Arvind Kamath Blog on Travel and Leisure

My encounter with Earthquakes  As I write this article, more than 10,000 people are feared to be killed in the major earthquake that hit Nepal on 25th April 2015.  Despite the best of technology available to mankind, did anyone predict this earthquake even a few hours before calamity struck this nation? Till date man has not been able to invent a warning system that signals the onset of an earthquake or tsunami unlike hurricane or cyclones, which are predicted days before they strike and with fancy names too.  When cyclone Phallin (classified as Category 1 hurricane) was scheduled to hit the states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in October 2013, the various relief agencies in India worked overtime to evacuate  more than 550,000 people to safer areas thus preventing a major disaster. This was possible thanks to advanced technology that can track cyclones.  Such calamities remind us, that we are too small before Mother Nature’s fury....

India - A new leader emerges in Global Humanitarian Aid  We are exposed to a media, that focuses on identifying countries that has supported or not supported the NATO or US led forces. Has the media ever focused enough on countries that also come to the rescue of other nations when in crisis, both man made or natural ? Very rarely do we come across news,  that highlights the humanitarian effort carried on by nations protecting human lives, in foreign terrain. Till a few years ago, India had possibly the worst possible infrastructure available to tackle disasters within the country. A cyclone or earthquake in any part of India meant loss of thousands of human lives.  Moreover the rescue effort took its own sweet time with absolutely no strategy in place to tackle emergency requirement.  Cut to October 2013, when India was staring at cyclone Phailin, equivalent to a category 1 hurricane, the state of Odisha expected around 12 million...

When an opportunity came my way for a short business trip to China, I did not lose a moment to say “YES” I will travel. I wanted to explore this mystical land and experience for myself what China has in store for me especially after hearing not so good reviews about this country, from my friends. This trip did shatter lot of myths and perceptions about this great country. The Chinese are not so friendly with Indians; are very reserved ; they cannot speak English and you will have to use sign language; the cuisine is unpalatable so carry some food stuff from India if you don’t wish to starve etc etc My first touch point was the Immigration folks at the Beijing Airport. I could not believe my eyes when I cleared the immigration process in just 10 seconds flat with no questions asked !! This is unbelievable given the “not so friendly” status with our neighbor. Compared to this, the US and UK immigration folks ask lot of questions especially when they know I am not going to stay b...

The Week | On the Inca trail

On the Inca trail --- Machu Pichhu and Cusco City MachuPichhu, the name resonates with mystery, intrigue and of course one of the new Seven Wonders of the modern world. MachuPichhu in the native quechualanguage means “old mountain”. For me, i t was the journey of alifetime and a dream travel destination that was long awaited. Machu Picchu is today the top tourist destination in South America attracting global tourists. However few Indian touristsvisit this place perhaps due to the long distance involved or lack of awareness.But thanks to the super hit film “Robot”, in which Rajnikanth shakes a leg withAishwarya Rai on top of Machu Pichhu for a popular song inappropriately titled“Kilimanjaro”, Indians have started to realize the potential of this greatarchaeological site. (still from the movie Robot shot at Machu Pichhu in 2010 for the song "Kilimanjaro") Itravelled from Lima , the capital of Peru to Cusco City by flight. The flight lasting approximately 75 minutes offer...

Lima - Royal capital city of Peru T he moment my business trip to Lima got finalized, I immediately rushed to the World map hanging in my bedroom. How far Lima is from Bangalore and what air route should I take to reach this far away destination? I finally decided to take the Bangalore – Dubai – Sao Paulo – Lima route which consumed the least journey time (approx 30 hours) and return from Lima via New York and Dubai, which was also for the same duration. This trip broke 2 of my travel records a) the farthest journey ever undertaken by me and b) the longest nonstop flight (15 hours from Dubai to Sao Paulo). However the thought of visiting this exotic South American capital city made me feel very excited, since this was my first visit to Latin America. On breaking this news to my friends, almost everyone suggested that I also visit Machu Pichhu, which was recently declared the new 7 th wonder of the world. Who knows when I will get another opportunity to visit the Land of the...

Amazing Bangkok While writing this travelog on Bangkok, the fact that many of my readers must have visited this place not once but many times, made my job much tougher.   What differentiators can I introduce to my readers and moreover this was an official trip wherein time management was key for the sight seeing plans.  Before I allowed that thought to overpower my brain, I made up my mind to write about this amazing tourist destination called Bangkok, the City of Angels or Krung Thep as this city is known locally. I reached Bangkok at 5:30am and the airport, which always gives the tourist a first glimpse of the city did not disappoint me. Since I had a business visa, the immigration was a breeze and it took me hardly 15 minutes to clear the process and come out of the airport. The Suvarnabhoomi Airport can be compared to any top international airport of today. What also struck me is the name of the airport (meaning Golden Earth in Sanskrit), roads and pla...