Travelling the world without a passport, any tips?

Originally posted by CaptChaos
Before I left many other captains told me, "No way are you going to make it like that, especially at the Canal. You'll never make it, you'll end up in jail in the third world, bla bla bla" just like you're hearing now.

Note the guy who says he's too old for it anymore is your biggest supporter. One hitchhiking trip I did, THREE different guys told me the same thing: "Don't listen to anyone who says you're crazy, just keep doing it. I always had plans to do some awesome stuff, but was always putting it off cause of this or that. Now I'm too old and I never did anything,"

I'm telling you, go for it, dude. I would go by boat, but overland is cool, too.

Well, to be fair, there is the definite possibility of landing in that third world jail. It cost one of my friends their life (they can be very violent places).

Dont dismiss others warnings simply because you had no issues.

Originally posted by IkNOwSTuff
reply to post by stitch8689

 

Out of curiosity how long over have you over stayed?
Whats your plan for getting back?
What part of Thailand you in?
\
Beer in 6 weeks?

I'm about 18 months overstay. I keep myself to myself and out of the way of anyone wearing a uniform!

There is kind of an unwritten rule that if you turn up with an outbound ticket and 20,000 bhat (not sure what that is in your currency) then they just let you get your flight. overstay is 500bhat a day to the max of 20,000bhat.

im looking at leaving at the start of next month as i still have stuff i need to do here, going to get in contact with the embassy to find out exactly my situation, if i'm looking at jail time or a larger fine, i'm going to just leave over the border into burma

As for which part of Thailand i'm in, i'm on an island on the east side

as long as I dont end up kidnapped or murdered

Those are kind of the two main worries I'd have... Personally, my advice is to simply bring your passport.

Locked up for a day or two at most....are you really that naive?

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


In addition to what I have already said to you; I just have to say I think you are being very foolish in choosing not to travel without a passport.

Really...you can still have lots of excitement and good times...and travel with a legal passport.

As I have indicated before I hope for your the best in life; but this foolish choice of yours I think will not end well. I also fear for you.

Many members here on ATS have warned you not to travel without your legal documentation; you should heed their warnings; including mine.

reply to post by caladonea


Your avatar always makes me think your psychic or a witch, have you had a vision or something?

I genuinely appreciate the concern but I really dont see it being as dangerous as people seem to think, what do you imagine will happen?

P.s not being snarky with the psychic/witch comment it just seems odd you would come back to this thread after 4 days with what came across as a sense of urgency. It almost seems like you KNOW something as opposed to just being worried

Originally posted by Gazrok

as long as I dont end up kidnapped or murdered

Those are kind of the two main worries I'd have... Personally, my advice is to simply bring your passport.

Locked up for a day or two at most....are you really that naive?

How would having my PP with me prevent those 2 things from happening?

Originally posted by IkNOwSTuff
reply to post by caladonea

 

Your avatar always makes me think your psychic or a witch, have you had a vision or something?

I genuinely appreciate the concern but I really dont see it being as dangerous as people seem to think, what do you imagine will happen?

P.s not being snarky with the psychic/witch comment it just seems odd you would come back to this thread after 4 days with what came across as a sense of urgency. It almost seems like you KNOW something as opposed to just being worried

I do not consider myself a psychic and I am definitely not a witch. However...I do at times have strong (intuitive vibes) about people and/or situations and 90 percent of the time I am right. I have a vibe on you...do not travel without your passport and any other legal documentation you may have.

Originally posted by IkNOwSTuff
How would having my PP with me prevent those 2 things from happening?

Those two things become significantly more likely when incarcerated in really any country.

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


Because you at least have a possibility of involving your government for extradition or just getting expelled from the country vs. staying in jail. Without it though, the jailers would have less to lose for simply locking you up and forgetting about you.

Originally posted by Gazrok
reply to post by IkNOwSTuff

 

Because you at least have a possibility of involving your government for extradition or just getting expelled from the country vs. staying in jail. Without it though, the jailers would have less to lose for simply locking you up and forgetting about you.

I just dont see that as a realistic possibility. wheres the incentive for them?

anywhere that would do that has a backward and corrupt system that you can buy your way out of.
I wont be doing anything terribly bad and anyone who arrests me is just gonna be thinking "I wonder how much money this guy will pay if we scare him enough"

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


Suit yourself...just giving advice is all, from someone who has traveled extensively and filled a couple passports....take it or leave it, no skin off my back...

Just to let you know, if you are interested-

I left Thailand yesterday- i was fined 20,000Bhat (£400) , didn't get a ban from re-entering, didn't get locked up.

not the end of the world-

Have you started the trip yet?

I think it is possible for sure. You will have to avoid any higher security areas so you will be sleeping rough. Couchsurfing for places to stay would be the go for city stays. Make sure you take your passport though. Get it stamped when you leave malaysia then tuck it away and ditch before you reach the next border (ie over the side of a boat). If you get busted, say you took a kayak and you're looking for a place to get a stamp. You are in transit since you still haven't officially entered a country yet. Stick to your story that it is the first country you entered and I doubt they would bother hassling you. You get a stamp and you lost. Go home. If you win and make it to british soil, get your pp stamped when the authorities meet you at the shore. Then you have a nice little certificate of your achievement in your pp and you don't have to face the embassy for your stupidity.

The only difference I can see to travelling with a pp danger wise is the remote areas you will have to cross borders. Avoid China and Russia completely. I would aim for turkmenistan and over the caspian. If you get to Greece or Bulgaria, the EU states will get you easily to France. Then hell just kayak to the UK and get busted with your pp.

Dude, have you left yet? If you have, how are you doing? Any crazy experiences yet? I all of a sudden thought about you and your thread here (had to search for it). Well anyway, I hope you have left and I hope you are having a fun and very safe trip...good luck!

IknowStuff! Wow! This is a marvelous idea! In 5-10 years time, I'll have to do this myself.

Also, to all the guys saying a passport makes it safer in a 3rd world country...haha...haha...I bet it makes it *less* safe. Will it stop Islamist Fundamentalists from shooting you? Thought so! If someone wants to rob you, they will rob you regardless of if you have a passport or not. In fact, I bet small islamic villages will be more welcoming to someone who they can't identify but who tries to be friendly...I live in a 2nd world country...Latvia. Police are paid 200 euros a month and if they didn't get bribes, THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO FUC*ING RENT A FUC*ING APARTAMENT! Literally, I can kill someone and offer a bribe. Unless it was a close relative/friend, these guys will write it off. And this country is in the European Union!!! Seriously, I have personally bribed them...Police only cares more about documents in USA and the West. In the rest of the world, it's cash. I remember back on the Russian news there was a story about a group of cops who took a bribe to cover up a murder but it was all filmed by a camera :S

reply to post by apokalupsis33vital


I see by his profile that he posted about a week ago. Although where he is remains a mystery.

My guess is that someone done him in and stole his ATS password off him.

...he sleeps with the fishes.

be aware in india you will be asked for your visa when looking for accommodation, so keep that in mind

Hi I'm a new member and very interested in how you are planning to do this. I want to do a similar thing from an asian country getting myself and my four-year-old son to my homecountry in Europe. My ex (ex prostitute) is treatening to harm me and take our son away from me. She has left me with few options and I like to be proactiv and have a contigency plan if sh** hits the fan.
The thing is my son doesn't have a passport or any kind of documentation. The only thing I have for him is a birth cirtificate where I'm stated as the father.
For me it's not the experience its the safety of me and my son's wellbeing. Your planning and some research tips would be great if you would like to share it with me.
I have started the process of arriving there to see if this is a viable option. My ex wouldn't put it past her to ruin our son's future to make me miserable and in the same go have me seriously injured or worse. I am in need of som ideas on a way of successfully doing this.And please don't give me any advice on how stupid this is because I have been in contact with the embassy and there's nothing they can do for me without her agreement to it and that's not goig to happen. I know this would be a risky move but I can't see any other solutions. Any tips to websites or threads on forums with info to this kind of thing is highly appriciated.
PS. This should probably be its own thread but since I can't do that yet I had to post it here.
Thanks and please post info on how you get through borders/passing over a border line it might be useful info for me.