Invasion of Privacy
$50 extra blown up in the process of having had overweight luggage, I was resonably aghast at having broken one of the first tenets of seasoned travelling, which was to travel light. However, I consoled myself by saying how this was due to the extensive shopping that I had to perform, in order to keep the shopping list generators in the family happy.
The results have been evident for me to see on their faces when I unpacked, soon after arriving at home, but this post is not going to be about that.
When I unpacked one of the two bags, the heavier one that I was carrying, I noticed that the carefully pasted stickers had been removed and that something was odd. The only way I was actually able to identify that the hugeass bag was mine was by seeing my name on the tag.
Inside the bag was a note slipped in, which in essence said how this piece of luggage of mine was identified for a search of the contents, and that they wanted to let me know that my baggage had been rummaged through and that this is necessary for the greater good of society and to reassure them that the pizza seasoning I was carrying for my Mum, and the various assorted backpacks and books that I was bringing back home did not contain material to train terrorists.
I am glad that nothing was missing, and I have to give it to the security agency (SCT or something) for their integrity. However, the very fact that my baggage, which I will NOT BE ABLE TO TOUCH until I get to the arrivals lounge of my final destination, was opened just annoyed me.
I am just wondering what X ray machines are for, if they have to resort to opening luggage.
Being the dilligent traveller that I am, who broke the travel light rule for the first time in his life, I had all my clothes washed neatly and packed, along with all the other items put in place neatly, for I like clean bags.
Next time I travel to the US or from the US to wherever, I have a good mind to put in some smelly unwashed underwear and some other vague stuff just so I get my kicks out of it, just the way they've got their kicks out of rummaging through my belongings.