In 2008, I quit my corporate job, sold off everything I owned and moved overseas with my husband Drew. Since then we've traveled around the world, started our careers over as creative types and nurtured our love of sleeping in late. Oh and we had a baby. Cole, our almost 2 year old has been traveling since he was four months old and probably knows more Thai than me (not that he brags).
How to Breeze Through Customs
GUEST POST: While I am on the road this week and exploring Madrid, I’ve arranged for some of my favorite travel bloggers to share their travel stories and advice here. So enjoy, give our guest bloggers lots of love and be sure to check out the author’s site.
They say that half the fun of traveling is getting there. While standing in line at an airport immigration or customs counter this proverb often proves false. No one likes going through customs. Long lines, tired travelers, crying babies: All held together by a barely perceptible current of hostility.
No, it’s not fun. I’ve faced it dozens of time and am still:
a) Frightened by the entire process. Ending up on the wrong end of a rubber-gloved body cavity search is no fun.
b) Angry with the bureaucracy and inefficiency. I hate queues of any variety.
Believe it or not, you can breeze through international borders by following some simple steps:
Leave your emotions at the door
There’s nothing you can do once you’re in line. You’re part of the mass of humanity pressing against an imaginary line on a map. Getting angry, being vocal, will not help your cause. This is one time to focus on your destination, not the journey. Bangkok isn’t going anywhere, the 30 minutes you spend at the customs counter isn’t going to change that. Stay in line, take deep breaths, and think happy thoughts of cool drinks under a warm sun
Be prepared
You’ve seen them standing before the immigration officials: The unprepared travelers. It doesn’t matter that he has been waiting in line for nearly an hour, his passport is still stowed away deep in a shoulder bag. You don’t want to be him. It’s bad karma.
Have everything in hand: Your passport, entry card, customs declaration, health/illness form, airline tickets, when you hit the front of the line. Ensure any other documents you might need are easily accessible. You don’t want to conduct a frantic search for receipts or immunization records after a 10 hour flight.
Completed the forms as neatly as possible. Take your time, print clearly, like you’re back in kindergarten. In some countries, the English alphabet is not the norm. Hastily filling in your immigration forms, using a fellow traveler’s back as a desk, will not endear you to officials. I was once hauled out of line after a long night flight because the signature on my entry form didn’t match the signature in my passport.
Having a small folder or notebook to hold necessary documents is a very good idea. Subdivide the documents and fasten similar ones with an elastic band or paperclip. If you are asked to produce something extra you’ll know right where it is.
Be nice
Do you think the immigration or customs inspector likes his or her job? They sit in a little booth all day or night, looking at passports and searching for contraband. This is enough to make anyone surly. Remember what your mother told you: Say please and thank you. Follow the golden rule: Treat other the way you want to be treated. Smiling, and being prepared (see above) will go a long way to forging a good yet temporary relationship with the gatekeeper.
Be cordial but not overly friendly. Don’t tell jokes or make wisecracks, the guards will think you are hiding something. Take the headphones out of your ears and give the inspector your complete attention.
Immigration and customs are like death and taxes: Constants in the travelers’ life. By staying cool and using a little forethought, you can breeze through queues a much happier traveler.
About the Author:
Steve once braved the frozen tundra of northern Canada as a reporter and photographer. He now calls southern China home and enjoys the humid clime more than the bone-numbing cold of his native land. He misses little of North America: Riding in the back of a Canadian air force transport plane and crossing a Chinese street both hold the same level of danger and excitement. After traveling extensively in south-east China he has plans to see and photograph more of Asia. When not shooting photographs or writing he works as an ESL educator and administrator at a private school. Visit him online at Asian Ramblings.