Yesterday I received my Google Maps Lapel pin & tbh it feels so nice to get a special gift as a token appreciation for my contributions.
I am a travel enthusiast from Mumbai & started reviewing on Google Maps way before I started travelling.
This is my 2nd gift. The first gift I received was in March 2019 and was a pair of socks.
I prefer to read comments or reviews about places I want to go to because that really helps prioritise what places are worth going to and helps plans better, especially because I travel solo a lot and am mostly on a budget. I like to return the favour by writing my reviews.
Would like to share a recent anecdote based on this.
I was in Darjeeling & had a flight in the afternoon from Siliguri. I decided to leave Darjeeling at 5 am so that I can visit the Monastery there before I head for my flight.
I checked the Monastery details on Google Maps & headed for it. Only to reach there and realise that the Monastery is closed on Mondays & well, it was a Monday 
It was very distressing because I had spent a lot of time, money & effort to get there & I instantly snapped the Monday closed placard & updated it on Google Maps. That was when I really realised the importance of what we all do as a Local Guides & the true meaning of Local Guides. Because even people I knew who lived in the city didn’t know this 
Thank you Google Maps for this!
congratulations 
