Anita at the famed Taj Mahal in Agra.

Trying out a few steps with traditional dancers in Sabah.

Mumbai-born Anita, whose family moved to Singapore in 1978 when she was seven years old, has now found her true calling – helming travel documentaries and travelling around the world. She is the host of Discovery Travel & Living Channel’s Exotic Escapades which will go on air in early October.

Her stint with Discovery Travel & Living came quite by accident when she submitted an application to be a host for the channel in 2003 in response to its search for a Singapore host.

"It was a complete lark! I looked at the audition as a performance and I have been performing (in shows) since I was a child," she recalled in a tele-conference interview from Singapore.

As fate would have it, Anita was selected, resulting in her hosting Secret Singapore. She stood out with her enthusiasm and wit, possessing that rare gift of being able to reach out and engage the audience.

"Hosting Secret Singapore was a life-changing experience for me as it helped me to discover my true passion which is to travel the world and meet people."

Anita, who has previously performed in theatre and presented Bare Beauty, a Singapore Television series, said she thoroughly enjoyed doing Exotic Escapades as the series gave her the opportunity to travel to places seldom covered by other travel documentaries.

The shooting for the show took place in 2006 and 2007. "We spent a few months travelling from city to city. This is absolutely the right time for the series to be aired as more people in Asia are travelling now because air fares have become cheaper and more affordable."

They shot an episode a week and spent a whole month in India. There are eight episodes in the series, covering Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia; Lombok in Jawa, Indonesia; Chongqing in China; as well as Indian cities like Delhi, Varanasi, Darjeeling, Agra and Delhi 2.

She said while all these places were special, it was the local people whom she found endearing. "Sometimes, the most exotic things are in our own backyard. I was completely fascinated by Kota Kinabalu and could kick myself for not being there before."

Recalling an incident during the shoot in Sabah when a whale was beached, she said she was touched when the locals rushed to the whale and continuously poured water over it in an attempt to get it back to sea. Unfortunately, the whale died but "I realised these people were so in tune with nature".

She also loved her trip to Lombok which she described as charming, despite the fact that her boat capsized just one kilometre from the shore, with her, the crew and all their camera equipment in it!

"If you think that my job is all glamour, you are mistaken," she said, citing an incident in Bihar, India, where her bus was stopped by stick-wielding thugs who tried to impose their own toll rates.

Despite such setbacks, Anita would not dream of trading her job for any other. She is keeping her fingers crossed that another travel show, which is currently in the works, will materialise soon.

With her work taking her away from home for months, what does she look forward on her return to Singapore?

"The first thing I always do is eat chicken rice!" Anita said with a laugh.

Speaking of chicken rice, what does she think about the recent ‘feud’ between Malaysia and Singapore over the ownership of food like chicken rice?

"I think it is silly. We have two remarkable countries situated next to each other. We shouldn’t be fighting over food! We should be eating it! We should all get together and have a big feast and bury the hatchet over laksa and chicken rice."

And if you are wondering whether she is related to Bollywood’s Kapoors, Anita said in jest: "You better find out quick so we can cash in on it right away!" Kapoor, by the way, is a popular surname in north India.

Exotic Escapades premieres over Discovery Travel & Living (Astro Channel 707) on Oct 5 at 10pm.