I was 21, in Paris, and it was my first trip abroad. The streets were virtually vibrating beneath me with romance, culture, and “wow, I can′t believe I′m really here!″ I had just arrived in Europe for a semester abroad in Maastricht, The Netherlands, and had decided to take a weekend trip to this famed City of Lights. Just a small-town girl from
Texas, this was a big deal. And then it all turned into a bad American Express commercial – my passport was stolen.
Jump forward five months. I′m nearing the end of my trip—one week left on the Eurail Pass. I′m visiting Amsterdam for the umpteenth time to visit the Van Gogh Museum, which I′d fallen in love with on my first visit. Feeling a little more travel-savvy and less starry-eyed, I boarded a crowded tram. It's elbow to elbow, it′s dejavu all over again. Except this time, it wasn′t just my passport, but my Eurail pass, and all my credit cards as well.
Having lost my passport twice, I now consider myself a reluctant expert at the whole passport renewal process (the guy at the American Embassy even recognized me), and more importantly, at traveling safely. I′ve since spent several years abroad and been to 22 countries without another incident, so I suppose I learned something useful. While you can never insure nothing bad will happen, here′s a couple of my safety tips when traveling internationally:
- Use a passport wallet to hold your important documents (passport, travelers checks, credit cards), and keep it hidden from view under your
jacket, or better yet, in a hotel safe. There are many to choose from—I especially like the Travelon ID and Boarding Pass Holder, which lies flat under a shirt with a long strap and the Ellington Airport Express, which is a little bulkier, but well organized, and easy to keep an eye on. Carry another bag or wallet for your walking around money. That way, it′s easy to access money without digging, but it won′t ruin your trip if it′s stolen.
- Before you leave, make copies of your passport, birth certificate, and credit cards, and copy down the serial numbers on the camera and video equipment you bring. Store these documents in a safe place in your luggage, but separate from the originals. Write down the phone numbers for your credit cards as well so you have them on hand just in case, as well as the location of the nearest embassy to your travel destination, especially if the local population doesn′t speak English. If your passport is stolen, having a copy of both it and your birth certificate will make things easier. Having your credit card numbers on hand will help in cancelling them if you need to.
The rest is common sense – be aware of your surroundings, don′t flaunt your wealth, don′t wander into shady areas alone after dark – you know, all the stuff your mom taught you when you were eight! While losing my passport twice didn′t spoil my trip, it definitely put a damper on things. I was especially sad to lose all my passport stamps. Come back from your trip with happy stories about seeing the inside of the Louvre, not about how many tiles there are in the ceiling of the Amersterdam American Embassy waiting room. Trust me, it′s not that interesting.
Luggage Travel Blog
It's St. Patrick's Day, so I find my mind wandering to that uber-green isle, and wishing I had more time for travel than I do. But just because I can't go to Ireland anytime soon, doesn't mean I can't dream about it.
I like the website 