Worst/Best 'terminal experience'

[wasabi]

After watching the movie “The Terminal” starring Tom Hanks, I remembered my worst ‘terminal experience’ in Vancouver 4 years ago, when I was in my second year of uni.

I posted an article in my website, and would like to share the conversation that I had with the custom officer, the morning that I arrived Vancouver.

After transited in 2 cities, I was tired, and irritated.
I was glad that I got a free ticket to travel all the way to Canada, but the first thing I encounter was BAD…

Custom(C) Wasabi (W)

C: What’s the purpose of your traveling?
W: (tried to hold a simile after 12 hours of flight) tour-sightseeing.
C: What’s your occupation?
W: University student (hm….it is on the inboard card, can’t you read??)
C: How come you are only staying here for 4 days?
W: Because my semester is starting soon, and I just have 5 days of holiday left. (This was an extremely stupid excuse, although that I was telling the truth!)
C: Ok, come with me.

So I had to go through a ‘major’ baggage checking. Everything was threw out,; contact solution was squeezed out to check it was only ‘contact lens solution’, they checked my iron tablets bottle, my vitamin C’s…etc. It was a real terrible feeling to have some stranger going through my personal things.

Questions and checking went for about 45 minutes.



Anyway, of course I was clear to go. The rest of the trip went ok, but it just didn’t turn out as good as I expected. Although that wasn't the first time that I travelled by myself, but holding an Aussie passport and got treated like that...I guess it was only for safety, and seriously, I don't do drugs, and not intending to do so!!!My friends laguhed at me after they heard the stroy, they said that I am such a 'goodie goodie'...and that's why the cutoms had a sudden 'check up'. Yeah, so kind of friend!

Have you had any ‘terminal experience?’ Worst or best ones?

PS, strongly recommended to go and see the movie.

[Somebody Else]

Can't remember one off-hand about myself - but my father once visited America, and because he was born in Hong Kong, he had to write that on a form of some sort. He was stopped by a customs official who was worked up about this - he wanted to know "Hong Kong, where?" which, admittedly, somewhat confused my father - monumental idiocy of that sort is just not to be expected. Eventually it was sorted out - my father maintained that it was Hong Kon, Hong Kong - what else could it be? I think the obdurate customs official decided it was Hong Kong, Asia or something. But not until after several hours of pointless debate.

[thrashaholic]

I've had a couple of scary experiences at an airport:

The first was in Gatwick where I'd just gone through the metal detectors and the police were conducting random sniffer-dog searches of people's bags just after. Anyway the police asked me to "stop, take off my bag, put it down and step away", I obliged and took a step back, the dog did it's sniffing on my bag, but then lept straight up at me. I was the scariest thing to happen to me in my life, I was so worried the police would think I had drugs on me (which I didn't). I suppose the dog didn't jump up in right way because nothing came of it, the police just apologised and let me go on my way, but it was bally scary.

The second happenned to me in Frankfurt airport after having visited my dad there. I was taking a DVD player back to the UK in my hand luggage, but German customs didn't particularly like it (even though I'm an EU resident travelling within the EU), they decided that they would send me over to some customs official who couldn't speak English and had to scan it with some special machine. It was all terribly confusing and time-consuming, and all over one little DVD player, oh well, that's life....

[Somebody Else]

The second happenned to me in Frankfurt airport after having visited my dad there. I was taking a DVD player back to the UK in my hand luggage, but German customs didn't particularly like it (even though I'm an EU resident travelling within the EU), they decided that they would send me over to some customs official who couldn't speak English and had to scan it with some special machine. It was all terribly confusing and time-consuming, and all over one little DVD player, oh well, that's life....

They might have been checking it for explosives... I've had laptops and things checked for that before - they have a little swab, which they wipe over it - and stick in a machine - I suppose it picks up traces of chemicals or whatever. I would imagine the DVD player was checked like this, as it would have been difficult to check that is was a functioning DVD player? Or was it a portable? Regardless - there's a lot of empty space in electronic devices these days - just enough for a few grammes of semtex or whatever.

[ah_dut]

i've had my deodrant taken apart because it might be an explosive which kinda pissed me off.

[Somebody Else]

Thought I might post a good one...

Reasons to know people in the airport...

1. Ah, hello there, step this way - no need to queue there, come to the first class section.
2. You're 13 kilos overweight. Nevermind.
3. The flight appears to be fully booked, we'll have to move you up a class.

[The Tuffen]

One of my best experiances is when i went to barbados. Got to the check in desk and as the person saw on my booking that i was disabled (even though i don't look it), she put on a little tag that ment my suitcase would be the first out when we got got to barbados. Sure enough got into barbados and my suitcase was one of the first out. Also the flight from Gatwick wasn't delayed at all.

[English assassin]

Funny thing happened to a friend of mine arriving in Florida for a conference not too long after 9/11. (She's UK Asian which I suppose might look middle eastern to a Florida immigration official)

Friend: waiting in enormous long queue

Still waiting

Still waiting do these people want visitors or the states or not?

Finally arrives at front of queue. hands passport to mean looking male officer.

Officer looks at passport VERY carefully.

Looks up at friend

looks back at passport. leafs through it.

Looks up at friend. hard stare. Friend smiles nervously. officer stony faced

Looks down at passport. Taps something into computer.

Looks back up at friend.

Officer "(sigh) Anita, I see from your passport you are a gemini."

Friend "err, yes" (thinks WTF?)

Officer "So am I. Take my advice. Never date a capricorn. Next"

[BDC]

I think my best experience was coming back from Switzerland (with a pen knife and new watch and what-not in my bag) and walking through customs with all these people with shiney new watches looking awkward and going through the 'nothing to declare' route. Not that it mattered. The staff had all formed a human chain to prevent anyone trying to declare anything. Was pretty late...

[solypsist]

my flight time was changed while I was on vacation in Australia one Christmas. After a month sunning on the beaches and bumming around, I arrived at the airport and was told I had missed my plane by thirty minutes - that my travel agent should have notified me. I replied I'd been in country for 30 days, etc. (I had no cellphone at the time).

14 hours later (I had to wait until a seat became available so that meant hanging around) , I was finally on my way back. It was a 20 hour flight.

BUT

It was snowing badly in NY, and so we had to land in Newark. We had to sit on the runway in Newark for just over three hours, couldn't get out, and all the time I was only 10 miles from home - I would've just climbed out of the plane and hailed a taxi if it was possible. Finally the snow let up enough for us to get to LaGuardia (26 miles away) and I was on the street.

Oh, and then my taxi had an accident on the offramp to my place; I ended up walking about a mile with a heavy bag from the BQE, in hard snow.