i am off to asia in january and living close(ish) to Oz we have had heaps of news coverage about the shappelle corby case in bali. this girl took a boogie board in a bag and when she got to customs a large amount (4kg filling the whole bag) of grass was found. she is facing the death scentence and claims she is innocent and it was planted between leaving Oz and arriving in indo as it surely would have been detected on departure. all the evidence points towards her innocence but the balinese govt and being pretty hardcore about it. the final verdict is due soon and it seems it could go either way.
the reason for this post is to see what other people think about how secure your baggage actually is once you relinquish control over it at the airport. most of the discissions are about having stuff taken from your bag but what about people putting things in it?! do the pac safe meshes really work?
i am probably being overly paranoid about the whole thing but it truley is my worst nightmare and it scare the crap out of me! alsthough not enough to ever stop me going!
any thoughts?
x

This is an interesting quandary and you are right to be concerned. Personally, when I travel these days I carry one bag when I travel and it's on board with me. This is because, in times past, I've had possessions removed from luggage in the past and, no, locks and mesh won't necessarily keep your stuff safe. Not even a Samsonite hard pack will prevent those who want to see if you have anything they can steal.

So, in short, I never relinquish control of my bag when I travel (anywhere, not just Asia).

It's just not worth it.
Travelling light gives me so much peace of mind.

FYI, if you travel through the USA, they will cut the locks off you bags in the name of homeland security.

In the past I have had to check my bags and have had my stuff damaged by the fine folks at the LA airport because they didn't understand how to close a zipper. And, even though there is a protocol for complaint, my stuff was still damaged.

Apparently, you can also ask to be present when they search your bags, but when I asked about it I was told that I had to speak to the airport security agent at the airport that is searching my bags.

My next trip is a jaunt to the UK for Christmas. If I can help it, all my baggage is coming on as carry on luggage.

Hey, one of my boyfriend's friends videotapes packing his luggage and then takes photographs of the packed bags with the display date/time printed on the film so that if anything is altered, he has evidence to show how he left things. Seems kind of like overkill, but then you hear about Shapelle Corby and think maybe not.

Hard to say.

I've had my luggage locks cut off too many times and my luggage lost.

I am a pure carry-on only girl now!

What about security in hostels? People are always worried about others taking stuff from their bags at hostels, and others say why would anyone want your socks and undies... but what about people putting stuff in? It's really hard to totally lock up your bags at hostels, and especially bags with lots of pockets and zippers, it wouldn't be hard to slip a small bag of coke in there... Someone you've met on the road, you know you're both going on to the same destination, have agreed to travel together for a few days...

(I watched Bridget Jones, Edge of Reason last night - it kind of planted ideas in my head. Not nearly as good as the first one, IMHO)

With all the reports of theft at airports I don't blame
anyone for being hesitant to check thier bags.

The Sharper Image and Brookstone sell TSA friendly locks for checked baggage in the USA. It has a combination lock that you preset and TSA has a master key so that if they need to get into your bag they can. I'm not too happy with them, mine broke after 2 uses, my husband's is still ok. We use a pac safe overseas for checking our bags as well as for in room security. Nothing is completely safe though.

I like the idea of taking photos of your stuff, it may be useful if anything goes wrong. Maybe putting all your dirty clothes and underwear on top will put someone off from rifling through your bag!!

With carry on luggage and non US carriers, you might have to keep an eye on weight. My sister had to last minute check her bag on British Airways due to fluctuating carry on weight restriction (no restriction out of Seattle, 9 kilos out of London and 6 kilos out of Barcelona). Have a back up plan!

mmm, thanks for your input guys. its not so much the stuff being stolen as id have all my valuables in my carry on- guess i need to stop being so paranoid!!!! tis a worry tho!
happy travels x

....ummmmm if you're going on an extended travel (1+ year) I think the bag would have to be a checked piece of luggage, no? I would LOVE to carry on my pack, but I think it's just not possible for my extended trip 'cause it'll just be too big.

Blackbird, how big is your pack that you can carry-on?

exactly! they would laugh at me if i tried to take my pack as carry on!

I am not familiar with the story, but how does all the evidence point to her innocence? Getting a bomb on a plane in checked baggage is fairly difficult but drugs are generally not screened for I assume? The only time a country is worried about drugs is if they are entering the country, not exiting. On the surface, it sounds like she did something stupid...

but why on earth would she take drugs into a country where they are the fraction of the price. how did she get it through TWO australian airports? she was on holiday with her parents and seems like a fairly sensible woman. guess we will never really know, sad story though

Regarding theft of belongings from your checked luggage, I can say this:
Since I started traveling regularly in 1982, I have logged over 2 million air miles, and the only thing ever pilfered from my luggage was an eighth of weed back in 84 or so. Granted, I don't put valuables in my checked bags, and I most certainly never put contraband there anymore now thanks to TSA.

Regarding misplaced luggage:
Once I went for 6 years without having a missed bag...
However over the years, I've arrived at the airport sans luggage more times than I can count. Every single time my bags have been delivered to wherever I told them to send them within 24 hours.

quote:

Originally posted by Royce:
I am not familiar with the story, but how does all the evidence point to her innocence? Getting a bomb on a plane in checked baggage is fairly difficult but drugs are generally not screened for I assume? The only time a country is worried about drugs is if they are entering the country, not exiting. On the surface, it sounds like she did something stupid...

They caught her with 4.1kg of drugs in her board bag. Hmmm. Either she would had to have been REALLY stupid or else set up. The dogs in airports screen for drugs and food items and, although they may not be obvious, I would be surprised if airport security wasn't screening for drugs as well. Did Shapelle Corby put 10 lbs of drugs in her bag? I have my doubts.

I have had the same problems with USA homeland security. after having my 3rd bag destroyed, embarrassed, watching my dirty underwear fall down the conveyor belt (This time it appeared to have been cut open and the bag wasn't locked.) I came up with an ingenious and laughable solution. I started placing a butt plug (yes, what you think) on the top of the things in my bag. I even went the extra mile and coated it with lube. I've never had a problem since.

quote:

Originally posted by Sky Annie:
FYI, if you travel through the USA, they will cut the locks off you bags in the name of homeland security.

In the past I have had to check my bags and have had my stuff damaged by the fine folks at the LA airport because they didn't understand how to close a zipper. And, even though there is a protocol for complaint, my stuff was still damaged.

Apparently, you can also ask to be present when they search your bags, but when I asked about it I was told that I had to speak to the airport security agent at the airport that is searching my bags.

My next trip is a jaunt to the UK for Christmas. If I can help it, all my baggage is coming on as carry on luggage.

Hey, one of my boyfriend's friends videotapes packing his luggage and then takes photographs of the packed bags with the display date/time printed on the film so that if anything is altered, he has evidence to show how he left things. Seems kind of like overkill, but then you hear about Shapelle Corby and think maybe not.

Hard to say.

I wouldn't worry too much about people putting things in. Most "dope fiends" are more interested in stealing dope than giving it away. I think the stuff about people sticking drugs on you is mostly hype.

quote:

Originally posted by TheWanderer:
What about security in hostels? People are always worried about others taking stuff from their bags at hostels, and others say why would anyone want your socks and undies... but what about people putting stuff in? It's really hard to totally lock up your bags at hostels, and especially bags with lots of pockets and zippers, it wouldn't be hard to slip a small bag of coke in there... Someone you've met on the road, you know you're both going on to the same destination, have agreed to travel together for a few days...

(I watched Bridget Jones, Edge of Reason last night - it kind of planted ideas in my head. Not nearly as good as the first one, IMHO)