TALKING people

Mentor Villagomez, Ambassador of Ecuador to India, is an avid traveller and has travelled across India. “I like Khajuraho a lot, not only for the monuments but also for the tranquillity and clean air. Bigger cities are also very interesting. I’ve been in Delhi Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and even other places like Diu, Goa, and Kerala. I am planning to go to Rishikesh very soon,” he says. Villagomez has spent 10 years of his life in Brussels, and feels a special connection to the place. He also likes reading and The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco is his favourite book. New father Augusto Catellanos, Executive Director, Procolombia, India & Israel, claims that he has forgotten all his hobbies for a while. “I love trekking and have done that a lot in India, especially in Kashmir. My wife and I love motorcycles and we have covered the entire Kerala on a bike.” Amongst Indians he is most fascinated by Mahatma Gandhi. “Not only because of what he achieved, but how he did it. Another person who has inspired me is Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and I like all his books.” A simpleton at heart, Celia Ho, Regional Manager, South and South East Asia, Visit Victoria, says that her motto is to be happy and to live content and healthy. “I read a lot of religious and motivational books. On the work front I like how the destination has grown in the last 10 years. Mumbai is like my second home and I keep making regular visits to the city and sometimes Delhi also,” she says. Celia is also very fond of travelling in Asia as well as Europe. However, she insists, “My favourite destination is Singapore, which is also my home, and I always look forward to going back.”