This meetup marked a milestone as the first Google Local Guides meetup hosted in Sri Lanka since the COVID-19 pandemic. As the organizer, I was thrilled—and admittedly a little nervous—despite having hosted over 25 meetups before. But knowing a few Local Guides had already confirmed their participation put me at ease.
I arrived early (around 8:00 am, though the official start time was 8:30 am 
) and waited at the car park of the Colombo National Museum. The first to arrive was Tharul, a young and enthusiastic Local Guide. Soon after, Rumal joined us. It was a heartwarming reunion; I hadn’t seen him since our Sigiriya Blueline Meetup, where we captured street-view imagery around the iconic Sigiriya World Heritage Site.
Want to relive the Sigiriya Blueline Meetup? Check out the recap here.
The three of us chatted about Google Maps and brainstormed ideas for future meetups as we waited for the museum to open at 9:00 am. Once inside, we were greeted by a special exhibition showcasing returned artefacts from the Netherlands. As we marvelled and clicked away, @NalinK and Vajira joined us.
A Lewke Cannon returned by the Netherlands
Meeting Nalin and Vajira was like stepping back in time—they were part of the very first meetup I organized in 2017. Their passion for contributing to Google Maps remains as vibrant as ever.
Here’s a throwback to that first meetup recap.
Participants of first meetup I hosted
We explored the museum galleries together, sharing laughs and insights about the Local Guides program. While we enjoyed reconnecting, we also missed familiar faces like Ilankovan, Vijaih, and Seedra, who had been part of earlier meetups.
By 10:15 am, our photo walk wrapped up, and we gathered outside for selfies. The highlight? Tharul proposed organizing our next meetup at Galle Fort! It was a fantastic suggestion—especially since Galle Fort hasn’t been updated on Google Maps post-pandemic.
Meetup participants
I left around 10:30 am, feeling inspired and grateful for this incredible community. Rumal and Vajira stayed on to explore the museum further.
If you’d like to see more moments from the day, check out our Google Photos Album [insert link].
Here is link to the previous Colombo Museum Meetup.
[RECAP] National Museum Photo Wal
Here’s to an even bigger and better gathering at Galle Fort. See you at the next meetup!
