The Stamp Collector

With just four days to go for my second international trip, I am spending a considerable amount of time feasting on travel blogs, guidebooks and country fact books. Just like my first trip, this one will begin as a business trip and end as a vacation. Another similarity would be that I will be visiting two countries.

What disappoints me about the coming trip is the fact that both Singapore and Cambodia have issued e-visas. I am all too aware of the "environment friendliness" of these, as well as the relative ease of obtaining them whilst sitting in the comfort of my home/ office. Yet, the disappointment stems from the fact that I will not have two more visa "stickers" in my passport. Even on the previous trip, I was disappointed with the lack of any border checkpoint between France and Spain (where my passport could have carried the entry stamp from Spanish authorities) because my passport only shows entry and exit stamps at Charles de Gaulle Airport and nothing for Madrid's Atocha railway station (one of the largest in the world) or its enormous and splendid Barajas airport.

For long, I have envied those seasoned travellers who have three, four or even five additional passports bound together to accommodate all their visas and entry/ exit stamps. It's the only way a dry official document like a passport transforms into a gripping novel, with each visa and each stamp an unforgettable chapter. I have always imagined the pride with which I would present such a massive booklet at the immigration counter at an airport and cast a condescending glance towards the little kid eying me with awe. Most people want to collect postage stamps, but I want to collect visa stamps.

Obviously, my lust for travel is driven by a sincere, deep-rooted passion for exploring new and exotic places, meeting with people of different nationalities, and witnessing and briefly living among new cultures; not just for the almost robotic desire of collecting visa stamps. Nevertheless, the visa stamp from an exotic destination (say, Peru or Ethiopia or Iran or Vanuatu) is a prized possession and a catalyst to trigger all the memories associated with that place. The US visa is a prized possession of a different variety because a number of countries will never refuse you a visa or ask you to come to the consulate for a personal interview, if you have a valid US visa stamped on your passport. A Schengen area visa, especially a multiple-entry one valid for several years, is another valued stamp on your passport because you can visit dozens of countries in Europe with the same visa (of course, someone like me would still be disappointed because there won't be any additional stamps embossed during intra-Schengen area border crossings).

It's no secret that Cambodia is still an exotic destination which does not attract too many tourists. It is virtually unheard of in India. In fact, several people asked me where it was, one person asked me if it was in South America (obviously confusing it with Colombia) and yet another person, when I explained it neighboured Vietnam, asked if it was a province in Japan too (as he thought Vietnam was a province in Japan and that the US had nuked it during the Vietnam War). The best thing about Cambodia is that it features way below its neighbour Thailand in the average western tourist's list of must-see countries in South-east Asia. So when I get there in around ten days' time, I will not only be visiting a country that boasts of splendid ancient temples and natural beauty, but also collecting a rare entry/exit stamp. In fact, it will be my first "exotic" stamp. That's why I am kicked. OK, I admit - it's not the only reason. It IS a beautiful place.

Finally, I have to admit this is the only time I will pity the Americans. Their passport gets them entry into nearly 150 countries without requiring a visa. They will have very few stamps on their passports.