Passports & Visas

[Stephanie Maple]

I prize of a passport has risen from $100 to $135 in the U.S. This tells me that I should look into buying a new one soon, because who knows how expensive they will be next year. I am probably heading to China in 2011 or 2012 and need to get one as well as a visa.

Do any of you travel abroad alot? Have any of you been to China?

[Phil Roland]

Hong Kong mostly, but I've spent a couple of weeks in "summer" in the Harbin province once. Summer is in quotation marks because it's as far north and east you can be in China without entering Siberia, and it was fucking cold as balls.

I used to go abroad a lot. Still would, if not for funding. Traveling is the best way to spend your life, in my opinion. I couldn't fathom staying rooted to one spot for as long as I lived. The concept terrifies me, to be honest.

[Matt W.]

I've left Canada one in my life. Unfortunately, I've never been able to afford such trips as my money goes to booze food and ....other stuff.

[Stephanie Maple]

If I go to China I will be going to Beijing. The Head of the Chinese Department said that in Shanghai (another option) they have a different accent and they are too used to Americans. I have to find out details about semester length as well this fall.

[Angel]

The last time I had a passport it was $65. LOOOOONG time ago.  I haven't been abroad since I came from Germany.  I would love to travel all over, but finances keep me pretty well rooted to the states.  I think you might as well get your passport now since you know you'll be needing it in the next year or 2 anyway.  No sense waiting til the last minute.  And they are valid for 10 years still, I think.

[Christopher J. Lawton]

Follow Angel's advice. Get it early. Not just for the price, but for the peace of mind. I had a friend, who was going abroad, and he waited until the last minute to get his passport. There was a problem with shipping it out. And the week before he left, he had to drive down to Denver to the Passport office to try and get it. A week before he was supposed to leave, he had no idea if he was even going to be able to get out of the country.

Nerve-wracking, to say the least...

[Matt W.]

I remember when I did leave the country, we went to Cancun Mexico. My mother (born in scotland) had a really old passport. They held us in the airport for hours and hours and we honestly thought they weren't going to let us go home. Ever. I was ok with that, though. I met a smoking hot dancer girl that was my age (16) and I wanted to stay forever.
 
Till this day they won't let her get a new passport because our fucking government thinks her Birth Certificate is a fake.

[Angel]

HA, sounds like my experience renewing my driver's license last year.  They thought I was nuts and didn't like my birth certificate because they couldn't read it.  They kept telling me I had to have a birth certificate with a state seal on it.  I told them "Sure, call any state you want and see if they'll put a seal on it. I doubt it since I wasn't born here!!"  It wasn't like it was my first license either, I'd had one for over 20 years!  I understand the need to be cautious, but COME ON!

[Matt W.]

Where were you born?

[Angel]

I was born in Germany.  Army brat.  That's why Cap always tells people I'm really a Nazi in disguise.  I got my second passport when I turned 18 and I had to choose my final citizenship.  Technically I was a German citizen as well as an American citizen until I was 18.  I remember when I was really young, my dad taking me down to the immigration office to try and finalize my paperwork for birth abroad.  There was so much red tape and everything having to be just so.... several years and numerous trips later, he just gave up so I got questioned about my citizenship all my life.  Do you realize how weird it was to walk into that immigration office past all the others that were trying to get legal or get visas to stay here and they would get in, and I would have 20 more forms to fill out?? One of the trips we made to turn in passport pictures and forms, they sent us back out because they said that my pictures had been cropped too small and I needed to have them retaken.  By the time I turned 18 the rules had changed for army brats like me and all we had to do was get a passport to prove it.  SOOOOO much easier. 

[Matt W.]

My mom's 49 and she's still going through Citizenship BS. She moved to Canada when she was 7 or 8. I mean it's like they want school photo's for proof or something crazy like that.

[Angel]

I think they'd rather have blood.... that's how I felt, anyway.

[Desna]

I agree with the getting your passport early thing. My sister went off to China and there was a rush on her visa or something of that nature. She ended up having to drive to an office in D.C. in order to get everything straight and have her papers in hand in order to go.

Don't know a lot about China, but I hear that if you are 1) a natural blonde 2) a natural red head or 3) African American, random people will want to take pictures of you or with you. Happened to my sister a few times.

Also heard the food is different. Good, just different. Might take the tummy a little while to get used to.

BRING TOILET PAPER!!! No joke. My sister was in an airport and she said the toilet was little more than a hole in the ground and there was no toilet paper. Just so happened that she had packed the travel sized wet ones in her carry-on. So it is better to be safe than to be sorry.

[Dave Barton]

Definitely get the passport now.  They're good for ten years, so you should be set for a while.  Start the paperwork early, could take you several months.

As for China, I've been to Mt. Wudang in Shiyan city of the Hubei province.  If you can get near there, take a day for it.  Some of the most beautiful country on the planet.

[westsidah408]

I've been to Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen. China's a beautiful place but I'd say be a little wary of the people. Like a lot of Koreans I saw in South Korea, they push each other around a lot, literally, especially when queuing and stuff. A lot of them are really nice as well. It's a huge country so you see all sorts of people. A Chinese visa is not difficult to get, so don't worry about that too much. As for the food, it's really good. I'm from Thailand and we love spicy food and we know how bland real Chinese food is so we took condiments and stuff. We were prepared. Prepare yourself to finding out that the "Chinese food" you guys have in the US is NOT actually Chinese food. There are fast food joints in most of the big cities anyway so it shouldn't be a problem. Definitely visit the Great Wall. I haven't been to that part of China yet, but those who I know that have absolutely recommend it.

Asia's a beautiful place. You should also visit India, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and other places. And this is just East Asia.

I agree with you guys about American BS red tape. All the hurdles we had to jump through to get a US visa. Canada's was way easier. Didn't even want an interview.