Help! Stolen Passport
 

I'm in Kuala Lumpur, and my passport was stolen today. I was supposed to leave for Bali tomorrow but I guess those plans will have to be changed. I will go to the embassy first thing in the morning. Does anyone have any idea how long it will take to get a replacement? Will the new replacement cause any delays as I move between countries and then return to the US without all the arrival and departure stamps?

Hold your bag tightly around motorcycles. They snatch and run before you know what happened.

The embassy can issue a temporary travel document on the spot, but this may cause a problem for onward travel. It's generally only useful for getting back to the US. Embassies can't issue new passports any more (although maybe in an emergency...) so you have to wait two weeks for a new on.

ALSO, you need a police report before you go to the embassy. Did you report this to the police and get a copy of the report?

Yes, I did report it to the police and thet gave me a copy of the report. We will be flying home from Singapore on Feb 4. Looks like we will have to forget Bali. I hope we have no trouble getting back into Singapore.

Thanks for answering so quickly.

what a shame.. and i had felt so safe there over the holidays.

good luck on the rest of your trip.
keep us posted.

When you go to the embassy take the police report and every item of documentation you have, credit cards, airline tickets, hotel receipts, take the lot.
The biggest issue Embassy's have is bottom line knowing that you are who you say you are, so anything helps.

Important Tip:

When you checked in to your hotel the hotel may have recorded your passport details in their system, check with the duty manager and he should be able to print out that data, I don't know what details they enter in KL but soemthing from the hotel showing your passport number etc at least establishes the passport number etc.

Did you by any chance scan/copy your passport ? Does anyone back home have a copy ?
I am not syaing it will help but it certainly won't do any harm anyone back home who can fax you anything that simply helps to assure the embassy that you are exactly who you say. No idea if that helps speed up things but won't harm.

Good luck

Fortunately I made a copy of my passport, so I have that with me. I also scanned and emailed myself a copy. That's a travel tip I learned here on Fodors!

I will take all the travel documentation I have to the Embassy with me tomorrow. Fortunately I printed out everything before I left.

My problem now is reaching expedia to cancel the Bali portion of the trip. The number has been busy for the past couple hours, so I have tried emailing them. I hate to lose all that money, on top of everything else.

My daughter still has her passport, credit cards and ATM card, so all is not lost. At least we can still eat!

I'm really sorry to hear this, and I hope you were carrying a copy of the picture page somewhere else. But when you get the replacement, please don't carry it around in a bag - you need a money belt!

Don't worry about the stamps on returning to the US - I leave and return on my US passport, and usually travel on my UK passport, so I have returned without entry/exit stamps several times without a problem.

I'm really sorry to hear this, OJudy. I hope the embassy can give you a travel document that will get you to Bali.

If not, why not spend some time elsewhere in Malaysia before you have to go to Singapore to fly home? You might want to wait to call Expedia until you've talked with the embassy.

We had been debating between Bali and Penang. We may just end up in Penang afterall.

The police here were very helpful and sympathetic. It was obvious they had heard the same story many times before.

Incidentally, as the thief grabbed my purse from my shoulder, he dropped his cell phone. It is now in the possession of the police.

And you know, I always keep my passport locked in the room safe -- except today!

Wear a money belt. And always have passport and birth certificate copies. Happy Travels!

Good on you, OJudy, for having taken the wise precaution of having copies of your passport!

Sorry this happened to you, but with that kind of foresight, you'll come out of this just fine.

Take good care and maybe Penang will prove to be a good alternative, after all! Good beaches there too! I like the Shangri La Rasa Sayang there, but that was several years ago.

OJudy -- Very sorry to hear of what happened to your passport, sending best wishes your way and hope all works out for you, glad you are not traveling alone.

Sorry to hear about your passport problem OJudy.

Before you go to the embassy, take at least 2 passport size photos with you. It will speed up the process of getting a new passport.

The embassy "can" issue a temporary passport within a day...at least they used to be able to, pre-911. After they hear your story, I feel confident that the embassy will issue a temporary passport on the spot (within a day. You might be able to continue with your travel plans to Bali.

In future, please carry a money belt. Good for money too. Just take out what you need for the day, and the rest is safely tucked away in the money belt.

Good luck...do let us know how this works out.

Put credit cards, money and passport in your money belt. Only keep out enough money for the day. You can always dig into the money belt while it's on you if you need more or a credit card.

I have a new passport! We spent half the day at the embassy, but it was well worth it. Tommorow I have to go to the Malaysian immigration office in Putrajaya to get a duplicate entry stamp. I'm sure that will take another half day -- and then we'll be off to Penang. We still have a couple weeks left of our trip, and if things go well, we may still get to Bali.

Thank you for your help, advice and good wishes.

It's amazing isn't it that getting a passport replaced in American can take weeks and no end of aggravation, and at an overseas Embassy you're on your way in half a day! Kudos to the State Department.

good news. enjoy Penang and DO NOT MISS the E+O, even at least for happy hour by the pool.

we had a beautiful fruit plate and some drinks one afternoon there, which prompted us to change our reservations giving ourselves a last night splurge there... a truly memorable experience.

Great! Enjoy Penang! The E&O is fabulous, the hawker food is amazing (and cheap!), and the Georgetown area is charming.

Great news, well done !

We are now at the Holiday Inn at Batu Ferringhi -- a large lovely room overlooking the mountains at a very reasonable price. Not bad for last minute arrangements! I think we will really enjoy our stay here. And a trip into Georgetown is definitely on our agenda.

One more thing -- regarding my visit to Malaysian Immigration today -- four long long long hours of waiting, but I have all my paperwork. Everything worked out fine, but it was very time consuming. An guess where my passport is now -- locked in the hotel safe, where it belongs!

we stayed at the holiday inn, too. the bus stops almost at the door to take you to the national park where you can take a boat to isolated beaches or trek to and from there in the jungle.register first at entrance.Have many coins as they give no change. about 1-1.5 MYR per person. also goes to georgetown and port.

there are plenty of laundry places along the road, too, same day service.

the food court down to to your left when you leave the hotel is EXCELLENT. we had very good char koay teow there, oysters, and good a banana roti dessert from the indian lady on left near entrance. ask her to make it THIN.

also, ferringhi gardens ( turn right out of the hotel.. but enter NOT from main street, but go around through the back as it is a more stunning entrance)for a more upscale atmosphere is very nice.

we had great banana "roti" at the food court and also for breakfast down the beach at a small muslim place. enjoy that area.

The yahong art gallery has a lot of very nice interstign handicrafts. (across the street from hotel but down to the right a ways.)

We didn't think the spice garden was too interesting.

i am so glad your passport duplication worked out well.

Thank you for the tips, lincasanova. We are enjoying our stay here very much -- good food everywhere!

So glad you've got all the paperwork sorted. I am in KL about 2 to 3 times a year and have been rather blase but lately everyone has been warning me about bag snatchers. So during my last trip, I tried not to walk where motor-cyclists can whizz past you, ie I hang back at the lights and position myself well when crossing roads.

I was warned repeatedly in Melaka by shopowners to be careful with my purse. I guess we weren't really in shops much in KL, or perhaps we would have heard the same.