Passports

Posted on 2008/02/05 09:54:22 (February 2008).

[Monday 4th January 2008]

And so it was the time for me to ask for a new passport. Even though the new one did not expire it was so full of visas that I needed to get it changed, as there wasn't any more space to stamp more visas.

In a way this means archiving a part, quite long, of my life. The part that saw me moving back to Italy after the U.K.

The part that saw me working up north for the textile company, to which I owe most of the 62 (SIXTY TWO) visas that I have on the passport.

Yeah, I mean the passport was made in 2000 to go to Moroc when I was working for the congress organizing company, and since then, in less than 8 years I have filled the 36 pages that I was allotted. The visas belong to these places:

Japan, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Turkey, Moroc, USA.

All in all I could have gone to more places that required a visa!

A quick calculation shows that I have spent 620 hours on a plane (I have calculated an average of 10 hours x visa, having to account the 12 hours trips but also the internal flights), basically 25 days straight spent on a plane.

Quite a lot if you ask me!

I must have spent abroad a lot of time, but that's much more difficult to account, but it must be in the region of 6/8 months in the last 7 years.

Ok then, the new passport will arrive soon, maybe a couple of weeks. I have been given my old one back, which was nice as it's full of memories, like the time I LOST it in Japan...

Let's see how long it will last, I think that if I keep up with this schedule it will expire before the expiry date again!!! :D

Yes I can understand that Lox - I got a bit emotionally attached to my last passport, particularly as it had my Japanese working visa in it, which felt like something really quite special. I carried it around in my pocket a lot, and so the gold emblem bit on the front had totally warn off.

In my case I didn't have to change it because it was full though - it had just expired (albeit 6 months prematurely before it should have done, because I needed to go to the USA and they won't accept passports with less than 6 months left).

It's quite an achievement to finish a passport by filling it up! I can't imagine that many people achieve that, especially now with all the borders in Europe having opened p etc.

Posted by John at 2008/02/06 08:38:28.

Some years ago, before I was married, the guy I worked for travelled a lot and in those days that meant even European travels required a stamp. He used all the pages, but back then they didn't issue a new one, they attached another to the first - you can imagine how bulky that made it, especially as they were a lot heavier then.

Posted by Mad Mumsie at 2008/02/06 08:50:30.

MM: Actually they do the same in Japan, but not in Italy apparently....

John: I would be DEAD PROUD of that visa! It's a shame that I do not have the student's visa anymore, that passport has been destroyed I am afraid... :(

Posted by Lox at 2008/02/06 19:38:29.

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