Time Travel For Dummies

So....some of what you get from traveling comes as a surprise. Actually, most of our best experiences come unlooked-for. During our time in the American Southwest, we visited and explored several native American ruins. I was impressed by how extensive and developed they were. A lot of people lived out there before Europeans came to North America and the remains of their architecture are so extensive and intact that I couldn't help but imagine what it was like to live as they did. In some ways, I didn't have to be too creative as we were camping in the dead of winter ourselves.

As I mentioned below, we have been in a pretty remote and arid part of the Himalayas. For much of the past three weeks we've been staying in and visiting buildings that have been built in the same tradition for at least a millenium, probably much longer. As I've looked at these buildings, the memories of those of the Southwest gave me the ole sense of deja vu. I went back and looked at our photos from that time (see links below) and was surprised to see how similar those buildings are to those they still build here.

Chaco Structure Photo Link 1

Mesa Verde Photo Link 2

Navajo National Monument Photo Link 3

Chaco Structure Photo Link 4

Chaco Structure Photo Link 5


New monastery being built in Nako, Himachal Pradesh.



















































Old Monastery in Tabo, H.P.
















Without looking for any connections, I was suddenly surrounded by them. The buildings are very much the same. The people themselves look like American Indians. These people have been living in much the same way they have for, again, centuries. Just by coming here, I can very effectively travel back and have some of my questions answered including some that I never asked. For example, the buildings have stone and/or adobe walls and timber rooves and supports. Well, those big timbers give off a cedar-y/piney incense aroma for generations. It's one of the most homey smells I've ever enjoyed. And you know what? These people seem to do pretty well in stone buildings. Modern conveniences like electricity (which is sporadic) or running water are easily used without being viewed as absolute necessities. When you don't rely on electric lights, the movement of the sun becomes a day-long pleasure.

I think about how someone might travel to Disneyland or Vegas for some kind of pre-fabricated versions of culture. Here, we are, quite tangibly, traveling in time on no more than the periodic bus and our legs. How lucky is that?