Tales from the Airport Crypt
Well, I made it home safe and sound without any premonitions of impending death (Hollywood movies are completely wrong) and have finally had a (reasonably) good nights sleep.
While coming through Bangkok airport there was a little trouble however. Now, I'm not a terrorist (although, if the adverts are to be believed, I may have funded terrorism if I've ever illegally owned something) and certainly do not understand the way that a terrorist thinks. And, as such, when I originally got to Thailand and unpacked my bags, the small, insignificant pair of scissors my Brother had left in my bag was placed to one side.
Now, it seems, in this post 9-11 era (would that be anytime from 12 onwards?) you're not allowed any sharp objects aboard a plane in your hand luggage. Obviously they're afraid that you might want to cut the pilot's hair during the flight and, seeing you've given him a mullet, he plows the plane into the nearest available mountain.
So, I pass my bag through the scanner do-dad and walk through the beeping machine (I swear there's a guy in the corner making the thing go off for his own amusement) and I'm hauled aside by some people and told of my act of terrorism. They swiftly confescate the poor scissors and tell me I can't have it back. Now, it wasn't mine to begin with, but I do feel sorry for the scissors at this point.
The security guard takes the scissors and places it into a large, see-through box, filled with similar items. And it was these other items that caught my attention. Now, the majority of the items were more scissors, so my fears for the scissors future life was unfounded - he'll be amongst ex-patriate scissors here. There was also a fair amount of knives of various descriptions. Sat in a corner was a pair of brass nuks. And then my eyes fell upon one final item............... a meat cleaver.
Someone thought they could bring a meat cleaver aboard a plane. Perhaps they were planning on making their own food as the airlines meager fare left much to the imagination.
My brush with terrorism over, I board the plane and have travel backwards through the time zones. Based on local times in the two areas, it took me 21 hours to fly to Bangkok and only 8 hours to come back. Does that mean I'm now 15 hours younger than I was???
While coming through Bangkok airport there was a little trouble however. Now, I'm not a terrorist (although, if the adverts are to be believed, I may have funded terrorism if I've ever illegally owned something) and certainly do not understand the way that a terrorist thinks. And, as such, when I originally got to Thailand and unpacked my bags, the small, insignificant pair of scissors my Brother had left in my bag was placed to one side.
Now, it seems, in this post 9-11 era (would that be anytime from 12 onwards?) you're not allowed any sharp objects aboard a plane in your hand luggage. Obviously they're afraid that you might want to cut the pilot's hair during the flight and, seeing you've given him a mullet, he plows the plane into the nearest available mountain.
So, I pass my bag through the scanner do-dad and walk through the beeping machine (I swear there's a guy in the corner making the thing go off for his own amusement) and I'm hauled aside by some people and told of my act of terrorism. They swiftly confescate the poor scissors and tell me I can't have it back. Now, it wasn't mine to begin with, but I do feel sorry for the scissors at this point.
The security guard takes the scissors and places it into a large, see-through box, filled with similar items. And it was these other items that caught my attention. Now, the majority of the items were more scissors, so my fears for the scissors future life was unfounded - he'll be amongst ex-patriate scissors here. There was also a fair amount of knives of various descriptions. Sat in a corner was a pair of brass nuks. And then my eyes fell upon one final item............... a meat cleaver.
Someone thought they could bring a meat cleaver aboard a plane. Perhaps they were planning on making their own food as the airlines meager fare left much to the imagination.
My brush with terrorism over, I board the plane and have travel backwards through the time zones. Based on local times in the two areas, it took me 21 hours to fly to Bangkok and only 8 hours to come back. Does that mean I'm now 15 hours younger than I was???