Arvind Kamath Blog on Travel and Leisure

Times of India has started the "Love Pakistan" campaign starting today. These are the same guys, who were reluctant to post the article below in their publications, written just after the 26/11 incident. The article tries to articulate the 26/11 story from a different perspective. Our Press and Media typically goes with the Mass or Herd mentality and try not to look at an issue objectively. Now the same guys have started this campaign...... Isn't this Media or Press hypocrisy........ Thanks to The Week, which published the article as "Letter to the Editor" after editing the contents, in their issue dated 4thJan 2009. Please see left side of this Blog. FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER. It was also published in the NDTV website and The Times, London… Dated: 6th Dec 2008 Subject: 26/11 effect on UK Dear Sir: While I write this mail, I am in a place called Slough on the outskirts of London, UK. I landed here just after the 26/11 Mumbai carnage and am seeing an unprecedente...

This time my travelog looks through the eyes of a foreigner, who visits India for the first time. For the first time visitor from the western world, India is a very unique experience and I am sure this experience remains in their memory for a long long time. Recently I had the opportunity to take a client from the United Kingdom, on a road journey from Bangalore to Chennai. They wanted to experience India by not opting for the 30 minutes flight. Little did they know that a trip to Devanahalli from Electronics City is a journey in itself! We started in the afternoon to beat the traffic. The road to Chennai did not impress them at all since they felt being in a developed world. They expected some cows and dogs to cross the road ; elephants to pass by and some odd snake charmers seated beside the road. The road in fact beats any international standard and I was in awe since this was the first time I was travelling to Chennai by road after the dacoity incident that happened in the year 200...

The name Andaman conjures up images of freedom struggle and political prisoners suffering at the hands of the British rulers. Andaman derives its name from Hanuman (the Hindu Monkey God) and it was nicknamed Kaala Paani or Forbidden Land. Andaman Islands, does not immediately strike to us as a tourist destination, which could give the Maldives or Pattaya or Mauritius a run for its money!! Maybe we should start calling it The Great Coral Islands for the pristine clean coral beaches……. I had planned the journey from Chennai to Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, by Indian Airlines (now called Air India) flight at 6am on 27th of September 2009, little realizing that the strike called by the Pilots would play havoc with the flight schedules. Just the previous day, the flight to Port Blair could not land due to bad weather conditions. At the check in counter, we got some good news that the flight to Port Blair would be operating that day, albeit delayed by about 90 minut...

We see people from towns and villages, following the herd mentality, crowding bigger cities and metros jostling for space with dreams of making it big and striking gold. Here I am, thinking in the reverse following Gandhi’s quote “India lives in its Villages”. When people from smaller towns sell their land and settle down in cities, I thought this is the right time to invest in land and fulfill my dream of setting up a farm house in the midst of Mother Nature. I set for a place called Horsley Hills near Madanapalle, close to the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka border. I also took my family along, promising them a great weekend and was accompanied by a friend, who knew the place like the back of his hand. He had booked us in a Guest House at Horsley Hills so that we can take some rest before heading back home. Madanapalle was our first destination. It is 120 kms from Bangalore and I was surprised to encounter excellent road all through despite heavy rains this time of the year. The traffic...

This is a real life incident that happened in late 2000. I was working for a leading ERP product and implementation company and was assigned to a Dutch company based out of Bangalore. The client had scheduled a Meeting at Chennai (350 kms from Bangalore) and I was invited along with couple of their Senior Managers. Normally we would take a flight from Bangalore to Chennai for such Visits but this time due to cost cutting pressure, we were all booked in a Luxury Bus. We boarded the Sharma Transport bus KA-01-A-115, bound for Chennai, on the fateful night of Friday November 10th 2000. The departure was delayed since one family going to Chennai for a marriage ceremony reported late. From 10:00pm to 12:00 midnight we were discussing the plan for next day and slowly went to sleep. At about 1:00am we got a big jolt, as if the Bus was being thrown aside. The dacoits, armed with country made pistols and daggers, took charge of this bus in IC814 style, as the bus was nearing Kolar (once famous...

For me travelling is part of my life not only because my job in the Information Technology industry warrants it, but it’s also my favourite hobby. The first touch point in the new city you land is the Cabbie unless a friend or a family member is waiting for you to be received. My experience with the cabbies around the world ranges from an emotional bonding to a forgettable experience. Before I landed at Singapore, I was given a earful on the efficient city transport infrastructure especially the cabbies, who are supposed to be very honest, disciplined and expect nothing less or more than the fare that is displayed on the meter. It was the Chinese New Year eve sometime in January 2004 and with nothing much to do that evening, I was very keen to see the Night Safari located some 20 miles away from the City centre. It seemed like the city was in a holiday mood already and I could hardly see Cabs on the wide Singapore roads. The ones that I hailed refused to ply because of the long dista...

Travel Tale – Europe My dream of visiting almost all the Western European countries in 13 days was fulfilled when I successfully completed this tour on Tuesday 7th November. I had earlier seen European cities viz. London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt but this tour gave me an opportunity to see all the other leading European cities like Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Rotterdam, Lucerne, Innsbruck, Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence and compare them. My journey started with a quick tour of London covering Madamme Tussaud’s wax museum, the House of Parliament, Tower bridge, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. Famous for unpredictable weather, London did not provide good photo opportunity due to mild showers. We started for Paris in the evening by Eurostar. The journey through English Channel took us just 200 minutes to reach Paris. Paris was all glitter and charm and is known for its famous night life. The city of rich and famous also offers gastronomic delight, with some of the best cuisine in the world. Th...