Hello World Travelers,
In December we had a very interesting meeting with Eastern Canada TCC members providing some fascinating passport stories and “wish lists” of travel destinations.
The group was asked to bring a current or expired passport with their most interesting/coveted stamp and/or visa from a country visited, and a little description of why it was chosen.
Some great TCC stories were told. Included were passport stamps from India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Swaziland, Cameroon, Antarctica, Tibet and many others, accompanied by some memorable stories. One story, recounted by Bob Bryant, was deemed by the group as the most interesting, and he won a 60th anniversary TCC lapel pin.
Here is Bob’s story:
In the mid-sixties, Bob was in the Canadian Embassy in Tehran, Iran, while on an overland trip to Europe during a three-year trip around the world.
Bob was holding a passport with no blank pages, which would be a problem entering future countries on his trip. An American friend told him if he went to the Canadian Embassy, they would be able to attach a flip-out of several pages to solve the problem. The Embassy said they could not issue him a replacement passport because he did not have a birth certificate, even though a birth certificate was required for the passport he was trying to replace!
Here is how they solved the problem: They issued a new passport with all the identification handwritten. This new passport was tied to his original passport with red ribbon and a wax seal, as shown in the photo to the left. They told Bob that the passport was only good for a year, as he did not produce a birth certificate. Fortunately, he arrived home six months later, within the one year of the wacky temporary passport’s life.
Then we got to the “tell” part of the meeting, when members identified their “dream trip/ destination” with a little description of why they chose it.
A wide range of destinations were offered up, including kayaking in Norway, North Korea, an 80-day around-the-world trek, ‘the Silk Road, the Trans-Siberian Railway, the “Blue Train” from Jo-burg to the Western Cape in South Africa, Greenland, Nunavut, retracing Shackleton’s journey, Shanghai to Tibet train, Madagascar and Bhutan.
Rick Shaver gave a report on the TCC 60th anniversary meetings and cruise. The chapter also heard and viewed the Facebook page spearheaded by TCC Western Canada Coordinator Tim Skeet.
2015 meeting dates:
- Saturday April 18th
- Saturday September 12th
- Saturday December 5th
