It all started 4 years ago in India, my friend and I decided to drive a pilgrimage route through the holy temples of Shiva without a guide. For 4 days we had to be driving 570 km using Google maps. We had to find where to rent a moto bike, plan the shortest routes to visit 6 temples, find where to spend the night, where to eat and catch a plane. That was the time when I became an active user of Google maps.
Unfortunately, at that time the roads on the maps were not accurate. The map showed the road, but there was a desert, 5 hotels where we hoped to settle after 6 hours driving a bike were not working, according to the maps, we couldn’t count on any cafes in the nearest 50 meters according to the maps.
Due to the fact that everything went not according to the plan and instead of hotels I saw snakes in the night desert, I was on the road without sleep for a long time, I was hungry, I saw people living in wigwams and sleeping on the ground with tribes, I realized that I couldn’t allow at least one girl to experience this after me.
On the 3rd day of the trip, on my way back, I started taking pictures of local cafes, where you can have a snack, and writing reviews about the hotels that really worked and received guests.
I still remember that feeling of fear and hope when I opened the next point on the map and hoped to find a review, at least one person’s review of the place where my friend and I planned to spend the night or eat. At that time in India, only dots were marked, sometimes there was a recall with Indian symbols that Google translator could not translate.
Since then, after visiting a new place, especially, if there are practically no tourists and the local population does not know English, I always take photos and leave a review of this place. I still remember my gratitude when I found at least one review that helped me overcome 570 km on a bike in 4 days. I know that each of my reviews helps a traveler like me, in unexplored places. That is why the Local Guides program means: “Pay It Forward”. This is a system where a person can thank on a global scale.
Thanks to the Google team for this task, just today getting ready to write this text, I went for accuracy to the chronology of places and saw my pilgrimage route 4 years ago and the exact statistics of mileage. I calculated how many kilometers I traveled in 4 days in an unfamiliar country, 570 km, it causes pride, for me it is a personal feat, without Google maps it would be unreal.
and we will be waiting for a post on your revisit to South Asia. Thanks for sharing this nice post with us.
** 
its my 1-st post, so nice from you to tag your friends 
my trip was by moto bike, but still its very difficult)