Kashi Samaddar - Visiting all 194 countries in Shortest Time Ever set World Record

The 55-year-old Indian businessman spent nearly £350,000 to achieve the record, which took him six years, 10 months and seven days.

Mr Samaddar came back with an album of fascinating pictures of himself in offices, bars and hotel lobbies.

The traveller first visited Holland in July, 2002, and finished his mission in Kosovo in May this year, sometimes risking his life dodging bombs and bullets along the way.

The businessman, who now lives in Dubai, said: ''I started in Amsterdam and finished in Kosovo. In the meantime, my life was at risk in war-torn Afghanistan, Surinam and Somalia.

''The hotel where I stayed in Kabul was blown apart an hour after I left my room.

''I have travelled through regions with bullets flying thick and fast all around. It's a miracle I didn't get killed.

''In East Timor, I stayed without food for three days and had to pay a local lad a few hundred dollars for a some bananas.

''In Nauru, my flight was cancelled eight times and I had to overstay for one and a half months.''

Mr Samaddar has now set up the Travel, Tourism and Peace Initiative, geared towards pushing tourism departments of different countries to make their visa policies fairer.

The initiative comprises people who have travelled to more than 100 countries and are in a position to give free advice.

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