Ignoring Travel Tips
I am someone who thinks themselves an expert traveler. With over 150,000 miles logged in planes last year alone, I revile in my elite status on airlines and am the person who get huffy in the security lane waiting on people to figure out their liquids.
I have set rules for air travel, which I religiously follow.
1. Keep your liquids in a bag separate from the rest of the toiletries - I have a separate baggie that my liquids stay in all the time (even at home) and then tuck them in the front pocket of my bag for easy access.
2. Check in online - easy and saves you time.
3. Always carry on! Unless you're gone for a week, you can fit at it in a carry on.
4. Avoid airplane bathrooms - harder on a 10 hour flight, but worth an attempt. They are gross and even grosser when you watch as someone is in there 15 minutes before coming out. And the worst offense - going in barefoot!
When Paul and I went to Dubai in January, I tossed my airline rules to the wind when my flight was delayed by 2.5 hours til 4:45 am and checked my bag. Usually, this is the least important one to follow (at least for me) and sometimes can't be avoided.
As I collected my bag, I noticed it was unzipped, got home, double checked and my jewelry had been stolen. Luckily, nothing important, expensive or sentimental (I was wearing my most sentimental, the first jewelry Paul ever bought me), but stolen nonetheless.
I was at a loss - after over a decade of international travel, I had baggage lost in transit, but returned, beaten up like crazy on the flight, but nothing ever permanently missing.
What are the lessons learned from this for a seasoned traveler?
1. Don't check your bag if you can help it
2. Don't put anything of value in there, and especially not at the top of the bags!
3. Get TSA or airline approved locks where you can
4. Have travel insurance - it wasn't necessary here because it wasn't all that expensive, but I'd be crying a river if expensive jewelry or electronics are taken
5. The airline won't do anything. After a compeletely useless phone call and even more worthless email, their stance is never put jewelry in your baggage. My stance? Never let your workers steal it
After all this, all I can say is I'm thankful it wasn't something more and I have been lucky enough to avoid most travel & baggage mishaps. I know there are lots of people out there you can't say the same, which I unhappily discovered while searching forums on stolen property from baggage.
I have set rules for air travel, which I religiously follow.
1. Keep your liquids in a bag separate from the rest of the toiletries - I have a separate baggie that my liquids stay in all the time (even at home) and then tuck them in the front pocket of my bag for easy access.
2. Check in online - easy and saves you time.
3. Always carry on! Unless you're gone for a week, you can fit at it in a carry on.
4. Avoid airplane bathrooms - harder on a 10 hour flight, but worth an attempt. They are gross and even grosser when you watch as someone is in there 15 minutes before coming out. And the worst offense - going in barefoot!
When Paul and I went to Dubai in January, I tossed my airline rules to the wind when my flight was delayed by 2.5 hours til 4:45 am and checked my bag. Usually, this is the least important one to follow (at least for me) and sometimes can't be avoided.
As I collected my bag, I noticed it was unzipped, got home, double checked and my jewelry had been stolen. Luckily, nothing important, expensive or sentimental (I was wearing my most sentimental, the first jewelry Paul ever bought me), but stolen nonetheless.
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I was at a loss - after over a decade of international travel, I had baggage lost in transit, but returned, beaten up like crazy on the flight, but nothing ever permanently missing.
What are the lessons learned from this for a seasoned traveler?
1. Don't check your bag if you can help it
2. Don't put anything of value in there, and especially not at the top of the bags!
3. Get TSA or airline approved locks where you can
4. Have travel insurance - it wasn't necessary here because it wasn't all that expensive, but I'd be crying a river if expensive jewelry or electronics are taken
5. The airline won't do anything. After a compeletely useless phone call and even more worthless email, their stance is never put jewelry in your baggage. My stance? Never let your workers steal it
After all this, all I can say is I'm thankful it wasn't something more and I have been lucky enough to avoid most travel & baggage mishaps. I know there are lots of people out there you can't say the same, which I unhappily discovered while searching forums on stolen property from baggage.
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