This lesson seems only to be learnt the hard way. A friend who lost his passport in Saudi Arabia spent four days in a detention center while the Indian Embassy established his identity. This was despite the fact that he had been staying at an expensive hotel where his personal details were registered. It took eight more days for the issuance of a new passport, followed by a grateful departure home.

When I lost my passport, I lost virtually everything else than went with it, including my morale. Yet when I look back on the experience, I am glad that it all worked out rather well - and pretty fast too.

I had just arrived at Zurich from Sri Lanka early one Saturday morning, dressed in T-shirt and jeans. Rather than stuff the pockets of my jeans with my travel paraphernalia, I slipped in only a little money to change at the airport. I then decided to take a taxi to the tourist office to get information on a quiet place stay, away from the city. While paying the taxi fare at my destination, my briefcase - and the passport, onward tickets, traveller's cheques, money, business papers and business cards in it - was stolen!

So instead of going into the tourist office, I headed for the police station, where the officers were both helpful and hopeful. They informed me that stolen briefcases were often abandoned in the toilets of the nearby railway station after the valuables had been removed. After an unsuccessful search of the station and its toilets, I made my way to the American Express office down the road. I had been carrying traveller's cheques worth about US$5,000 but had no proof of purchase, nor did I have any proof of identity. A call to the Amex office in London was made, and an amount of 500 Swiss francs was sanctioned. As this amount would get me nowhere, I insisted that another call be made. This time, I got on the phone myself and managed to have the emergency advance doubled to 1,000 Swiss francs. I also gave Amex London the details of the bank in Sri Lanka where the cheques had been bought.

With money in hand, it was back to the train station. I used the self-service booth there to get myself some passport photographs and boarded a train to Bern, where the embassy was sympathetic, but not particularly speedy in its approach. I had a long form to plough through and fill in, after which they informed me that I could collect my passport the following Tuesday. This was impossible, as I have a meeting in London that very day, so I asked to see the person in charge.

Although the person I had initially interacted with was rather peeved, the head of mission decided I was worthy of a passport immediately. So it was on to Geneva and the British Embassy on Monday morning in an effort to get back on schedule. A little persistence here and I was issued a visa. Results were showing at American Express as well, for the London office had come through with replacement cheques, having completed the verification process with the issuing bank in Sri Lanka.

It was only on the flight to London that I was able to breathe easily once again. I have always carried copies of all relevant documents since. It makes much sense to keep copies of all your travel documents as it can speed up the replacement process in the event of loss. Photocopies of your passport should be kept separately from the passport itself, perhaps in the suitcase that is being checked in. Similarly with travellers cheques, relevant, information such as cheque numbers, currency denomination, and place and date of issue should be kept separately for easy proof of purchase and replacement in case of theft or loss. Leaving yet another set of copies at home or in the office make the "rescue" process even more foolproof.

Besides being an advocate of the fact that "copying is clever", I have also learnt that persistence, politeness and a seriousness of purpose are essential ingredients of problem-solving whenever you find yourself in a tricky situation.