As a Passionate Photographer I believe in the saying “a picture speaks a thousand words” so along with the small story I would put up some of the pictures that I took during my journey so far as a local guide.
I was in Sri Lanka for a year and I didn’t know the local language so it was very difficult in the beginning to ask people for the kind of places I was looking for. Google map was a great help but when it comes to very specific locations, someone’s review and the pictures of that place can make a huge difference.
It was my personal experience in an unknown country that made me realize that there should be more information available on google maps for people who are new to a place which is where google local guides comes into picture.
So, I started uploading pictures and giving my honest reviews for places I visited. That is how my journey as a local guide began. Over time the views on my pictures kept on increasing and knowing that it was helping people find beautiful places and delicious food gave me a sense of satisfaction which motivated me to keep posting.
I had no idea about the scale of the local guide community when I started. I saw it as an opportunity for me to showcase my love for photography and a way of giving it back to the society as somehow it was helping other people.
It was my own personal artistic expression that I was putting out into the world and as much as it was helping other people in some way or the other in discovering these places, it was also an outlet for me to express my art and love for photography.
The very fact that it is such an enormous community and google is trying to bring together people who are passionate about contributing to the society by giving them an opportunity to attend events like Google Guides Connect, and rewarding them at every local guide level is just a cherry on top and it came as an absolute surprise.
Sharing my perspective of the world gives me immense happiness.