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It was 13 years ago that Kashi Samaddar first ventured outside the Indian shores. Today, the 52-year-old has travelled to 205 countries. What started as a desire to see the world has now turned into a mission for this avid traveller - a mission to visit 250 countries with an Indian passport. “Indians need a visa to travel anywhere outside their country. There were times when I had opportunities to get an Australian or Canadian citizenship but I declined the offer because I wanted to prove to the world that an Indian is capable of travelling so much without changing his passport,” he says. The last country he visited was Palau in the Western Pacific and he plans to visit Bermuda next. Samaddar hails from Delhi, but now he is based in Dubai. He is a top honcho in an MNC.
Through travelling, Samaddar also hopes to bridge the gap between several cultures. “People are friendly in most parts of the world but they perceive Indians as troublemakers and therefore reject their visa,” he says. His visa was rejected six times when he wanted to visit Macedonia. But Samaddar was stubborn and he kept trying till he finally got the visa from Yugoslavia. “I landed at the embassy with my passport and a return ticket and asked them to explain why my visa had been rejected so many times,” he says. Samaddar’s visa was approved a couple of days later.
His closest competitor, Samaddar says, is a German, who has clocked 160 countries. About enlisting in the Guinness Book of World Records, Samaddar says, “They have approached me but I still have a long way to go. I would like to get myself enlisted only after I have travelled to over 230 countries.”
However, travelling to countries like Iraq and Central Africa wasn’t easy. “Once I was travelling from Somalia to Djibouti with my wife Barnali and we lost our luggage that had important documents. That was a difficult trip,” he says. Samaddar's wife has accompanied him to over 70 countries.
Samaddar also wants to set an interactive website that will give genuine information to the people who are travelling and also inform them of the places that he has visited. He visited Tuvalu in the Pacific Nation last year. This Polynesian island nation is one of the few places on earth that are most vulnerable to global warming. “It is one of the least polluting countries in the world but faces a threat because of the pollution caused by the US. Fifty years down the line, if nothing is done, this island will not exist,” he says.
Samaddar has spent over $400,000 on his world tour so far and plans to visit Bermuda next. Now he is looking for sponsors who can help him with his travel expenses. “My aim is to travel to 250 countries by 2010. However, if I find good sponsors I will finish my journey by the end of next year,” he says.
