WE have all seen those reality television shows where seemingly dumb or devious travellers are caught out for their dastardly deeds by ever-diligent Border Security officers.
It never ceases to amaze me the lengths travellers go to evade the authorities and also the fact that they are prepared to air their stupidity for the cameras. I’m not sure about you but if I was stopped by a Border Security officer I would object to being televised or at least that is how I felt until once seeing a sign in a airport stating that the Australian television show Border Security was being recorded in the airport and that, if I did not want to be televised, I had to bring it to the attention of the show’s producer and the authorities. I imagined myself doing this and then being whisked outside with plastic gloves at the ready in preparation for a full cavity search. So much for being innocent until being proven guilty.
It is true travel has changed with the authorities claiming that potential terrorist attacks have forced them to be extra cautious. Border checks for immigration and customs are a necessary evil and a minefield for the uninitiated.
BLANK EXPRESSIONS
Customs and immigrations checks can be some of the most anxious moments of any journey even for those who have nothing to hide. In the “good old days” you could have a laugh and a joke with officialdom but now this is tantamount to creating an adverse incident and will, in many cases, make the officials more jumpy than normal.
Rarely do I have a problem but have experienced a few anxious moments that now make me wearier when I travel. These days, there is a lot to be learnt and while I know and understand most passport rules, new ones occasionally present themselves.
Most travellers are aware that prior to travelling, a passport must be valid for a minimum of six months. In other words, the expiry date must be longer than six months. So anyone with a 10-year passport really only has nine and a half years because the last six months are useless.
A few years ago I found out about the “two blank page” rule by which some countries bar travellers who don’t have at least two blank pages on which to chop them in and out. It was always my understanding that two pages provided enough space to visit and leave at least half a dozen countries.
When I presented myself to the officials of an African nation a few years ago, I was refused entry and forced to wait in a cold transit lounge overnight for my onward flight. Ironically, to enter transit my passport had to be chopped and the officer there had no problem in finding space to chop me in. The next country had no problem in chopping me in and out either.
BORDER ZONES
There are crossings and there are crossings as anyone who has travelled through the developing world will bear testimony. Any crossing between two countries necessitates such formalities although I can recollect some years ago being in the Three Pagodas Pass in western Thailand, northwest of Kanchanaburi and while the actual border crossing is a formal set up, the backstreets of the Thai town here along the northern border just morphed into neighbouring Myanmar. I’m sure there is fence there now but when I was there I can remember jumping from one side of an imaginary border to the other to later brag about the numerous “visits” I’d made to Myanmar.
Celebrated travel writer Paul Theroux expressed similar thoughts. “It’s a thrill to go on foot from one country to another, a mere pedestrian exchanging countries, treading the theoretical inked line that is shown on maps.” (from The Last Train to Zona Verde). While most travellers arrive in a country via airport where there appear to be customs and immigration rules, it’s the remote land and even sea border crossings that interest me most.
Border crossings also have their own set of rules that are a combination of both countries and where local traders, dealers, fixers, panhandlers, desperados and opportunists rule the streets and know what they can get away with and what they can’t. The more the remote the crossing, the less they have to do with the national seat of power where rules are made. In many cases, the locals move from one side to another with ease and carry with them all manner of goods which are more expensive and in greater demand on one side or the other.
As the world opens up, fewer places can claim to be truly remote. Southeast Asia has a few such as the Chong Mek border crossing between Thailand and Laos (near Ubon Ratchathani and Pakse), Phukeua and Bo Y (between Laos and Vietnam) and Moc Bai (between Vietnam and Cambodia). The Wang Kelian - Wang Prachan crossing between Perlis and southern Thailand is a fascinating crossing too which is only open during daylight hours and with a fascinating market operating here every Sunday morning across “no man’s land” between the borders.
These crossings are places where money changes hands and goods move from one side to the other and the supporting activities of food, drinks, people to help with the paperwork, translation and a fleet of bikes, vans and cars to facilitate movement. Money rules and while there are those who are there to help (for a fee) there are others with exploitation on their mind.
A whole industry and sub-class of opportunists loiter at many border crossing to financially benefit from hapless tourists unaware of the rules, the language and the way of doing business at that specific crossing. In many cases, borders are where paperwork needs to be completed, proof of identity needs to be presented (in some cases, not just passports), visas need to be applied for (with passport photos) and invariably, money needs to be handed over.
Negotiating remote borders requires tact, charm and subservience as the official with the chop rules the roost and there is little point in citing immigration rules as outlined in your dated guidebook. I recently spent two hours queuing to cross a border between two South East nations and watched the husband of a married couple refused entry because the official took a dislike to him. I have no idea what happened but I witnessed a family separated with no recourse that I could see, not at that crossing anyway.
Happy travels but make sure your passport is in order, your paperwork is up to date and you have a few spare passport photos with you at all times.
David Bowden enjoys getting off the beaten path to explore the byways and back roads of Asia researching for his books. Reach him at traveltimes@nst.com.my