone did. Ah, childhood.

Bilal Shirazi said...

Dig the pix

Ozair said...

Thanks for the props on the pic Bilal. Malaysia is definitely a place I recommend to travel. Its a Muslim country, so easy to pray, find food to eat and people are extremely friendly. In-fact it has become a vacation hot-spot for the princes and wanna-be princes from the Middle-East.

Ali said...

Did you say princes from the Middle East? I should think about visiting Malaysia then. But then, I don't like to go with the flow.

Seriously though, I've wanted to see Malaysia - it does look like possibly the only real success story in the Islamic world. And it's multicultural too.