First-time it happened: a trip I almost never made

The Lonely Planet blogsherpa’s blog carnival #4 has finally come. Hosted by GingerBeirut, our theme this time is Rubber Stamp or anything pertaining to “bizarre regulations, a border crossing, an airport experience, a description of local policing, how to deal with strange requirements, red tape, a chat with the law, etc.” and which I can now laugh at.

Who would have thought that one frequent traveler miss out some important details like passport expiration? But then again, being a frequent traveler has its advantage, too.

It was one fateful day in 2005. My friends and I were flying to Macau, with half of us to continue to Hong Kong. It was my first trip abroad with this set of friends, since my previous overseas adventures were work-related. As I had been in and out of the country several times, the group left it to my experience to oversee the organizing and coordinating of our journey, with them lending some assistance every now and then.

Unfortunately, it was a first-time for me to deal directly with travel agencies. (The good thing about business trips was that someone in the office had to do the pre-work.) In the process, I faced a lot of difficulty coordinating with our agency who handled the booking of our plane tickets, overcharging us and leaving out significant reminders.

Finally, the day has come and we traveled more than an hour from Manila to Clark, in the province of Pampanga, where the international airport was finally opened to commercial flights. Lined up behind the check-in counter, the six of us—all ladies—excitedly talked about our plans for the trip, giggling like little girls, and snapping pictures away like first-time tourists.

When my turn came, the lady at the counter looked over me and asked for my check-in baggage. I had a backpack but I told her I’d carry it with me. As she took my travel documents, she informed me that my passport was to expire in less than six months. In our country, our passports are valid as long as they are used before it reaches six months before the expiration date indicated in the travel document.

Then the crew asked me if I was advised by my travel agency about the rule. Of course, the agency didn’t inform me about it, after all the hassle we went through with their company. I was furious at that time but I couldn’t show it. I was thinking, ‘I don’t want be left behind in Pampanga!’

My friends didn’t know what to do and were equally shocked by the turn of events. But the lady was nice and must have sensed my frustration. She told me that since I had nothing to check-in she would issue me a boarding pass but would leave it up to the Immigration Officer to decide on my case.

I fell in line to the immigration with my heart thumping, waiting to explode. ‘What if they turn me away?’ I thought. The officer looked at my passport and called on her other colleagues for advice. They had a short discussion which I could overhear across the counter. I could almost smell victory in the air.

Finally, she turned to me and explained, “Ma’am, since you’re a frequent traveler and you’ll be out of the country for a few days, we’ll let you through. Besides, the plane company issued you a boarding pass, so they probably don’t see any problem in this.”

I smiled my warmest and proceeded to the departure area. I was extremely thankful that I was allowed to travel despite the restrictions. Boy, I was glad that the people at that airport were nice. More than that, neither the plane’s ground crew nor the immigration officer wasn’t keen on deciding for my possible rejection from the flight and left it to the other to determine the outcome. So, I was able to leave with my passport stamped and approved.

Moral of the story: first, check travel rules and policies at all times; second, review your documents weeks before you travel (and not on the eve of your trip).

But the story does not end there. A few years after, some of my friends who were with me on that trip set out to travel to Vietnam. A night before they left, my friend, who was coordinating their Vietnam trip called me up and recalled the incident about my passport. Unfortunately, she checked her passport only that night as she was packing and realized that she only has two months before it expires. She hasn’t learned the lesson in my story at all! So, she stayed behind and paid her cancellation fees.

Whenever we talk about Vietnam, we’d all laugh at her (to which she doesn’t find funny at all). I still consider myself blessed to have been allowed to push through with my trip. Again, thanks to the nice lady at the check-in counter and the immigration officer.

Lonely Planet blogsherpa’s blog carnival #4 is now up! Click here.