Relive the past with Google Maps

“Just looking at what a house in the countryside looks like on Google Maps, I was suddenly speechless when I saw the image of my mother sweeping the yard. She passed away 2 years ago but I thought she was still here,” said TH, a young person working in Ho Chi Minh City. TH, like many other young people, is participating in a new trend that has recently emerged, which is using Google Maps to view images of familiar and intimate places.

Google Maps is an online mapping application that is widely popular around the world . In recent days, Google Maps has suddenly become a topic of discussion with the provision of image services of routes in Vietnam. Just turn on Street View mode when accessing Google Maps, find the correct address of the place you want to "visit", users can see images of streets and surrounding houses. Due to the nature of the long time of taking photos, viewers can catch the silhouettes of loved ones accidentally caught in the lens of Google Maps.

“My sister texted me to go to Google Maps to see the scenery of my house in the countryside. I found her voice strange so I did as she asked, but I still thought, my house is so familiar, there is nothing to see. However, the Google Maps image showed a lot of people standing in front of my house, most of them were relatives. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was the whole family waiting for my father to be taken home from the hospital. That was the day my father passed away! Even though it happened a few years ago, looking back at this image online, my heart ached,” HN (an office worker in Ho Chi Minh City) shared.

TH and HN's story is not unique. Although the images are not very clear, the random, coincidental moments that are captured become a "train" that brings many people back to the past. Each video and image shared is a story that makes many people stop to think and reminisce. The descriptions are only a few lines long: "Google Maps took me to visit my home 8 years ago. I met my grandfather again", "The image of my father still sleeping in front of the house, now I can't even dream of seeing him anymore", "It's my mother, this image was just a few months before she passed away due to cancer"..., but it says it all.

Technological devices are becoming more and more modern, making it extremely easy to take pictures, but we often forget which moments are precious, which are worth cherishing. The image of Google Maps is just a coincidence, but it accidentally makes many people, even if only for a moment, realize that there are moments that were once considered obvious and simple, but are priceless when living with the people they love. "I wish I could sleep and wake up many years ago. Grandma is still healthy, her hair is still green..." - the viewers' confidences contain many feelings. Although it is just an online trend, it has left a silence for many people with unforgettable emotions.

NGUYEN VY

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/boi-hoi-qua-khu-voi-google-maps-post802543.html