On passports and visas

I’m pretty paranoid about how governments go about collecting information about their citizens. Short of living completely off the grid, I think Big Brother knows a great deal more about us than we think. Seeing as my passport pages were full, I mailed it off for renewal. The process is quite painless – I sent my application along with 2 photos to my local passport agency, which set me back about $75 bones. What I got back was the new RFID version, which contains a tiny computer chip that can be scanned electronically at borders.

Now, I think it’s strange to have all your personal information on a chip. What if someone hacks into it and steals your identity? One minute you’re Bill Miller from Des Moines, Iowa, the next thing you know you’re being tackled by airport security, whisked off to a secret prison in the mountains of Kazakhstan and forced to drink your own urine. Erm… sorry…enough with the conspiracy theories.

With passport secured, I checked the U.S. Department of State’s international travel site to see what additional visas we needed.

• India – $73 for 6 months, multiple entry. Must be obtained in advance.
• Nepal – $30 for 60 days, single entry. Obtained upon arrival.
• China – $130 (!) for 30 days, single entry. Must be obtained in advance.
• Bali – $25 for 30 days. Obtained upon arrival.
• Thailand – $30 for 60 days. Obtained upon arrival.
• Cambodia – $20 for 30 days. Obtained upon arrival, one passport photo required.
• Vietnam  – $40 for 30 days. Must be obtained in advance.
• Laos – $35 for 30 days. Obtained upon arrival, two passport photos required.
• Bolivia – $100 (!) for 90 consecutive days, good for 5 years. Obtained upon arrival.

For some of these countries (China, Vietnam), the validity of the visas would lapse if we got them in the states before our trip. We talked to a friend who had already traveled to these regions and said that we could get our Chinese visa in India. Additionally, you can get visas easily in Thailand before travelling to places like Cambodia or Vietnam. You can arrange this through a local travel agent or even online. Some of these are pretty expensive (looking at you Bolivia) but that’s the price you pay for living in a country hated for the last 8 years. Maybe Obama can help lower these through friendlier foreign policy?