But who would expect someone who travels looking like this plane(picture courtesy of VB) will be a target of suspicion for...what....illegal immigration? Prostitution?
The minute I touched down and spotted travelling solo, an officer asked to see my arrival card. The notion of 'holiday' which i marked as a reason for travelling there and 'for 3 days' didn't quite click with him. He asked repeatedly if I was sure I was there for a holiday for only 3 days. I thought he was assured when I said I had to get back to work. He marked a Big 'RED' word across my arrival card and i was allowed to proceed to the immigration counters, only to be stopped again after that.
The same officer came out, led me to a counter in full view of other travellers, put on a pair of rubber gloves (like those for surgery or murder) and started tucking into every piece in my luggage, and all these while firing me questions like who i was meeting, how much money i brought, where & how I was meeting them, what kind of friends, where they from and what we gonna do. As I'm not a seasoned 'cross examinee', i found myself not answering fast enough and i think that aroused more suspicion. Worse when the words 'internet friends' was mentioned. The last straw was when the term 'pole dance' which i made an effort not to mention, had to, and was blurted out...THAT'S IT. "Pole dance? Oh yeah? You do pole dance? You here to be a pole dancer?" My head was rung by repeated attempts to get me to admit I was there to get a dancing job. At this point I almost wanted to tell him why would i want to do that as I probably have a better job then him back home...I'm here to pole jam with some pole enthusiasts I met online, after we gonna have a costume party...THAT'S IT!! Uurgh! Wa kao!
And then he found my teeny school girl costume.....haha.....he said "that's it? that's all you have, ok, you can go now....have a good time.".
He must be convinced by now as I think my costume not HAWT enough and too un-stripper like! Hahahah....
As if that was not enough, on the day I departed the place, I was again checked and questioned......think i'm blacklisted or something.
After those (plus some other not-so-pleasant) experiences, I told myself I don't think I EVER need to go back Sydney. But I changed my mind after sinking my teeth into the first macadamia nut I bought from a nut shop there.....wa, damn nice, can't find them here. I actually bought 8 packets meant to give to colleagues and friends but decided they too precious to be used as gifts (sorry la), except for 1 packet i gave my dear monday auntie who always cooks such nice crabs for me (i promised her before i left)
Footnote:
Can't imagine what will happen if this outfit ah...... taboo....hahaha
16 comments:
Why u so bad luck one? I never get a chance to experience being stopped...would be fun giving them answers that'd mk their jaws drop u know ; )
If u brought the Maid outfit, then u tell them that it is a 3pc but alamak! u forgot the 3rd piece and look distract when u say that! Hahahhaha....
Fun? I won't want risk trying to be a smart alec in a foreign land, and alone. You never know, it's not like a showtime, nor a out-witting time, you know. Like Spider said, tell them i'm there for a lesbian party! I'm not sure about that man. I'd rather be a oh-so-poor-thing damsel on the verge of a breakdown but they find NOTHING! Bwahahahaha.
Anyway VB you wanna get the chance ah....Get a 3 day (maybe 2, even better) ticket to Sydney alone , bring your french outfit and we'll see...heehee
u too honest lah! just say you're attending birthday celebrations or something! even if it's online friends, don't say it!! customs people are quite prudish. give them conventional answers!!!
poor thing u. hope you aren't feeling too worse for it. the rest of the trip looks smashingly good!
Hey imp, but you know i'm a very BAD liar type (i'm not saying anyone else here is good) but I'm that kind eg. if I say "i'm going for a birthday party", next question "where" and i'll go "er...er" and my eyes will give away i was lying...even if i get past the first, second answers, by the 3rd one and because i started with something not real, i'll start panicking and i'll forget what i said before, and that's it....they'll probably lock me up. I choose to think these officers are trained and they know better la (moreover i think he zeroed in on me liao) So i thot by being as honest as possible i'll be consistent, and i won't forget details. But like i said, i tried to avoid the some words but they evetually became inevitable because they are just too quick. Hahaha, thanks anyway. That just reminds me never to do anything illegal la
I think you r the kind of hot Asian chick these ang-mohs'd like to date (even dressed down) so very suspicious to be travelling alone for only 3 days, hahaha. Next time I x-examine you 1st with a prepared made-up story...girlfriend getting married, having wild hen-party, don't know where cos will pick you up at hotel.
Sis
Ah thanks for the compliment my sis. In fact in that school girlie outfit, I was picked up 3 times by the ang mo men even when i was in a daze (from lack of sleep on an overnight aircraft)and was just minding my own biz. One part when i was sitting on my own slightly away from my gf's husbands & bf's (while their female halves were dancing), 2 guys went up to them and asked if i was with them and if they could asked me out.
ok la, next time you prepare me first, but not sure if got next time. But if have, make sure it's complete and full proof, if not they deviate anything and i'll go "er.r.r.r.r." jia lart! hahaha
RED means RED customs channel lah, means you have something to declare or they suspect you have something you need to declare. can't say this too obviously in public but this not something uncommon for certain communities.
Oh Ok! I thought RED meant a 'FAIL' in the lie detector test..lol...thanks 3a
Bwahahaha! I burst out laffing at 3a gurl's 1st sentence and your response. Wah! The 2 cheekopek must have paedophilic tendencies.
Sis
Ya i fail because they cannot detect any lie....bwahahahaha! Only truths....
I just remembered at one point was quite funny. Officer asked me if i had more than $10,000 with me (siao!) I said no. You sure you don't have more than $10,000 with you (it just occurred to me they robotically asked everything twice hor? so weird). I said no again. Looking innocent and speaking calmly, i told him the exact amount (as if he was interested in the exact amount)...."I think i have eight hundred australian dollars and about five hundred singapore dollars...that's all....my wallet is somewhere in this (pointing, don't dare to touch) compartment". Then he asked me do you have any money in your pockets? I pulled out the 2 white linings of my jeans, looked at both sides and said "nothing"....hahaha, i didn't think it was funny at that point. But now think of it i must have been so ridiculous....hahaha, wa lao...SUZIE WONG!!!!!
customs in aussie're really anal... am really sorry to hear u were zeroed in on... however that's very normal... u're lucky they didn't play in on your asian status and start on the racism nonsense and treat u like a doddering idiot who speaks no english... u were better off saying u were just flying in to visit friends for an important event like a friend's wedding or something... as for the macacamias... u can always tag friends who're visiting aussie or if u know anyone who's returning for a break to bring back some... depending on whether u're picky about the brand of the nuts u eat... they're actually available locally though a little more expensive with the import and in selected supermarkets or specialized stores... hope that helps if u're having a out of the blue craving for the nuts...
Hmm...thanks, silent girl..for now i still have a few more packets to tide me over...hopefully by the time i finish them i too overdose to crave for something else...hee
Wah liao, so comical...pull white lining of jeans out type. You too super honest. Must corrupt you with some well-prepared lies, heheheh!
Sis
nothing new that. Then there was this time they insisted the indian lady remove all her gold jewellery so that she won't trigger the security gate, when there were so many other ladies passing through with just as much jewellery. besides, any idiot knows that gold will not trigger the alarm! so it was pretty obvious why only that indian lady was targetted. you are so fortunate they didn't pick on you.
yah sounds like aussie immigration alrite! second worst next to americans! my husband's an aussie PR and he gets questioned more by the immigration officers (3 times questioning, 2 times dog sniffing) when he goes back to australia. the funny thing is that they didnt question the ethnic and dressed-like-refugees travellers at all. given the hefty airport tax, i will rather go to europe.
but then again angmohs like the tiny asian gals, i guess u fit the bill lah! so maybe tats why more questioning.
I totally sympathise with your "encounter". Despite me spending 25 years in Melbourne as a permanent resident and paying taxes like the rest of them do, I still get dumb questions thrown at me from the time I wait for my luggage right up to customs. e.g. "Do you speak English? How long are you here for? What do you do? Who do you work for? Where do you live?". At least their behaviour has improved over the decade but I have to rank Aussie customs and immigration second to USA for their kaypoh-ness and high-handed behaviour. No wonder they have to ask: "So Where the Bloody Hell Are you?" Asian tourists and residents get rightly pissed off.
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