I'm Back!
It was a fun trip but still it's good to be home :) I have plenty of photos and video clips to sort out. Will post some of the nicer ones soon.
I haven't travelled for a long time and haven't been to US since Sep 11. I heard about the tight security checks at airports but I wasn't quite prepared for that level of "tightness".
Right at the start in Singapore's airport, there was a security counter for USA desinations whereby the officer would ask you all kinds of questions before you were allowed to approach the check-in counters. Questions such as purpose of trip, duration of trip etc, were pretty normal. But he started asking about our cameras and laptop, how long these items had been in our possessions and whether these had been sent for servicing recently.
We had to transit at Tokyo to Minnieapolis and then take a connecting flight from Miinieapolis to Orlando. And at all the boarding gates, we had to have our carry-on luggage checked by the X-ray machines. Shoes, wallets, belts, coats, jackets all had to be taken off and scanned too. It was a hassle especially when we had kids with us. If we had known, we would have kept our carry-ons to a minimal.
At Minnieapolis, we were asked to wait in an interview hall for our turn to have our travel document checked. The officer was really taking his time going through our passports and travel itinerary and we thought we would miss our connecting flight to Orlando. We only had 5 minutes after he was done and it was a mad dash to collect our luggage and then to the correct boarding gate. Luckily there was a delay in that flight and we made it.
Coming home was the same. Plenty of checks and X-ray scans. But the surprise came back at Singapore's airport. In the past, once we've gone past the immigration counter and collected our baggages, we would be able to leave the arrival hall. Now there was another scanning machine set up at the exit of the arrival halls and we had to have all our stuff scanned again! wtf? Didn't we go through scanning just before boarding the plane? I understand and respect the security requirements at the boardin gates. After all it's for our safety during the flights. But I really don't see the purpose of this additional scan after we landed. I can't magically conjure a bomb or gun during mid-flight, can I?
I haven't travelled for a long time and haven't been to US since Sep 11. I heard about the tight security checks at airports but I wasn't quite prepared for that level of "tightness".
Right at the start in Singapore's airport, there was a security counter for USA desinations whereby the officer would ask you all kinds of questions before you were allowed to approach the check-in counters. Questions such as purpose of trip, duration of trip etc, were pretty normal. But he started asking about our cameras and laptop, how long these items had been in our possessions and whether these had been sent for servicing recently.
We had to transit at Tokyo to Minnieapolis and then take a connecting flight from Miinieapolis to Orlando. And at all the boarding gates, we had to have our carry-on luggage checked by the X-ray machines. Shoes, wallets, belts, coats, jackets all had to be taken off and scanned too. It was a hassle especially when we had kids with us. If we had known, we would have kept our carry-ons to a minimal.
At Minnieapolis, we were asked to wait in an interview hall for our turn to have our travel document checked. The officer was really taking his time going through our passports and travel itinerary and we thought we would miss our connecting flight to Orlando. We only had 5 minutes after he was done and it was a mad dash to collect our luggage and then to the correct boarding gate. Luckily there was a delay in that flight and we made it.
Coming home was the same. Plenty of checks and X-ray scans. But the surprise came back at Singapore's airport. In the past, once we've gone past the immigration counter and collected our baggages, we would be able to leave the arrival hall. Now there was another scanning machine set up at the exit of the arrival halls and we had to have all our stuff scanned again! wtf? Didn't we go through scanning just before boarding the plane? I understand and respect the security requirements at the boardin gates. After all it's for our safety during the flights. But I really don't see the purpose of this additional scan after we landed. I can't magically conjure a bomb or gun during mid-flight, can I?
Labels: tour
posted at 6/12/2005 01:53:00 AM
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