2022
I reached the destination before the scheduled time as usual and was waiting for the participants to reach. @IsurangaD then joined me followed by @ThamaraKandabada and @Amilamadushan. Soon once we gathered, everybody started capturing photos and adding missing places on the map.
Maharagama is known to be a rush town filled with a lot of people and vehicles. As expected, the roads were congested and we were worried about taking quality photos and adding missing places. Somehow, we managed to complete the tasks well and could upload a set of good quality pictures to google maps. We noticed Thamara clicking photos continuously on all the places and he told us he will be uploading them leisurely once he reaches home. Then we decided to walk further down where the number of vehicles were less and started to add more places. After this awesomely tiring photo-walk, we all dropped into a restaurant and had some nice delicious snacks and with black tea.
As mentioned in my last Battaramulla Photo Walk’s recap, there will be an experience sharing reply post from all the participants attended to this meet-up and I will be repeating this as a custom in all the meet-up's I host in future.
More photos please check this Meet Up album
Thanks for the recap, @IlankovanT!
I was not planning to attend this meet up initially, since I had some meetings planned on the day. But they changed at the last moment, so I decided to drop by. I joined @IlankovanT and @IsurangaD at the agreed location, and @Amilamadushan joined us shortly afterwards.
Maharagama is an extremely busy city, doubly so on Saturday evenings. We were a little concerned whether this would affect our mission of documenting as many places as possible, but I think we managed just fine. Wading through the crowd was exhausting, so the meet up didn't last as long as we thought it would, but as @IlankovanT's screenshot proves, our efforts certainly weren't in vain.
Unfortunately I don't have any nice pictures to post this time, since I was more focused on capturing more information than aesthetics. I clicked many photos of boring storefronts, but I made sure the sign boards with their services, contact information etc. were captured properly. Although it's common practice to hang around certain places longer and add information to Maps then and there, I prefer not to do this for two main reasons.
- The camera app usually demands a lot of battery power. Add the frequent interactions with Google Maps, and you'd essentially be halving the time you'd have to capture photos. Since I don't carry a power bank around, I prefer to capture as many pictures as possible while on the road, and add them to maps when I'm back home.
- I find that I can give my full attention to the additions and edits I make, hence minimizing mistakes, when I do my map editing work in the comfort of my home. Therefore I don't like to rush through it while on the road.
I guess veteran local guides like @IlankovanT have gotten past this stage. I'm still a novice 🙂
Also, this was the first time I met @IsurangaD. It was good to meet another member of the gang.
All in all, it was a casual and fun meetup, and I hope we'd get to do it again soon.
