Would love to be him...

Kashi Samaddar, 52, a Dubai-based businessman (born in Calcutta, India) has travelled to 218 countries-setting the world record for the Most countries visited. He is also the first person to visit all 194 sovereign states with his mission of Travel, Tourism and Peace.

“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.

For Samaddar in his 50s, it all began way back in 2003 on October 28, when he was denied a visa from a southern African country because of his nationality. Feeling humiliated he made a promise to himself that he would travel to all the countries in the world as a mark of defiance. 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.

But visa issues aside, Kashi says his around- the-world trip included plenty of postcard moments, including visiting the Alps mountain range and some fantastic spots in South America. “I think Brazil is a very good destination, for everybody,” says Kashi. “In Rio de Janeiro, when you get in the taxi, if you are from England they’ll play an English music cassette, if you’re Chinese they play a Chinese cassette and if you’re Indian they’ll play an Indian cassette. “The people are lovely.”

"Some of the great destinations that I would suggest are Copacabana Beach in Rio Di Janeiro, Brazil, the Kovalom Beach in India, Colonia at Micronesia- Margarita in Venezuela and Mala Mala at Nadi Fiji." "The towns at the foot of the Alps, Andes or Himalayas are just magnificent. I came across breath-taking views at Black River, Amazon." Samaddar added he is concerned about global warming and that he saw the Arctic icecaps melting.