This was published 1 year ago
Letters: As a former flight attendant, I am shocked and embarrassed by our border staff
One expat Traveller reader found airport officials unnecessarily rude upon her return to Australia.
IMAGE UNCONSCIOUS
I moved to Malaysia to live two years ago and recently visited Australia for about the fourth time. As I travelled through customs this time, I was shocked and embarrassed by what I experienced. The tone of the staff left me ashamed. Having worked as a flight attendant for Qantas for over a decade, I was more than familiar with the serious demeanour of the customs officials, but this was different. The rules of travel were barked loudly and the consequences seemed to be public humiliation. I don't mind that a lot of people were singled out for further scanning, including me, and I'm pretty happy with being safe on a flight. I was not personally targeted with nasty comments (I am a white Australian female). The customs officials' rudeness to travellers included these comments: "What part of keep walking don't you understand?" and "You need to not talk to your daughter while I am talking to you." I know things can get frustrating sometimes but let's remember kindness.
Ally McCormick, Petaling Jaya, Selangor , Malaysia
LETTER OF THE WEEK
SEE NAPLES AND CRY
The rail review (Traveller, March 25) by your writer Kristie Kellahan included the madness of Rome's Termini station. It reminded me of when my wife and I were transiting through that station to Naples a couple of years ago. We asked a stylishly-uniformed attendant which platform we needed and he replied platform two. But when I then pointed out the departures board was reading platform 10, he raised his hands out wide and looked to the sky and said, "Ah, Italy it's a crazy country". We went to platform 10 and with five minutes to go before departure an announcement came over the PA that the Napoli train was leaving from two. We rushed headlong to platform two, leaving in our wake a trail of bruised feet as we crashed through the crowd. As we passed the attendant he gave us an "I told you so" look and raised his hands again. We made it with a comfortable 20 seconds to spare.
Terry Thelwell, North Ryde, NSW
SPACE INVADERS
I have to profoundly disagree with your recent articles encouraging travellers to optimise carry-on luggage. On a recent Qantas flight to Brisbane, I was astounded by the size of the backpacks and wheeled suitcases - wheels also take up space and can be quite sharp - brought on board, many of which I am certain breached the allowable limits. Surely all passengers are entitled to equal space in the overhead lockers? And why all the rush to avoid having to wait 10 minutes for checked luggage? I would welcome some policing of this.
Jerry Bell, Malvern East, Vic
GIMME FIVE
It seems to be increasingly common for Airbnb operators to request five star reviews. Examples from recent stays include: "Thank you so much again for choosing to stay with us. We would really appreciate it if you could take 90 seconds to give us a five star review so others can enjoy (name of place)" and "Thanks so much for staying with us. Please take a moment to leave us a five star review. If you're planning to leave us anything less than five stars please ring us first to discuss." Another place had a laminated message on the back of the bedroom door, noting the importance of a five-star review and how anything less is a bad review and damages their business. I understand that good reviews are helpful in attracting further business, but I am uncomfortable with these requests.
Ingrid Mcgaughey, Sandy Bay, Tas
GOOD FORM
Australia's paper arrival form declaration (Traveller, March 25) is a legal document. When Wi-Fi may not work and phone batteries die, paper is still the best option. The declaration is used to screen what arrival process you need to go through, the Border Force agent will scan the boxes for "yes" or "no" and direct you accordingly. Once they have your form and send you on your way - to the arrivals area - the form is kept, scanned, uploaded and remains on the Border Force database. I have been in the professional capacity of needing to check the immigration status of people and Border Force agents have been able to view all of the arrival and departure declarations and will raise concerns about them where needed. Also, the Border Force agents are trained to detect body language - anything that is unusual will result in a further investigation. I would imagine that we will be completing these forms for a long time to come.
Alain Millett, Bargara, Qld
STRONG FILLINGS
Your reader rails against the minor inconvenience of completing the incoming passenger declaration and then going through customs. I've noticed that almost everybody goes through the "nothing to declare" channel despite the fact that (as shown on TV) many of these people have bags full of prohibited biosecurity items. The Border Force personnel have a few seconds per passenger to decide if they can go through, or need further screening. It's a tough job and I'm happy to support it.
Ross MacPherson, Seaforth, NSW
WHAT A GAS
Michele Thomas' reflections of a bygone travel era (Traveller, March 4) evoked exact memories of my own early travel experiences. Along with Europe on $5 a Day, Lonely Planet travel guides often rescued me from an accommodation pickle. An English winter called for the accumulation of 10p coins that the welcoming gas heater meter readily consumedand it certainly helped ward off the chill in my 1800s rental. And how I looked forward to mail collection via poste restante while en route to the far corners of the globe. Oh my, how travel has changed.
Christine Costello, Dulwich Hill, NSW
TIP OF THE WEEK
SIMS A GOOD IDEA
On my last visit to India (Traveller, April 2) I bought a SIM card at Delhi International Airport. Coverage to all places was excellent although I did receive some messages from previous users of my SIM. My advice to anyone considering this option is to bring two passport-sized photos as this is required to purchase the SIM. An added benefit to this is that all photos taken on your phone are dated and location recorded. It makes a good record of your trip.
Eric Sekula,Turramurra, NSW
SITE UNSEEN
I searched the web for a resort in Queenscliff, Victoria, and I thought I was on its website and booked my accommodation. To my surprise, having given my details, including my credit card number, I received an invoice for the stay via email from a third party which involved a service charge of $502.41, which was 50 per cent of the accommodation charge. Immediately ringing to cancel I found there was no refund for a cancellation. Within five minutes I was on the phone to my credit card supplier. They said it was a legitimate business and the money had already been processed and that they would lodge a disputed payment complaint on my behalf.
Richard Turner, Mt Martha, Vic
WHO'S WHO
Like Judy Maynard (Traveller, March 26) I have been asked to provide identity documents for Airbnb bookings both here and overseas. However, the only time I have been asked to do this is when the host is a rental agency rather than the owner of the property. I contacted Airbnb recently expressing my concerns about companies advertising their properties through Airbnb as I have experienced issues in addition to the unwelcome surprise of being asked to provide my ID documents. In future, I will be avoiding any Airbnb properties of this nature.
Deb Miniutti, Ashbury, NSW
OFFICIOUS OFFICIALDOM
On arrival at Denpasar Airport in Bali recently, I was asked for my passport as well as my boarding pass. The latter, used to board my flight in Melbourne, I discarded on the plane. I've travelled extensively, and many times to Bali, and have never needed to produce a boarding pass. The border official refused to process my entry, despite my explanation of being unaware a boarding pass was required. After a stressful 20-minute wait, he eventually let me through, claiming he would make a note on the computer that I'd presented without necessary documentation. Surely I'm not the only one to experience this issue.
Cathy King, Brighton, Vic
TALK OF THE TOWNS
I recently took part in a charity cycling event where we rode from Bondi, NSW, to the Barossa Valley, South Australia. Riding straight across NSW, we stayed in towns such as Yass, Hay, Balranald and Leeton. What an experience. We were welcomed with open arms by locals, stayed in some wonderful roadside motels and saw wild emus and kangaroos everywhere. How good is Australia?
Jo Lees, Rockdale, NSW
PRAISE FOR PROSE
Brian Johnston said in his story about Coron in the Philippines (Traveller, March 26) that he didn't realise how "ordinary and muted the world is" until he had visited there. I didn't realise how ordinary and muted some travel writing can seem in comparison to such beautifully-crafted words. Brian's effortlessly descriptive writing led me to add yet another destination to my "must-visits" list. I experienced the same reaction to a Traveller story published by Michael Gebicki about Niue, which opened with: "In a silvery column of light, a sea snake is floating skywards." Thank you, Traveller, for these inspiring mind-maps.
Simon Hirtzel, Surry Hills, NSW
HANEDA HASSLES
I read with great interest the column by Ben Groundwater on Tokyo's Haneda Airport (Traveller, April 2). Having just returned from there, everything he wrote was exactly how it was for us. Before arriving, print off all of the necessary barcodes and documents. Don't rely on the airport Wi-FI to access these on your phone. However, Japan is an otherwise wonderful place to visit: clean, efficient and with low to zero crime.
Susan Scully, Middle Cove, NSW
HOW TO WRITE TO US
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The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com
The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com
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