Ever since the time, when hotels had to be booked on phone calls and you could get reviews of places only from locals and maybe travel books(if they were famous), my parents would prepare a list of to-go places - got reviews from acquaintances - or else, we simply headed there. The trip used to be hyperactive and tightly scheduled, but sometimes, we used to end up at unmaintained – littered or even ruined places. Since then, I had made up my mind to convey the right information about places – before people visit them.
Two years ago, when I became a part of the Local Guide programme, I finally found my way and since then, for the past two years, I have reviewed and added photographs of all the places, that I have visited. My main focus while reviewing A place, is to bring the original picture in front of people. What they can expect there and what to keep in mind before visiting.
Hubballi Airport: Make sure you have enough to eat!
During my flight to Bangalore, from Ahmedabad,
I had a 3 hours layover scheduled at this newly opened airport. Naturally, I had checked it on Maps, seen the photos of the shining floor and modern interior &
had an impression of everything being perfect. Only upon reaching did I realize, that the airport had only 1 food stall! That too, was in the Departure zone, for which one would have to check-in.The Authorities don’t allow to check in before 2 hours of flight. So, I found a nearby restaurant “Aaradhya Hotel”
on Google Maps & enjoyed delicious regional food and explored the town a bit.
When I checked in, I saw the food stall - a Kiosk rather; selling only packaged items like Biscuits, chips and soft drinks and simple Tea, Coffee – no Cooked Food! Then I saw kids there, with their faces sad and two of them almost in tears! as none of the items attracted them… I couldn’t do anything but feel sorry.
Moreover, to reporting this to the authorities, in my review about the place, I described all these facts and mentioned – that people should carry some snacks along. This review has been read by more than 7000 people and even if I have made the day of 100 children – and their parents, by informing them about the fact, then too, I am encouraged to help in such way further.
Blackbuck National Park: How to save people from seeing nothing!
The only national Park/Sanctuary for the Blackbuck, Wolf and Lesser Florican, situated in the Bhavnagar District of Gujarat. On a burning summer afternoon, I was driving towards home with my parents, when my Mom noticed the bill-board showing way towards this national park.
Now we had not planned in advance of visiting it – but we had Google Maps! I checked out the reviews, opening timings and we hit the road. Only upon reaching we came to know from the forest office, that the park remains closed from June to October – for that is the mating period for the animals! Unfortunately, this fact was missed out to be mentioned in the reviews by almost everyone! – Neither was it on the Trip-Advisor page of the site. And while travelling, how much of us would check the Wikipedia or Government portal for the site? However, people can drive through the road passing through the park, so we did that – and I wrote a review regarding this immediately. It has been seen by more than 2000 People by now.
Not more than two weeks later, my friend called and thanked me for writing the review! – He was planning a visit to the park with some relatives who had come from Delhi – 900+ kilometres away! It gave me pleasant satisfaction, that I had saved those people’s time and energy – and also my friend’s image.
Helix Bridge – Singapore: Kindly go after sunset. Unless of course, you want to see steel sections…
As a Mechanical engineer and Design enthusiast, I was intrigued upon seeing the photos of this marvellous structure. Upon reaching there, I and my friends found a place - too crowded for really good photographs – unless you have a DSLR; with humid air and sun on the head, we were soon exhausted. We only had one evening to
visit the area, so we had to leave – unsatisfied.
However, once the sun goes down, the scene changes completely! The spectacular lighting gives the place a heavenly look, with the entire Helix wrapped in lights and the reflection in the Bay Water. In my
review, I mentioned these factors, so that the
photographers, tourists who were on a short
visit, could know at what time
to visit and enjoy the best! My review
has been seen by 3000 people and I hope that it would have made their visit worthwhile.
Chandreshbhai Pipe Bending Works: Helping Is Caring
During my undergraduate studies, I was the Captain of Team Kaizen – the student team participating in the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia. Each year, we
design and make a battery-powered vehicle. My trip to Singapore was to attend the competition itself.
For some components, pipes need to be bent on Machine Press, which we didn’t have on campus. So, each year we took our pipes to a local fabricator, “Chandreshbhai”, an expert in the work with charges far less than other industries.
So, to help Chandreshbhai, in growing his business, I added his workshop on Google Maps and wrote a review about their amazing work! Though he didn’t have a phone, we shared the location to all the nearby Universities, so the students could get their help for engineering projects.
On our next visit, Chandreshbhai shook our hands with warmth and told that many students from different institutes have approached him for work! He also ordered Tea for us and even offered to do our work for free! We couldn’t accept the generous offer, but that day – I realized how important it is, to help someone. As of today, the place has been seen by more than 2000 people! – and I am determined to help people like Chandreshbhai, in growing their business.
Thus, being able to help other travellers, locals, business owners, by Applying whatever skills I have, using whatever experience I have and putting little effort - is what has motivated me to contribute in such way. Recently I have acquired the Master Reviewer badge - and I will contribute in a better way in the future!
