A World Away

Exploration in the time of the coronavirus? Go digital.

By Mitchell Levesque

Deep in the northern region of Mongolia is a lake called Khuvsgul, a name meaning “Ocean Mother.” Each winter, the body  of water freezes over, creating intricate patterns of crisscrossing ice cracks. Beyond the shores of the lake are the Sayan Mountains, a sharp collection of rocks whose peaks are only dulled by their icy snow caps. To get to this serene location, one would normally travel by plane or bus to a small town called Mörön, and from Mörön to an even smaller town on the lake’s shores by van. The lake, suffice it to say, only enjoys visitors that are willing to make the long trek. However, just recently, Google Street View and its team visited the lake and brought their cameras.

This documentation of the lake for Google Street View was a part of the team’s trip through Mongolia. The Gobi desert was also documented as well as the country’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. Google Street View and Google Earth have done this kind of thing for many years, though not always on an ancient lake. Virtual exploration in the age of Google Street View has always been interesting, though never enthralling enough to keep you for more than five minutes. However, no matter the length of the experience, nor the level of immersion, interesting Easter eggs and fascinating details are always present when digitally exploring. All it takes is a little patience.  

A step up from Google Earth and Street View are websites and programs that allow you to tour places not as well captured (or simply not captured at all) by Google’s 360 degree camera. One such example is a Turkish website (http://www.3dmekanlar.com) that, in addition to having virtual tours of famous bathhouses, allows for 3D explorations of various planets (and two dwarf planets) in our solar system, such as the rocky surface of the moon or the gaseous atmosphere of Jupiter. How accurate these planet tours and renderings are is debatable, but brooding upon those concerns may not last long in the face of the site’s other interesting tabs to explore, which include virtual tours of mosques, tombs, castles, and more. 

Keeping with international tours, a french website (https://www.catacombes.paris.fr),  allows for a tour of the infamous Paris catacombs, complete with high-resolution, panoramic photos. The tour regrettably ends after the fifth photo, but a snapshot of the detailed tunnels is still worth the lack of content. Opportunities to virtually explore the world at greater lengths and, perhaps, in greater detail do exist. 

One such opportunity exists today in the cockpit of a passenger plane, or really any kind of plane you wish to fly. Microsoft’s new Flight Simulator 2020 is a simulator that tops all the rest just by virtue of where you get to fly. Using Bing Maps and Google data, the simulator allows you to fly anywhere on earth, so long as you can first find it on a map. 

If exploring the known earth and universe doesn’t interest you, virtual journeys can be had with just as much relish in environments completely imagined. The best place to start on such an adventure is in the realm of video games. Minecraft, a giant among these open-world games, is one that is literally endless. What’s more, the activities and tasks required to properly investigate each nook and cranny of the game only adds to the immersion: mining for diamonds while simultaneously exploring caves systems will most likely accompany the collecting of mob drops from jungles and deserts, all while taking in the sites under the setting sun. What’s not unfortunately offered in the game is the amount of time needed to explore the vastness of this created world. 

Another game that perhaps has better graphics is one called “No Man’s Sky.” This game, much like Minecraft, continually generates new spaces for you to explore, as well as fictional creatures to interact with. What’s different is that each trip isn’t between forests and caves but rather between planets that likely no one has yet explored. If this wasn’t enough, the creatures present in this intergalactic space are randomly generated. Needless to say, you will not run out of things to see within this adventure. 

Whatever you choose to explore, know that there’s more out there. In short, find your own world.