About Author of Langkawi-Insight.Com
Hi, this is Raj, publisher and editor of this website. I am a Travel Writer, or that's what I would like to call myself. Because travel writing has always been the passion which eventually drove me to change my profession altogether, from a well established corporate career to a life of exploring the unknown. And I love it!! That's what I wanted after all.
My original profession was Engineering... surprised?? I was an engineering grad from Indian Institute of Technology and received further specialization from Carnegie Mellon, and went a long way through IT Management career in giant global companies. I did well, but I was in a wrong profession. Every day when I woke up during my last few years of the profession, I just said to myself ... what the heck am I doing here? I just didn't like it any more.
So, why did I get into an engineering management profession to start with? Because, that was what our family tradition has been since generations. My father made it large in his own engineering career and gave us all that we wanted in our lives. He thought and so did I, that such a proven route with a guide like my father himself must be the best way to go about my career as well. So I started treading the same path without a second thought.
Who knew that there is another element called 'passion' that comes into play at some stage of your life and starts dominating your mind. At some point it started creating a huge void in my life as well making all other aspects like luxury and pseudo status look stale.
As part of my earlier profession, I traveled all around the globe and lived in several places for years including in the USA. My work related travel actually started to propel my real passion - to see the world. I wanted to travel, but not with a heavy mind which remained busy with company's meeting agendas and business missions. I wanted to see and feel the places with a free mind, but I could not.
With surging passion to travel freely, meet with people and write about my experiences, I was finally on a crossroad to decide between two choices - a well established corporate career of being a Vice President of a Global Company or a new life that would let me pursue my labor of love. It was a hard decision, because it wasn't only about me. It involved my wife and son as well. I feel blessed that every time I looked towards them with that question, I had always seen the nod of support. My family stood by me firmly. And eventually I crossed the line.
I am glad that despite all odds, I had chosen to pursue my passion as a full time profession. It has been several years now. I had always believed and reaffirmed over time that if you pursue what you love to do, and work out your living through that, it becomes the most self fulfilling way of living life. I have taken a full circle in life and come back to start living in my homeland India once again.
So now you know how I became a travel writer ;) Now coming to why I started this website on Langkawi.
Several years back, when it was time to plan a short family vacation, we shuffled through several options and finally decided on Langkawi based on a friend's recommendation. Island destinations had always been our family favorites. On that first visit, we came to Langkawi only for 3 nights and that was enough for us to fall in love with the island. We repeatedly came back since then, every time for longer duration. The 'Travel Writer' in me swung into action, I decided to explore the island, get deep insights and share it with the world.
We keep coming back to Langkawi and explore the island - the places, activities, people, culture, flora & fauna, art & craft and everything this gem of a place has to offer. I continue to write and build this website with our new findings. I guess it'll never be finished.
If you too have visited Langkawi or had the opportunity of living there, do share your experience and write your own story about the island here:
Write Your Story
Cheers!
Raj Bhattacharya
