More than a few times, since 9/11, we’ve gotten little “love notes” in our luggage, saying that it was physically inspected by US customs. Feels kinda weird that they saw my unmentionables, but I appreciate their work and the need for it. So far so good.
I will be taking a trip to Australia at the end of the month. Among other things, I wanted to pack a goose down duvet. Ever seen what a woman packs? I’ve got my UPL (Ultimate Packing List) almost complete. I’m also planning on purchasing a Space Bag to pack the duvet ,as well as some clothes, in. For those of you who haven’t seen a Space Bag, it’s basically a plastic bag with a hole in it. You pack your stuff in there and suck the air out of it with a vacuum, then seal it. Your stuff has essentially shrunk, because you’ve taken all the air out.
I know I’ll be able to get all that stuff in there. My question is: What if long after I’ve left my luggage with the appropriate personnel, they decide to do another physical check? If they take that duvet out, I’m almost positive they don’t have a vacuum nearby to get it back in. It’s a $600 duvet going all the way to Australia; I would hope they don’t shove it in a garbage bag with a ticket on it.
What happens if they can’t repack my luggage? :eek:
Sorry for asking what is probably obvious, but why in Big Bird’s name would you need to bring a goose down duvet to Australia?
If you’re going to Australia directly from Canada, chances are good you won’t be going through US Customs though.
A guy I know had a similar experience when he went to Germany, though. German customs opened his bag and then couldn’t fit everything back in, so they put the rest in a big tupperware box and put duplicate labels on it. Of course, no one told him his stuff had been inspected until he got to the hotel and saw the notice (helpfully printed in terrible English), and he had to go back to the airport to claim his big tupperware with his favorite pillow inside. (He doesn’t trust hotel pillows. :rolleyes: )
I’ve heard of a similar thing to what friedo describes. Only it was PC equipment in special anti-static bags, and they repacked everything - leaving the parts outside of the anti-static bags, of course. Plus about 3 hard drives and 10GB of memory were “missing”. Just try to make a claim for that from the TSA or airline. :rolleyes:
The hard truth is that due to what is close to institutionalized incompetance and theft at airports and with baggage handlers, anything you don’t personally carry on to the plane you may as well kiss goodbye and have a backup plan for replacement. Or get some seriously comprehensive traveler’s insurance.
Well, I wanted it to feel like home when I’m there. It was actually a compromise. I wanted to bring my crockpot, but I figured it was too bulky, and I would need an electric converter for it, so it was too much of a pain. Didn’t you know women pack everything but the kitchen sink? Just kidding.
Actually, I’ll be moving to Australia this summer. My fiancé is already in our new place, using a single comforter on a King bed until I get there. Plus, when I do ship my stuff, it takes about 100 days to get there. Since the duvet weighs next to nothing, I figured I’d bring it when I go on vacation in March. That way, it will be waiting for me when I actually move there.
As for your friend’s experience, on one hand, I’m glad that they use something sturdier than a garbage bag. On the other hand, I can’t assume they all do that. I will be flying from Montreal to Melbourne, but connecting at LAX. So I will be touching down in America.
You see? People think I’m nuts for coming up with this kind of thing. I’m not! It’s happened! It’s probably given me more than my fair share of grey hair (blissfully dyed blonde!), but I’m the kind of person who thinks of worse case scenarios, just to try to avoid them.
When I returned to Australia after a couple of years in London I had one bag so full of stuff that the catches were likely to pop. I tied it up with rope and to stop the loose ends catching, cut them off at the knots. Due to my appearance (very long hair, beard, days snowed in at Eastern European airports sleeping on the floor) my wife and I were on of the lucky couples chosen for the big “let’s check everything” search. When the customs guy got to the roped up bag I asked whether he could provide some rope to retie the bag after he cut the rope to inspect it. He said he didn’t have any, signed the bag and pushed it through without a glance.
A friend who is a customs officer says that is no surprise. People who draw attention to items in their possession are rarely carrying anything illicit. If I had made a big deal about it apparently it would have been a different story.
So perhaps a note attached to the vacuum packed duvet explaining that it will become as big as an elephant if the bag is unzipped “please, please can you x-ray it or something” may do the job. No harm done if it doesn’t.
I bought the duvet over the internet. I paid more to have an “extra gooshy” one. I was very disapointed when it was delivered in its package. Surprisingly, it really did “balloon up” when I got it out.
Sleeping in my bed is sinful, but not illegal. I’d like to keep it that way!
[quote]
What happens if they can’t repack my luggage?/quote]The portion that they can’t repack gets sent to Guantanamo where it is questioned extensively.
To put this into perspective, a few years back, my mom went on a camping trip in the middle of the Wyoming wilderness with a group of elementary school teachers (hence mostly women). One of the other women packed three electric hair dryers. When you look at it that way, a down comforter is positively sensible.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, the world has changed FOREVER since 9/11.
There are lots of really bad people out there trying to kill us. People carrying ridiculous items when they travel wonder why the security lines are so long. Well bucko, it’s because of idiots like YOU. Learn how to travel light, take the absolute
necessities and nothing else. I simply cannot believe these posts from such self centered folks. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the PROBLEM. Wake up!
BTW, I have flown in everything from the Mars flying boats to 747’s and am not a rookie by any means.
Seems like a pretty legitimate reason to me. It’s a perfectly legal item, not overweight and far too expensive to simply give away or donate to a thrift shop. Since she’s actually going to be moving to Oz and it’s an item they’ll be needing for everyday use, I don’t see a problem. Don’t forget, in Australia it’s Autumn and it’ll be getting cold. It’s not like she’s just an overly picky tourist who doesn’t like hotel blankets!
If nothing else is packed in with the duvet, it shouldn’t be a problem. Pretty much everything gets x-rayed and the luggage that gets opened is usually the luggage that makes the security officer go “…Huh?” when he sees it in fancy x-ray mode.
For example, my former housemate’s luggaged was searched because he had an audio cable coiled up at the bottom. So on the x-ray machine, it just looked like some strange, suspicious wiring…
If you pack the duvet by itself, there shouldn’t be anything that triggers a red flag requiring security to open it up.
Due to theft, I’ve checked baggage that has been locked. I was only asked to wait around until it had passed through the big x-ray machine so security could have me open it if they saw something they thought looked odd.
You got lucky. A year ago, immediately after they started the whole business of recommending that people not lock their bags, I took my guitar to Florida. Brand-spanking-new hard case, with latches such that if you didn’t lock the case, it wouldn’t stay shut, because anytime the latches caught on something, they popped open. So I had to take my chances and lock it.
At Midway in Chicago, they X-ray your bag before you can check it, so I figured I was OK and could answer any questions on the spot. On the way there I was, but on the way back, it took over an hour for the guitar to come down the conveyor. I was runnning late for class, so I just grabbed it and hopped on the train home.
When I got to class, I unlocked the case and found a love note from the TSA. Apaprently something had looked suspicious even after the initial X-ray (maybe my electronic tuner?) and they had picked the lock, examined the guitar, and locked the case again before sending it on its merry way. (A guitar in a guitar case? Whodathunk it? It’s an acoustic guitar, so the only metal was the strings and the frets; no funky electronics other than the tuner.)
If I ever have to check my baby again, I’ll bring the tuner as a carry-on. Because if they bust the lock on the guitar case, I’m screwed; it won’t stay shut, and a case that won’t stay shut is not terribly useful as checked baggage. At least a down quilt can fit into pretty much any container big enough to hold it without risking damage.
Thanks Zoogirl. I think “an idiot like me” better leave it at that.
USNSPARKS, I think I’d be scared to get on the same plane as you. If I tell you that in the summer, I’ll be flying with three urns of cremated family’s ashes ~ you know, white powder substance ~ (complete with paperwork), would you blow a gasket?
Thanks for all of the suggestions to take it with me in my carry-on. I think that’s my best bet.
as i understand it, what the customs people are looking for when they x-ray checked baggage is something that might be a bomb. i had a bag opened (in my presence; you can request that at some airports) when the scanner showed a brick-sized object in the bottom. (it was a thick lonely planet guide book.) the searcher went straight to that object and didn’t even look at anything else. it’s hard to believe that a down duvet would register as a possible bomb.
but i second the notion that you should carry it with you on the plane. take it out of your carry-on bag at the checkpoint and hand it to the officer separately. explain the problem. the x-ray scanner should be able to reveal that there’s nothing concealed. to prepare for the worst, bring an empty stuff sack, the kind you would pack a sleeping bag in, and you’ll have something to repack the duvet in. (it can’t really be bulkier than a winter-weight sleeping bag, can it?)
its australia you arent going to need it, it really doesnt get that cold here, sometimes you migh tneed to through an extra blanket on the bed but its pretty warm, especially if you are in a double brick home or apartment.
Seriously get yourself a cheap radiotor or electrix heater, through it on when you get back from work in the dead of winter and thats that, basically here in sydney you get a few month where you throw on a jacket or jumper and long sleeve shirt at most, but even then all through winter i wear a fairly thin jacket and most of the time i am out at soccer etc pretty early in the morning when its coldest.
Just kidding.
I’d like to keep it that way!
“…Huh?” when he sees it in fancy x-ray mode.