Leaving Mumbai
Oct. 7th, 2010 06:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigo_rose99I think the airport is trying to employ the maximum number of people.
My "ticket" (really my itinerary) was checked for the first time before the guard would let me in the building. I've lost count since then.
I went through TWO full security screenings. Scanned luggage, full personal pat-down, everything.
My ticket hasn't just been repeatedly looked at, it has been STAMPED. Four times. With the date. And the stamps are signed.
I thought getting to the airport 4 hours early would leave me bored in a chair. No, I'm bored in line after line.
And let me tell you about the guy who had to do the security questions before I could turn in my checked luggage or get a boarding pass: Village. Idiot. That, or the slickest operator you have EVER seen. He asked me every question at least three times. "What do you do?" I'm a statistician. "I mean, what is your occupation?" I'm a statistician. "What do you do for work?" I'm a statistician. I can't tell if he does not understand the word, does not believe me, or is trying to trip me up. "What is your job?" In frustration, I went into a super dumbed down explanation of what I do. He was promptly uninterested. Everyone around me got their little question/answer session done in 5 minutes. Mine took 45. Not kidding. I was at the front of the line, pulled to one side as he would take my passport (I made no bones about the idea that I did NOT like my passport being out of my possession!) and go talk to his boss. Then he would return and ask the same questions over and over.
My "ticket" (really my itinerary) was checked for the first time before the guard would let me in the building. I've lost count since then.
I went through TWO full security screenings. Scanned luggage, full personal pat-down, everything.
My ticket hasn't just been repeatedly looked at, it has been STAMPED. Four times. With the date. And the stamps are signed.
I thought getting to the airport 4 hours early would leave me bored in a chair. No, I'm bored in line after line.
And let me tell you about the guy who had to do the security questions before I could turn in my checked luggage or get a boarding pass: Village. Idiot. That, or the slickest operator you have EVER seen. He asked me every question at least three times. "What do you do?" I'm a statistician. "I mean, what is your occupation?" I'm a statistician. "What do you do for work?" I'm a statistician. I can't tell if he does not understand the word, does not believe me, or is trying to trip me up. "What is your job?" In frustration, I went into a super dumbed down explanation of what I do. He was promptly uninterested. Everyone around me got their little question/answer session done in 5 minutes. Mine took 45. Not kidding. I was at the front of the line, pulled to one side as he would take my passport (I made no bones about the idea that I did NOT like my passport being out of my possession!) and go talk to his boss. Then he would return and ask the same questions over and over.
