The blue book that's worth its weight in gold

Less than a third of Americans have passports, and less than 10% have ever left the US. That statistic amazes me along with most non-American travelers I have met during my travels. I suspect that in other western countries, the percentage for both stats is significantly higher.

When I became a naturalized US citizen, I could not wait to get my hands on a US passport and applied only a couple of days after my oath ceremony. I found myself incredibly fortunate to finally have a passport that allowed me to travel most of the world without much hassle. Most countries would not even require a visa ahead of time before entering the country - what a novel concept!

Such is not the case when traveling on a Pakistani passport. Visas must be obtained prior to travel to most places (and rejections due to vague reasons are not uncommon). Upon entry and exit into each country, you are subject to additional questioning, numerous baggage searches, special registration, etc.

I will never forget one horrific experience traveling on a Pakistani passport from Dallas to Karachi via Boston, Paris, Cairo, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and Masqat. (Yes, that was the actual routing! After that trip, I never let anyone else book travel for me again.)

It took three days to get to Karachi with overnights in Paris and Cairo airports. In Paris, the aircraft for our flight to Cairo was 14 hours late. Most passengers were bused to a hotel in Paris, took a city tour, had a nice meal, and came back refreshed to the airport just before the flight departed. A few of us traveling on non-US/EU passports, on the other hand, were asked to wait in a transit lounge and were given a ~$10 food allowance.

When we finally reached Cairo, my plan was to spend the night at a nearby hotel and go on a short tour of the pyramids before my flight the next day. Upon arrival into the Cairo airport, our passports and plane tickets were taken from us until our flight the next day, and we were again asked to wait in the transit lounge overnight and half the next day.

Three days, two airport overnights, and countless baggage searches later, I arrived in Karachi, vowing to apply for a US passport as soon as I was eligible (and to never fly TWA again)!

To the Americans out there that don't have a passport: Do you realize how fortunate you are to be able to get a US passport? Get one right away and explore the world!