Travel warning: The costly mistakes that left a yoga teacher stranded in Asia

There’s an unfortunate story making waves right now about a yoga teacher in Thailand trying to make her way home but was denied boarding because she has a small tear in her passport. There are a few lessons to be learned from Rosie Viscomi, 27, of Norfolk, England. RELATED: Boston Couple in Jeopardy of Missing Their Own Wedding in Italy After Dog Eats Groom’s Passport

First of all, the New York Post reports that Viscomi, who earned her yoga certification in India and traveled to southern Thailand to learn more about her passion and do volunteer work. She “eventually decided to return home to Norfolk earlier this month, booking a multi-stop flight that would take her through Bangkok, India and Turkey before finally arriving in London. While certainly a roundabout route, it was nothing compared to the odyssey that would befall her in Bangkok. Upon arrival at the Thai capital’s airport on July 4, the Brit was denied entry by the IndiGo Airlines staff due to a ‘1 centimeter’ tear on the photo page of her passport.”

Viscomi was perplexed because she hadn’t had a problem on prior flights, including trips to the US, Jamaica and Thailand. It was a long, expensive ordeal that caused her a lot of stress and money. She went on to say, “I don’t actually have any money left — I did not account for this extra expense.”

Here are six things I think travelers can learn from this unfortunate incident:

1. You can’t travel with a damaged passport
Though Viscomi was able to travel to multiple countries on a slightly ripped passport, it’s generally not allowed. It’s obviously up to the agent but she got lucky with all the people she encountered on the first few trips and unlucky with the Indian airline agent. But my Canadian wife learned having a damaged passport is a big no, no. In the UK, Canada, the U.S. and I’m guessing pretty much everywhere.

Here’s my wife’s story about when our son was 18 months old, grabbed her wallet from her purse, pulled out her passport and tore out the very last page, which was blank. I told her right then that her passport was no longer valid. She thought I was joking until she looked it up on the Canadian government’s rules.

Since 93% of my readers are American, here’s what the U.S. State Department says about damaged passports:

“If your passport is damaged, apply for a new passport. Replace your passport if there is:

• Water damage
• A significant tear
• Unofficial markings on the data page
• Missing visa pages (torn out)
• A hole punch

Do not replace your passport if there is normal “wear and tear” which includes:

• The bend of a passport after being carried in your back pocket
• Fanning of the visa pages after lots of opening and closing

If you need to replace your damaged passport, submit:

• The damaged passport;
• A signed statement explaining the damaged or mutilated condition of your passport book and/or card;
• Form DS-11 (including supporting documents, photo, and fees)”

2. Indian airports and airlines are strict
In my experience, Indian airport and airline workers are strict. On my first trip, my visa was denied because my signature touched the small signature box. I didn’t know that just touching the box and not being within the lines would cause my application to be denied. Another example: Getting into the airport in India (I’m not sure if this is still the case since it’s been a while), I needed a printed copy of my itinerary; they would not accept my digital copy and I had to go get one printed. Another example: Once through security, I took my camera out of my bag to take a photo of our plane. When I tried to board, the agent said there was no security tag on my camera like there was for my carry-on. I explained that it was in my bag when I went through security and I had taken it out to snap a photo and kept it around my neck. They wouldn’t let me put my camera back in and I had to run through the airport and go back through security. I narrowly missed my flight.

3. You need to plan for extra expenses
Viscomi said, “I don’t actually have any money left — I did not account for this extra expense.” I’ve heard horror story after horror story about travelers saying exactly this after either getting stuck at destinations because they got sick, injured, weather or natural disasters. When you budget for a trip, you need to account for the unexpected.

4. Credit cards and travel insurance
If you don’t have the money in the bank, travel with a good credit card that you purchased your plane ticket with to get the credit card protection. Better yet, get a solid travel insurance plan. Full disclosure: I’m an ambassador for Allianz but used them and InsureMyTrip (the Kayak of travel insurance) before I started working with them.

5. Create a GoFundMe
Fortunately, those who don’t have the extra money but have a good story or a solid network can create a webpage to accept donations. Viscomi’s sister created a GoFundMe to help her out and at the time of this writing, she’s raised over $400.

6. Protect your passport
I wrote a post not too long ago about the most important thing I do when I travel internationally, which is protecting my passport and NEXUS card. I leave them in the same place in my carry-on and with a rubber band around them to keep it from falling out.

KEEP READING

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–Mom shares hilarious reason she’s not getting TSA Precheck anytime soon
–How to get a full bottle of water through airport security

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