U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of
\ntravel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have
\ntravelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and
\nSouth Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted
\nsigns and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and
\nnow wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to
\nshare some of my anecdotes.<\/p>\n
The Brazilian experience: Be sure to get an immigration
\nentry stamp in your passport before you leave. A tourist
\nbehind me interrupted the immigration official with a
\nquestion and the immigration official did not give me a
\nproper stamp in my passport. When I got to hotel I looked
\nto see what their entry stamp looked like compared to mine.
\nIt didn’t look good. I was not upset but went to
\nairline office and I thought they could straighten it out:
\nthe airline manifest would show I had arrived. They got
\nexcited. They made me go to Security way across town and
\nsaid I had to go to a Notary Republic to get my statement
\nnotarised, etc etc. I wasted one full day trying to get
\nthis straightened out. When I got to security I explained
\nto a man in the hallway what had happened. I waited awhile
\nand was called into office. Behind desk was the man in the
\nhallway I had explained what happened to. He smiled and
\nentered that I had entered. I was going to go overland to
\nManaus in Northern Brazil and only discovered then that I
\ndid not have entry stamp. I suspect I might have been sent
\nback to Security in Rio. I learn by my mistakes. When I did
\nget on plane I was given a demi tasse of coffee in a coffee
\ncup that I thought would be a good souvenir. I asked if I
\ncould keep it. The Stewardess said just a minute and
\nbrought back a cartoon of demi tasse cups. They must have
\nheard about me! I said, “thanks but one is enough.
\nWould you refill it?”<\/p>\n
I read where some Mexicans tried crossing illegally into
\nthe States across the border from Mexico in a novel way.
\nBorder Patrols saw a truck go by with a portable toilet in
\nthe back. When they opened the door of the toilet there
\nwere seventeen Mexicans. They had paid $500 each to be in
\nthat toilet and there was no toilet paper.<\/p>\n
One wag says when US customs ask you if you are carrying
\nguns, drugs, psychotropic substances or any items harmful
\nto the National Constitution, he always wonders what kind
\nof person answers yes to a question like that.<\/p>\n
When we got tired of filling our forms to enter
\ndifferent communist countries and got tired of all the red
\ntape one wag suggested that on the form where it asked the
\nreason for our visit that we put “penance”<\/p>\n
At one border crossing someone was supposed to meet us
\nat the border – but no one showed. It was a public holiday.
\nThe toilet on our bus had broken down and the lady in
\ncharge of the toilet at border would not let up in unless
\nwe gave her something like three cents in their money. None
\nof us had any of their money yet and she would not take any
\nAmerican money. What do you do? Push her aside? Create an
\ninternational incident? Suddenly I remembered that I had
\ngotten a small amount of their money before coming and I
\ntreated everyone to a “toilet.”<\/p>\n