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by noduerme 1091 days ago
Anyone that says you should keep your passport on you when you're in a foreign country has never traveled. I never keep my passport on my person when I'm walking around outside the US. I lock it away as securely as I can wherever I'm staying, and carry a color copy of it in my pocket.

Part of this is simply because American passports are extremely valuable. Another part is that anyone who wants to fuck with you in some semi-official capacity now has to choose whether to go back to your hotel or arrest you on the spot, which puts them in a better mind to give up or take a bribe.
4 comments
reaperducer 1091 days ago
Another part is that anyone who wants to fuck with you in some semi-official capacity now has to choose whether to go back to your hotel or arrest you on the spot, which puts them in a better mind to give up or take a bribe.

Happened to me at an airport in Thailand. Some airside police officer demanded to inspect my passport, then wouldn't give it back to me until I walked him to an ATM so I could pay him a "tax" in cash.

I never went back to Thailand.

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qingcharles 1091 days ago
Had this in Hungary about 2004. Had no money at all at the time. They handed me a notice in 15 languages which said I was now permanently excluded from ever entering Hungary again ^_^
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qingcharles 1091 days ago
But please don't keep it in a room safe at a hotel. If I had a dollar for the people I know who put valuables in the room safe and lost them...
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LorenPechtel 1090 days ago
The most secure place to keep it is on your person *under* your clothing. Waterproof protection would be a good idea if you're in a warm climate.

It most certainly can be done--I wore mine basically 24/7 for a year. The only time it wasn't under my clothing was for border crossing or bathing--and in the latter case it almost always was under a traveling companion's clothing. No close calls--but someone else in the group wasn't so cautious and hers was snatched. Fortunately, the thief wasn't sophisticated, kept the cash and dumped everything else quickly.

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nerdbert 1091 days ago
Yep, laminated color copy is the way to go.
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