Travel, Cuisine and Photography are my three ultimate passions. This definitely means that I heavily rely on Google to provide that missing jigsaw piece in the puzzle of my life experiences. I rely on it to search for locations, get directions, business contacts, dependable and authentic reviews, but most importantly to view photos that give me a glimpse into what to expect of an experience. Google has helped immensely in ways that I cannot entirely explain.
What’s even more interesting and intriguing, is the fact that I am now part of a community that believes in what I do! One that shares the same passions, but most importantly creates the time to help others. This gives me insurmountable joy.
So, the most interesting thing that I have done as a Local Guide is to share my experiences with the world not just through reviews but especially through photography. Indulging in any of my three ultimate passions, is not an end in of itself, it is but a part of the pleasure derived from sharing these new encounters of places, people and cultures, while making this a shared experience open to all in my circles or those willing to partake. This is now delightfully possible through the use of technology with the availability of innumerable apps, for selfies, photos, videos and live streaming options that allow a sharing of my delightful experiences.
Like the saying goes, “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer”. Sometimes no words can articulate what it means to revel in a beautiful cityscape or savour a lovely meal. To tell you, I just have to show you.
The most interesting review that I have made, which by the way is not the most viewed of my reviews, was about Kapkwata Restaurant that I discovered, while working in a city called Mbale, in Eastern Uganda. It is not at all one of those high-end restaurants that we all love to review. It’s the darling of the local folks, so I found this as a golden opportunity to show the world the local Ugandan cuisine. I just had to post a pic of my meal and boom!.. It went crazy.
I was very shocked to see the high number of people that had viewed my photo.
What excited me even more, was a friend who called to inquire about the restaurant, because she had seen my review on Google. I’m not sure if the owners of the restaurant keep track of Kapkwata’s visibility online, but their business is certainly growing in that regard every day, because of a simple photograph.
Another interesting thing I have done was to post a review about my 2019 birthday lunch. My boyfriend inquired if we could do lunch that day. Seeing as I had a number of things to do in Kololo, I did a search on Google for nearby restaurants and the Holy Crepe restaurant popped up. The reviews tickled my fancy so I reached out and was able to make a booking. I asked the boyfriend to carry his camera, so we could take some really nice photographs. He was quite curious as to why I needed a DSLR and I explained that I was doing this Local Guides thing and I needed to take pics of every minute of my birthday experience. Once I made a review, my photos went viral and I received many views. These photos have led to many of the friends and acquaintances eating out at the restaurant.
Suffice to say that adding a review with photography gives an authentic account and goes a long way in helping people find what they are searching for, but most importantly, it helps businesses to grow. As a Travel advisor, this also helps a lot with on-boarding new clients. I’m thankful for Google opening up such great opportunities to change the world.