One simple way to avoid disaster while travelling

There I was - at Dublin Airport, with a handful of other students and our lecturer, about to board the plane to go back home to Norway after a week's study trip to Ireland. It had been a long week, and we were all exhausted and very ready to go home.

As everybody jumped up and pulled out their boarding passes and passports, I reached into my purse for mine and froze.

There was my boarding pass, but no passport...

Photo: Amazon.

Well, in my own way...

My world is one of organized chaos. You know how it is: your desk looks like a big mess, but you know exactly where to find everything.

However, for someone who usually knows where everything is, I tend to get flustered at airports. There are so many people, so much information, and just so much going on at once! Someone wants to see your boarding pass, someone else your passport, suddenly you have to take your iPad out of your bag - and don't forget to remove your belt before walking through the metal detectors. I get nervous and feel like I lose control over my belongings.

That is, until I bought myself a travel wallet. Passport, boarding passes, itinerary, and a credit card - all in one place. It is such a relief!

Not everyone likes to attract much attention to themselves. They may want their travel wallet to be plain and serve its purpose. For you, I have chosen this collection of very functional travel wallets.

I started cold sweating and felt a chill down my spine. There really was no passport in my purse, and no matter how many times I looked it would not magically reappear either. Nervously I stammered to my lecturer: "I seem to have lost my passport..."

While the plane was boarding I ran back to all the tax-free shops I had been to, asking if the staff had found a passport. I was presented with three boarding passes and a passport that wasn't mine - but in my panic I was not able to find comfort in knowing that I was not the only one losing important papers.

On my way back to the gate - still empty-handed - my phone rang, and my lecturer told me they had found my passport at the check-in counter. But I would soon discover my problems did not end there...

Keep your travel papers and frequent flyer cards in one place with these fun and girly travel accessories.

It turned out that without a valid ID, they could not give my passport back to me! As I showed them my VISA card with an up-to-date photo, date of birth and my signature on it, I was told that valid ID was limited to a driver's licence and a passport.

A passport I obviously did not have in my possession, and I didn't even have a driver's license at the time.

While all this was going on, they were holding the plane for me, and I was getting more and more anxious. I was first told I would have to spend the night at the airport and catch another flight in the morning - and of course pay for the new ticket. As a student on a limited budget, I panicked.

Eventually the nice woman at the gate called the pilot and asked if he was okay with flying a person without a passport, and he was. I was finally allowed on the plane with the parting words "Don't do this again!", quickly followed by "Oh, and I can't guaranteed that you will be allowed back into Norway without a passport!"

Great!

I get easily bored with plain functionality, yet I am not one for loud patterns on clothes or accessories.

Look as organised as you feel with these elegant accessories. You may have booked economy class tickets, but there is nothing wrong with pretending to travel on first class!

Red-faced and exhausted I boarded the plane with everybody’s eyes on me. I slumped back in my seat and pretended to sleep for the whole flight, completely humiliated by my own stupidity.

As it turned out, I had no problem getting into Norway, and the man at the passport control gave me the number to the Norwegian embassy in Dublin, where my passport would hopefully be delivered. Six months (!) later it arrived at the local sheriff’s office and was returned to me.

Still, seven years later, I have nightmares about turning up at the airport without my passport!

Make sure it really does have enough room for everything you may need on the journey - passport, boarding passes and a credit card. Being organized is hard when you suddenly don't have what you need with the rest of the items, just because it didn't fit.

With a wallet that can be closed with a zipper, you can relax knowing that nothing will fall out. Just remember to close the zipper each time you use it...

It is also great when they have a zipped pocket inside the wallet for coins.

Bon voyage!