Feeling Naked

Until I moved to Dubai I never realised how precious my passport was. Yes I knew it was crucial for travel, which I did a fair bit, but really it was just something which lived in my travel wallet and sat next to my copies of OK/Now/Heat magazine in my bag when on a plane.

Since I arrived here I cherish it. Not only is it crucial to my existence in terms of identity (and the small detail of my visa - which you can't function without) but it also allows you so much freedom when it comes to travel.

My colleagues from Lebanon, India, Jordan, Egypt, all face issues when they're travelling, even within the GCC. I regularly make the trip to Doha - in some cases I have to go because my MD cannot get a visa. I on the other hand trip up on arrival, hand over cash, and boom, I'm in. And every time I travel anywhere I'm amazed by how little it's scrutinized at immigration - as soon as they see that I'm British, it's pretty much stamped and straight through.

At the moment I'm without it - it had to be surrendered when applying for my new passport. I have a copy in my wallet, but I have to say, I'll feel better when I get it back.