airport - Lili on the Loose

31 07, 2017

Travel Missteps: Creepy Taxi Ride

By Lili|July 31st, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, Africa, airport, Cairo, creepy, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Explorer, Giza, Middle East, taxi|0 Comments

I was glad when one of my other group members said they had scheduled a taxi to the airport for 150 EGP, because I too only had 150 EGP left! And I didn't want to have to pull out more EGP on my last afternoon. But to my dismay no one at the hotel would schedule me a taxi for that price. They wanted around 350-400 EGP. I tried to plead my case, that my "friend" just got a taxi for 150 EGP! They just pointed outside and said, "Try your luck outside then if you don't have the money!"

27 02, 2017

Travel Missteps: Personal Time with TSA

By Lili|February 27th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2016, airport, boarding pass, check in, chemical swab, Chemical Swab Test, Colorado, Denver, Disney, Disney World, EDS, ETD, Explosive Detection System, Explosive Trace Detection, false positive, Florida, full body scan, Global Entry, glycerin, Glycerine, Homeland Security, Magical Weekend, Nitrates, North America, Orlando, pat down, redress number, Secondary Security Screening Selectee, Secondary Security Screening Selection, security, SSSS, Trusted Traveler, TSA, TSA Pre-Check, Walt Disney World|0 Comments

I've talked about triggering the ETD system before, as well as getting the SSSS on almost every trip I fly. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In May 2016, after reading all those articles of massive lines at TSA checkpoints (which disappeared later on in the year) paid $100 to apply for Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check. I didn't quite know what to expect. After being on the SSSS list, I decided against going through the lengthy "Redress" process. So I worried that I might be auto-denied for Global Entry. I waited a few weeks and

9 02, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 3 – Jet Lag in Giza

By Lili|February 9th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Africa, airport, bomb, buffet, Cairo, customs, Dream of Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, Egyptian Sidekick, Emeralds, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Giza, Grand Egyptian Museum, Great Pyramids, hibiscus, Hibiscus Tea, Holland, immigration, Jade, jewelry, Middle East, necklace, Poland, Pyramids, Saqqara, Scarab, Windmills|1 Comment

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Saturday October 24, 2015 Egypt: Day 3 - Jet Lag in Giza It was hard to sleep on the plane, especially knowing that it would arrive to Cairo at nearly 2AM. The girl and I spoke some more. She was from Holland, but I was so tired I kept asking her about "Poland". She told me how its so flat and there are windmills everywhere. It actually sounded pretty idilic. As we entered the terminal, my G Adventures airport transfer

3 02, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 2 – Sick in Frankfurt

By Lili|February 3rd, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, airport, Apfelwein, Apple Wine, Dream of Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, Europe, fall, Fall Colors, fall leaves, Frankfurt, Frankfurt in a Day, Germany, Hamburger, hotel, Langen, sick|0 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Friday October 23, 2015 Egypt: Day 2 - Sick in Frankfurt I arrived in Frankfurt a little after 11 AM. Feeling very sick, my dream of wandering the city was slowly dying. I exited, and found myself in Z Terminal. I knew that the bag holding station was outside Terminal A. But more importantly I knew there was supposed to be an attached hotel at Terminal A. I figured instead of paying to leave my bags at the bag check,

4 01, 2016

Travel Missteps: Like a Turtle

By Lili|January 4th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, airport, Asia, baggage, bags, Chino, exchange program, fall, Japan, manga, Nagano, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, souvenir, Tokyo, turtle|0 Comments

Saying goodbyes to the friends you’ve made while traveling is one of the hardest things to do. In 2004 I was part of the Sister Cities exchange program and stayed in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. I made great friends and had a great time. But getting up early to say our goodbyes before heading out on a 37 hour travel day was hard. There were lots of hugs, tears, and photos. And then...there were a lot of times I just keeled over. Farewell to Kana, note the 3 bags on my person and the 4 bags on the ground.

20 01, 2014

Travel Missteps: In the Dark of the Night

By Lili|January 20th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, airport, Belize, Caye Caulker, Central America, dark, driving, finish line, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, golf cart, group, island, lost, Mayan Encounter 2013, ocean, race, racing, runway, tour, tour group|0 Comments

"Now stay here, turn off your engines, and be quite! I'm going to see if the coast is clear." "Can we get arrested for this?" "No, not likely. This isn't the states. Possibly a bribe, that's all." We waited quietly in the dark while we watched one of the golf carts slowly make its way onto the unlit runway. Its little front lights getting dimmer as it blended into the darkness. Minutes went by but it seemed like an eternity to my excited and frightened mind. Then the golf cart came back. Our guide motioned for us to come over

14 01, 2014

What is this SSSS on my boarding pass?

By Lili|January 14th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: airport, boarding pass, check in, chemical swab, full body scan, Homeland Security, pat down, redress number, Secondary Security Screening Selectee, Secondary Security Screening Selection, security, SSSS, travel, Travel Thursday, TSA|3 Comments

The dreaded SSSS, something no traveler ever wants to see on their boarding pass. Don’t know what it is? Consider yourself lucky. But for the curious it would appear in the corner of your boarding pass and it means “Secondary Security Screening Selectee” or “Secondary Security Screening Selection.” It means either you are “randomly” selected or are on the permanent Automatic Selectee list and will be subjected to extra security. This can include thorough bag searches, full body scans, pat downs, and chemical analysis tests, which can then lead to additional “back room” screening if the TSA agent feels it