UAE | General
Dubai resident sets world travel record
The record books state that Samaddar has travelled to 194 countries that are listed by the United Nations in 12 years, eight months and 13 days between September 15, 1995 and May 27, 2008.
- By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter, Gulf News
- Published: 00:00 November 14, 2009
- Image Credit: Supplied picture
- Kashi Samaddar holds the Guinness World record for visiting all 194 United Nations member countries in 12 years, 8 months and 13 days.
Dubai: "No more world records for me" says Kashi Samaddar, an Indian national, who is not only the most travelled man, but also the first to have done so in record time.
His travel feat has been recorded by the World bodies: the American World record Academy, India's Limca book of records, and Guinness World Records have verified and confirm him as worlds' first and fastest in this sector.
The record books state that he has travelled to 194 countries that are listed by the United Nations in 12 years, eight months and 13 days between September 15, 1995 and May 27, 2008.
"In 2009, I reset the record books by clocking a travel time to six years, 10 months and seven days at Canada on May 24," said a delighted Samaddar. "I received my certification by the Guinness World Records on November 11 by courier. The numerous problems that I encountered during my travels is worth the effort," he added.
No donation
A business executive who ventures on his travels on unpaid leave from his company, Samaddar has made sure that he does not take a single penny in donation to fulfill his dream of becoming the first and the fastest traveller to more than one hundred countries.
"There have been sacrifices that I had to do to achieve what I had achieved like for example I had to let go a fantastic opportunity that came my way as career growth. To drum up the required funds for my travels I spent all my savings including the sale of a four-bedroom apartment on the beach front in UAE.
"The knowledge that I had managed to gather during the course of my travels is my biggest asset." He said his travels have exposed him to "various nationalities, cultures and traditions".
"Every country has its unique characteristic and social ethos," he added.
Samaddar's travelling carries a special message of promoting ‘World Tourism' and ‘Global Warming'. He had met several tourism ministers and directors to get visa rules relaxed for Indians and other nationalities.
"One of the reason for me to request a relaxation of visa rules for the developing world travellers is to generate more income from tourism. In my opinion ‘Peace through Tourism' will bring sustained peace and real development for the world, and can even iron out conflicts between several states.
"I had encountered delays in many countries to get a travel visa issued. According to the UN there are 194 countries in the world apart from territories. There are 160 nationalities who are not given the facility for a ‘visa on arrival'.
"It is extended to only a handful of countries. For example to get a visa for Macedonia, I had to apply in for eight times and finally I got it issued... Why restrict people from travelling. Its one world. Remember, boundaries are created by us, humans."
Advice
Samaddar and some of his friends plan to provide travel advice to those who are interested in seeing the world. International travellers can log on for free visa guidance to www.ttpglobal.com
Have you ever attempted to break a world record? Did you succeed? What was the experience like?
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