Saumya Tandon shares her joy of exploring places!

The most affecting place she'd set foot on is Afghanistan. Saumya tells us, "I went to Afghanistan in 2008 to shoot for an US AID project. I played the lead Khushi an Afghan girl. I stayed there for 20 days and it was one of the most challenging things that I have done in my life. I was the only woman in the entire crew and I had to be covered in Burkha all the time. I had 24hrs army security with me. The thing that really disturbed me was the plight of women there. After coming back I realized I am so blessed to be born as an Indian."

The actress is spellbound with the way the Afghans take hospitality, especially for Indians, seriously. She exclaims, "The people there are very, very loving and they specially love Indians. They knew all about me as they are very fond of Bollywood music and Indian Television. Even the driver of my car would not let me spend on anything from food to water as I was a guest in his country. The shop keepers would not take money when I told them I was from India!"

China turned out to be a very curiosity invoking place to Saumya, and everything still remains mysterious to her as she didn't understand Chinese and the Chinese didn't understand any other language. She says, "I was so thrilled when I was asked to come to China for a shoot. And to be honest there is no comparison. China is far developed when it comes to infrastructure than India. People are absolutely professional and organized, but the biggest problem is of language. They just don't understand anything but their own language."

Saumya adds, "What I like the most about China is that there are so many opportunities there! Everybody is doing something, everybody is an entrepreneur!"

The place that made Saumya fall in love with is Bath, London. She is a huge fan of world-renowned novelist Jane Austen and Bath was one of the places where the author lived. She shares with us an experience that she avidly cherishes day in and day out. She says, "For me it was love at first site with Bath. As a little girl and sometimes even now, I fantasize about a romantic encounter in a grand place with the enigmatic Darcy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice .And the moment I set my eyes on Bath I knew that if ever I meet my Darcy, it has to be here. Romantic to the core and grand at every step, that was Bath for me."

The actress chose the ecologically friendly way of touring Bath. "I chose to walk most places, as much as possible. And I am glad I decided so. I could embrace the flavour of Bath by just walking through it. On my way to the Roman Bath I witnessed the interesting site of classic English tea and cake joints co-existing peacefully with McDonalds and KFCs of the world,"

The actress loved the place so much that she never wanted to leave. But she got an apt excuse to get away. "I decided against staying over for this will be my excuse to go back," she signs off.

Reporter and Author: Susan Jose