Airline pricing policies lunacies

[Don Pablo]

Oh, I forgot one of the better/ worst ones:

Moscow, standing in line for the passport control before leaving the country. My turn so I go forward, put my hand in the pocket, and hand over the passport. Just as she grabs the passport I see a USD 100 bill got stuck inside the passport. Now what? Surely she will think it is an attempt to bribe her. Which would mean something was wrong... Clearly she did think that. She looked at every single page, and at every stitch at the seam, and every stamp there. For several minutes. Meantime I'm thinking I'm surely going to get to see Siberia too..  And what do I do if she doesn't return my USD 100? Complain to someone that  "she took my non-bribing bribe?" I could see that going bad very quickly.

In the end though, after making a proper long line, I got the passport back. With the USD 100. And she said "congrats". Not sure for what, but maybe great passport work? 

LOL! 
I'm starting to think that either you're VERY well traveled... Or you're exaggerating.
At least we know that Moscow passport control doesn't accept bribes.... That might be useful to know. 

[Vidar]

I'm starting to think that either you're VERY well traveled... Or you're exaggerating.

I did travel a lot for some years. Which is why I had two passports: If you're travelling abroad you generally need your passport with you. However if you have upcoming travels that require Visa the Visa issuers typically also need to have your passport while considering your application. One passport can't be two places at once, so the typical solution to that problem is that you get two passports.

We have a saying here that one shouldn't let facts stand in the way of a good story. But I don't need to add to those

New Zealand: Plans had to get rescheduled, so I ended up arriving late at night in Auckland before flying off next morning. I'm tired, it is dark, and I have no hotel or other arrangements to sleep. And too long to hang out at the airport. So I jump into a taxi and ask the driver to take me to a half decent place to sleep. He stops in front of a more than ok place, but I'm tired so I'm willing to pay just to find a bed quickly. I get a room, go up, set the alarm to sleep in, and fall to sleep.

I wake up by some crazy screaming and see this person falling by my window. Ok... I'm sleepy, and I can't do any difference anyway, so I go back to sleep. A bit later, another crazy scream and another person falling by the window. Holy smurf! Now I am very awake. Is there some huge fire higher up in the building? Has it been a really bad morning at the stock market? Are there gangsters doing negotiations on the roof?

I get out of bed and run to the window - there is a huge freaking tower next to the hotel, and there are some bungee jumping thing going on... I guess that was much better than the alternatives I considered

[Don Pablo]

 

Do the two passports have to be from the same country? 

[Vidar]

Do the two passports have to be from the same country? 

It might help? (I'm assuming that is some cunning trick question?  )

[Etherealicer]

Oh, I forgot one of the better/ worst ones:

Moscow, standing in line for the passport control before leaving the country. My turn so I go forward, put my hand in the pocket, and hand over the passport. Just as she grabs the passport I see a USD 100 bill got stuck inside the passport. Now what? Surely she will think it is an attempt to bribe her. Which would mean something was wrong... Clearly she did think that. She looked at every single page, and at every stitch at the seam, and every stamp there. For several minutes. Meantime I'm thinking I'm surely going to get to see Siberia too..  And what do I do if she doesn't return my USD 100? Complain to someone that  "she took my non-bribing bribe?" I could see that going bad very quickly.

In the end though, after making a proper long line, I got the passport back. With the USD 100. And she said "congrats". Not sure for what, but maybe great passport work? 

LOL! 
I'm starting to think that either you're VERY well traveled... Or you're exaggerating.
At least we know that Moscow passport control doesn't accept bribes.... That might be useful to know. 

There are quite a lot of bad stories about police in Russia, but usually in more discrete locations. It is not recommended that you drive a rental car at night, unless it is rented by a company.

We (4 of us) used the metro in St. Petersburg, lifting our luggage over the entrance gate and triggered the alarm multiple times. Unsurprisingly, metro-police showed up. Turns out, you are supposed to buy a ticket for your luggage. So, we got a fine of 100 rubles (for all of us, and we got a receipt for the fine), the ticket would actually have been more expensive (4x 80 rubles).

[Etherealicer]

Poor dogs, got replaced by a machine... whats next

I got stuck in Chicago once. (They claimed it was a snowstorm..). Anyway, waiting in the very long passport line we noticed this very cute little dog going along the line with some not so cute officers. After some walking along the line it scratched and sat down next to an elderly couple. People kind of moved away from them and the officers politely asked them to open and go through their hand luggage. Great suspense! Are those elderly funding their pension with drug running? After a while the officers triumphantly produced an apple - kind of downer somehow.

It turned out it was a fruit dog. I guess some dogs just flunk at drugs or something

Oh yeah cute dogs... do not travel with an empty bottle of orange juice

[Etherealicer]

Do the two passports have to be from the same country? 

It might help? (I'm assuming that is some cunning trick question?  )

That would have been fun... yeah, if you have dual citizenship: "my Dutch passport did run out but I still got my Swiss passport."

[Etherealicer]

Poor dogs, got replaced by a machine... whats next

I got stuck in Chicago once. (They claimed it was a snowstorm..). Anyway, waiting in the very long passport line we noticed this very cute little dog going along the line with some not so cute officers. After some walking along the line it scratched and sat down next to an elderly couple. People kind of moved away from them and the officers politely asked them to open and go through their hand luggage. Great suspense! Are those elderly funding their pension with drug running? After a while the officers triumphantly produced an apple - kind of downer somehow.

It turned out it was a fruit dog. I guess some dogs just flunk at drugs or something

Oh yeah cute dogs... do not travel with an empty bottle of orange juice

[Don Pablo]

Do the two passports have to be from the same country? 

It might help? (I'm assuming that is some cunning trick question?  )

That would have been fun... yeah, if you have dual citizenship: "my Dutch passport did run out but I still got my Swiss passport."

The reason I ask is because I have an Irish and a Spanish passport... so I was trying to imagine what passport control would think of that. 

[Etherealicer]

Do the two passports have to be from the same country? 

It might help? (I'm assuming that is some cunning trick question?  )

That would have been fun... yeah, if you have dual citizenship: "my Dutch passport did run out but I still got my Swiss passport."

The reason I ask is because I have an Irish and a Spanish passport... so I was trying to imagine what passport control would think of that. 

Give it a try...

[Don Pablo]

The reason I ask is because I have an Irish and a Spanish passport... so I was trying to imagine what passport control would think of that. 

Give it a try...

I’m Jason Bourne!

[Vidar]

The reason I ask is because I have an Irish and a Spanish passport... so I was trying to imagine what passport control would think of that. 

Give it a try...

I’m Jason Bourne!

Make a run for it - I haven't seen anyone actually try, so maybe it works?

[Vidar]

We (4 of us) used the metro in St. Petersburg, lifting our luggage over the entrance gate and triggered the alarm multiple times. Unsurprisingly, metro-police showed up. Turns out, you are supposed to buy a ticket for your luggage. So, we got a fine of 100 rubles (for all of us, and we got a receipt for the fine), the ticket would actually have been more expensive (4x 80 rubles).

Sounds like certain things here which you're supposed to apply for first. The application costs more than the fine if you don't.