Dotcomgiftshop Passport covers Blog
Turning something boring into something colourful and eye catching is a definite hobby here at Dotcomgiftshop and passport covers allow us to do just that. We've created lots of fun passport related content on the blog too, which you can find right here.
What to do if you lose your passport
You’re in a foreign country and your passport is either lost or stolen, it’s every traveller’s nightmare, but what should you do?
Here at DotComGiftShop, we have compiled a brief guide for you so that if the worst should happen, you can be certain of being prepared.
Make Copies
Before you go anywhere, make sure that you make electronic copies of all your important travel documents, including you passport and visas. Next, load these onto your computer and email them to yourself. If you do lose your documents, you’ll be able to access your email and print off relevant information - a simple way to gain peace of mind.
Keep it safe
The easiest way to avoid either losing or having your passport stolen is to keep it safe. A money belt worn around the waist is a handy way to keep your passport close by without being hindered by it.
Keep it to yourself
In some countries, hotels insist that you hand over your passport, however we recommend that you politely refuse. It is acceptable for a hotel to take a copy, or make a note of your passport details but your passport is your responsibility alone and you should never feel compelled to hand it over to anyone.
Tell the Police
It is very important that you notify the local Police as soon as you realise that your passport is missing. Not only will this reduce the chances of somebody using your identity, you will also need a crime number in order to apply for a replacement document.
Call the embassy
Contact the British Embassy or Commonwealth Office in the country that you’re visiting. They can advise you of what to do and will be able to issue you with replacement documents - the number to contact from abroad is +44 (0)20 7008 1500.
Here at DotComGiftShop, we want your holiday to go off without a hitch - our bright, colourful passport covers are a great way for you to keep tabs on your most important document.
Passport packing women
In days gone by, women were strongly discouraged from indulging their wanderlust. Here DotComGiftShop celebrate some of the great women who have defied the rules of convention, packed their passports and headed off into the unknown.
Lady Hester Stanhope (1776 - 1839)
An early passport packer, the adventurous young Lady Stanhope while on passage to Cairo by sea was shipwrecked during a tempest.
The year was somewhere around 1810 and although she and her party survived, they lost all their clothes.
Stanhope dressed in Turkish garb and refusing female attire, she donned turban, robe and slippers. She made it to Cairo where she further embellished her costume with a sabre.
Later, travelling through Arabia, she was received with honour by local tribal leaders, astonished by her confidence, stately bearing and obvious courage.
Mary Kingsley (1862 - 1900)
When Mary Kingsley’s parents died she decided to indulge her dreams of travel by packing her passport and heading off to Africa.
Mary was greeted with surprise by indigenous peoples unused to meeting single white women who were not missionaries. But Mary, although having little formal education was passionate about anthropology and science.
During her travels, Mary visited Sierra Leone, Angola and Gabon. She learned to survive by learning from the natives, lived with cannibals and discovered several new species of fish.
Amy Johnson (1903 - 1941)
A trail blazing, passport toting aviation pioneer, Amy Johnson is a true heroine. She achieved many records during her relatively short life.
Her father helped her to buy a de Havilland Gypsy Moth. She named it Jason and it was in 1930, and in this tiny, fragile plane that she earned her place in history by flying solo from Croydon, 11,000 miles to Darwin in Australia.
After the out break of the Second World War, Amy joined the Air Transport Auxilliary. Tragically she drowned aged 37 when her plane came down in the Thames estuary.
Dame Naomi James nee Power (1949 - )
Brought up on a land locked sheep farm in New Zealand, Naomi worked as a hairdresser and didn’t even learn to swim until she was 23. But all that was to change when she packed her passport and boarded a passenger boat bound for Europe.
In France, she met her future husband, yacht skipper Rob James. It was while she was waiting for him to complete an ocean race so they could get married that the idea of sailing single handed around the world occurred to her.
Naomi became the first woman to sail around the world via Cape Horn. During the voyage she nearly lost her mast, capsized and had no radio for several weeks.
Ffyona Campbell (1967 -)
One woman whose passport has been stamped more than most, Ffyona Cambell is famed for her long distance walking endeavours. She is the only woman to have walked around the entire world, covering 20,000 miles in 11 years.
Vilified in the press for having accepted a lift whilst crossing North America - she was only 18 years old at the time and unwell, she hadn’t wanted to let her sponsors down. She later returned to re-walk that stretch of her journey.
An exceptional achievement, Ffyona, we salute you.
Dame Ellen MacArthur (1976 - )
One of the world’s most travelled women, yet the one, potentially, with the least used passport. Why? Well if you don’t stop and you end up back where you started then your passport never sees the light of day.
Inspired by the Swallows and Amazons children’s stories, Dame Ellen began saving her school dinner money to buy her own boat - it took her eight years and she never looked back.
Most famous for coming second in the single handed round the world yacht race, the Vendee Globe, she also set the record for sailing solo around the world non-stop aboard her trimaran, B&Q.
Passport covers
For most of us mere mortals, our travels are of a less extreme variety - but that doesn’t mean to say that we can’t travel in style. Here at DotComGiftShop, we have an array of vivid and colourful passport covers, so that wherever you go, you’ll cut a dash!
