It all started in Hanoi, when I tried to check my luggage for a flight to Bangkok. The Air Asia agent informed me that my bag was overweight. This was because I had zipped my backpack to my larger bag and was trying to check the whole shebang. While this may have worked in Chicago, the purchases I had made on the way had pushed me over the edge. I moved a bunch of books to my carry on and all was fine.
I made a mental note to remove the backpack from my checked luggage on my flight home. So thats what I did. The thing is that if one wants to carry on a bag that was previously checked, one should study its contents. In the rush to catch an early morning flight, I did no such thing.
In the early hours of a Bangkok airport morning this fact dawned upon me as security politely asked me to step aside. Compliantly, I stepped to the side. My bag was opened and to my great humiliation, the security guy pulled out a knife.
I was mortified, but very fortunate that the knife did not cause me a delay. The knife was confiscated and I was allowed to proceed to another checkpoint, just outside the departure lounge. I had never seen this sort of secondary checkpoint, and I was surprised and annoyed, yet confident that like most flyers I had nothing to hide.
Nonetheless I was still checked through, and off I went to the flight. The thing is that I still had a knife on me, though I did not know it at the time
While I was surprised in Bangkok, I was truly mortified at Narita. To see another knife pulled from my bag as I was called to the side yet again was humiliating.
I know what you're saying. "Why is this moron traveling with two knives, when it is pretty clear that he can't handle one?" Personally, I blame everything on my travel guru, Miss Jocund. Prior to heading to Africa, she recommended that I buy a knife, but I did not. While traveling through Ghana I had several occasions where a knife would have been very handy. That is why she is a guru and I'm just a blogger.
So, prior to leaving for Asia, I bought a knife, which I packed. On the eve of my departure, Miss Jocund gave me a knife. I threw it in, mostly because it was a better knife. I had no idea that I had unwittingly carried a weapon on a flight until security in Japan caught the second knife.
Thank god that this happened prior to the underwear bomber. Believe me, I have learned my lesson about knowing exactly what is in your carry on.
The thing that I find the most unsettling is the fact that I had two similar contraband items and only one was found
Not much point in catching the first thing if you can't catch the second.
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