Hi Friends,
Even before I came to Johannesburg, South Africa long back on 2nd Nov 2013 I was using the Street view to find where I am going to live and how I will I reach the same from the O. R. Tambo International airport using Google Maps and Google search engine. I was too afraid as City of Gold is also known for its mugging and crime at the robots (red signals) but I took a deep courageous dive into the city as I wanted to dig memories and since then it’s been my home away from home.
The city has given me everything from a job to money to respect in society. The best thing it has given me the opportunity to share my views and photographs with the world using Google’s Local Guides program. I was not at all aware of the program since 2017 and it kept popping on my mobile in notifications and emails. As I completed 10 years in service in my organization, I took 3-4 days holidays to go and stay in Bloemfontein and visit Kimberley which my 7 years old daughter always wanted to see as Diamond Mines. Girls do love diamonds from a small age.
There I was in the middle of the night after a whole day of sightseeing when I thought of digging deep into these notifications and guidelines and the levels to become one of the Local Guides in your city. I immediately was glued to the program and over the next few days, I moved from Levels to Levels at a fast pace. Ideas kept popping up to share thousands of photographs from all the locations I have been to in London, New Delhi, Singapore, and Johannesburg. I started sharing my pictures and videos for the benefit of people unknown to me.
I felt amazing to share all my pictures which can be of help to people who will trust me blindly and who will read my reviews and spend their hard-earned money on the cafes, restaurants, museums and sightseeing places on my advice. My Johannesburg and South Africa photographs really gained me recognition as I crossed Level 8 soon enough with more than 8 Million views.
I do love Indian food and Joburg has a lot of Indian Restaurants and taking food photographs has been a passion for me. The best recognition came when one of my friends asked if I am Aashish Rai who shares restaurant reviews online as his wife reads my Google Maps reviews and then go and visit any Indian restaurants in South Africa. I was totally floored at the thought and really thought that the world is a small place.
I, myself too sometimes see all my photographs and feel so good about them. I feel great when I see the views rising and I feel confident that I am making a significant contribution to the Google we all love. In the near future, I want to buy one 360 degrees camera to take and share pictures which can give people a great overall view of the places. I intend to do 500 written reviews by the time I reach 40 years old in 2020 and be the top Local Guide in City of Gold! The city of Gold is definitely worth a visit and I have mapped locations in my heart and mind. The city is still offering me places which I must cover and could not in the last 6 years. I am really digging memories worth Gold and diamonds and sharing the precious captures with the world too. I am given a great power with huge responsibility by Google Maps to share my day to day life with millions of others around the world. It will be my legacy that will stay till that particular place stays or till the time Google Maps is being used!
Thanks!!!