Your sacred passport

When you travel internationally, your passport is the only document that identifies you as a citizen of your nation. Protecting it is easy! Replacing it is less easy while you're traveling, but it can be done.

First, if you're in the U.S., get a passport card as well as a passport book. The passport card is like a small version of your passport, without all the stamps. It's valid for domestic (U.S.) flights and it fits neatly into your wallet like a credit card.

Second, keep a copy of your passport. This can be as simple as a photo on your phone and a physical photocopy (in case your phone dies - highly unlikely, but it can happen).

Third, keep a certified copy of your birth certificate with you. This sounds like a hassle, but it's quite thin and takes up very little space in your luggage or backpack.

For all these points - and this is the tricky part - keep them in different places so that if you're pickpockets or you lose part of your luggage/backpack, you don't lose everything. You might use a system like this:

• passport card in your wallet

• passport in your hotel or hostel room's safe/locked storage (just remember to take it with you when you move on)

• photocopy on your phone and in your luggage

• certified copy of your birth certificate in your personal item, typically a purse or messenger bag

If you lose your passport

Call your nation's embassy in the closest city you can find. The staff there will tell you what your next step is.

If you lose your passport and all your backup paperwork

The reason behind having multiple locations for the same paperwork is simple; it makes your embassy's job easier if you need to replace it.

If you blow through all these layers of protection, still call your embassy as soon as you realize your multiple layers of mistakes. Prepare for delays, though, including missing your flights, and be courteous to every person you talk with. Your blatant carelessness does not create an emergency for anyone but you.

It's possible to get an emergency passport issued before your flight, if all these factors fall into place:

• you have several hours before your flight

• you complete the required forms accurately, including some of the tougher questions like your parents' dates and locations of birth

• you have the required funds for an emergency passport (about $150 to $200, and good for one year)

• you are lucky