Tagged With "Customs and Border Protection"
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Re: Loiza - Afro-Puertorican Culture
Calle Loiza runs from Santurce to Isla Verde which is technically part of the township of Carolina. It currently ends at the border with Carolina, in a neighborhood called Punta Las Maria. I will do some research to see if i can find it's history, whether it actually went to Loiza, or is just named after the town.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #6
The tiles in the center of the bridge make wonder if a former Portuguese colony is involved. So i'm going out there and say this is a border crossing between Malaysia and Malacca built by the Portuguese...it all works, you know...except for the architecture of the bridge itself....shrugs
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #6
OK. So we know it is Asian, and that it was built by colonizers/invaders from another country. Since the architecture is Asian, I think we can assume the invaders were, too. The problem then is the next term: "link them with a settlement of people from a third country." That seems to imply that the "third country" people are NOT across a border in their own land but are also in the invaded country, but living separately from the invaders. If I'm correct in guessing the bridge at upwards of...
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #6
I'm still sticking with my argument directly above: The bridge does not cross a border. The terms are very specific: It connects to "a settlement of people FROM a third country," not IN a third country.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #6
Originally Posted by PHeymont: I'm still sticking with my argument directly above: The bridge does not cross a border. The terms are very specific: It connects to "a settlement of people FROM a third country," not IN a third country. I think PHeymont is correct.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #6
Originally Posted by PHeymont: " I'm still sticking with my argument directly above: The bridge does not cross a border. The terms are very specific: It connects to "a settlement of people FROM a third country," not IN a third country." Just to move the discussion forward a bit, PHeymont's analysis is correct.
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Re: Visit Canada! Kiss a Canadian
I think there are three main problems Canadian tourism faces. 1) The weather. Very limited season, unless you want to ski. 2) Expensive airfares. In the last 5 years, air fares went from being competitive to being very expensive -- overly taxed, I guess. And predictably, when you charge more for something you get less of that activity. 3) Heightened border security between Canadian and US border can cause long delays and has greatly reduced cross border crossings in the past 15 years. It's...
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Re: October 23, 2017: Amphicars
So much easier than a border crossing. Maybe I should splash out and buy one.
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Re: Passport Woes
Almost disaster. We once purchased a new Volvo back in 1991 and a trip to the factory in Goteborg Sweden to pick up the car was included. We picked up our new car and crossed via ferry into Denmark without a hitch. But at the German customs and passport control station, I was denied entry including our vehicle. I had shaved off my beard a few months prior, but my passport photo still showed the beard. The German officials kept saying that it wasn't my passport and to produce my real...
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#77)
Water looks very calm.... crossing one of the Lakes on the US / Canadian border ?
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Re: Russia to Open Up Gulags as "Tourist Camps"?
Oh, those Russians, ever the tricksters. Troop build-up on the Ukraine border = maneuvers. Summer in the gulag = fun in the sun. Yekaterina, you clever girl, you.
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Re: Sick of Your Credit Card Being Declined While Traveling? Visa Offers New Service
It may be clever, but, having had few difficulties using my credit cards in some pretty off-the-beaten path places, I'd say the implications far outweigh any benefit for me. If Facebook gives me the willies, I don't even know how to describe straightforward tracking. I'm not sure avoiding Visa's service will protect my hiding places alone, but not signing up is a step in that direction.
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Re: U.S. plans big increase in "pre-clearance" sites
If you've ever used one of the foreign country based US customs clearances, you know that this is easy to do. So this is a wonderful idea and will help improve tourism to the USA>
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Re: U.S. plans big increase in "pre-clearance" sites
That’s especially true for high-volume areas like Heathrow…I’d far rather use my waiting time there to be cleared than have to spend extra time waiting AFTER my flight at JFK!
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Re: U.S. Customs House, Battery Park, NYC (Where Gumbo was #110)
What an incredible building! Great reveal and photos!
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#306)
Here is your next puzzle clue. A brick wall and iron gate protect the entrance to the garden at this historic site.
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Re: TSA: More lines, delayed flights
Several Senators suggested last week that the airlines kill the bag fees to speed up the lines, but there was an audible silence on that... Meanwhile, in Paris the lines have been growing, too, and causing delays at CDG; the airport authority is calling for more staff to speed up border controls.
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Re: TSA strands 450 overnight: could it get worse?
What a mess. The very agency that is to protect citizens from terrorist activity is creating an environment wherein "tent communities" are springing up at America's airports. How embarrassing is that. Talk about a target rich environment for the bad guys. The TSA's funding, even with "cuts", is about US$ 7.3 billion for 2016. In contrast, Canada, which has 1/10th the population of the USA, has an airport screening budget of about CDN $0.56 billion, and Transport Canada acknowledges it has...
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Re: Has anyone used their Enhanced Drivers License to travel to Canada or Mexico?
Most of the people I know who have this license are those who don't want to travel internationally and who live near the Canada-US border. There are a number of town literally split by the border and people migrate across daily to visit friends or work. I think these licenses are intended for them. Same for the Mexico USA border. If you travel internationally and have a passport, no point paying extra for the license for most folks. Passports have become more sophisticated and if you read...
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Re: Weaker 'loonie' good and bad news for Canada travel
With the fall especially of oil prices (and other natural resources, which Canada is a major producer of), the loonie has indeed fallen compared to the US dollar but kept its relative value with most other currencies, including the pound and Euro. It seems despite a reasonably healthy economic profile, including until recently an almost balanced federal budget and low debt-to-GDP ratio, the value of the Canadian dollar is pegged to its natural resource valuation. With the pullback in the...
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Re: An English Garden Gallery: Hidcote
They are delicious. The most memorable single dish I've ever had was forest ferns, far out into the Chinese countryside near the Burma border, cooked for 3 of us, the only other people for miles I think, the lovely taxi driver who knew the place, my friend and me. Other things, too, but it's the ferns I remember.
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Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
Costs for the existing parks is mostly maintenance and salary. In the face of a broke federal government, I would favor increased user fees. $10-20 for a family to visit a national park for a week is the greatest bargain out there. People who love the parks would happily pay twice as much and I don't think the extra cost would be a deterent. Also, it's reasonable for those with concessions to pay up more than they are. They are given a monopoly and some of those profits should go back to the...
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Re: Name Your Favorite Restaurants for Atmosphere, Past or Present
For the sake of the memory I'm going to add another place here where I had possibly the best meal of my life. I cannot tell you the name of it or if it had a name or even where it is exactly, somewhere along the country road between Jinghong (Yunnan, China) and the Burma border. I'd hired a guide/driver to take me to the tribal market, famous in those parts, and on the way back suggested we stop for lunch. I'm one of those who believe regional Chinese is the best food in the world and this...
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Re: Walking the Buffalo
Pheymont, it was the iconic landscape that attracted me to the area. The tulou in Fujian were the impetus for the trip and when I realized that the area I'd admired for so long, originally in scroll paintings, was relatively close to Xiamen and between there and another intended destination, the cross-border overnight train from Nanning to Hanoi, it was on. As you've likely surmised, my trips tend to be longer than the average tour-traveling visitor and my curiosity such that packages are...
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Re: Customer Nonservice/A First Step to Take
Travel Rob is right on about being persistent--and organized. What I will find and post later is information I got originally from Rob on how to figure the contacts when they're not listed! I'd also add: When you've got the contacts, write directly to the top, explaining how disappointed you are that a company with such a good reputation has done such a poor job for you. No heat, no accusations, no names: The point is to get your case in the hands of the assistant whose job is to smooth the...
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Re: Would You Walk to Mexico to Save 100s on Airfare?
Having already walked across the Mexican border for less reason than reduced airfares, I'd certainly do it, providing the cost of parking at the proposed lot didn't wipe out the savings. Businessmen have a way of ruining good ideas that way.
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Re: Flood of new agents to speed up Customs at JFK and Newark
About time. I routinely fly in and out of Calgary International and have never had to wait more than 15 mins for customs/immigration (both US and Canadian customs located at this airport). That should be the standard they strive for everywhere.
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Re: Flood of new agents to speed up Customs at JFK and Newark
The hold up in NY is that passengers - mostly just changing flights - have to enter the US. Then leave the US before getting an onward flight to other parts of the world. In non-US countries you can enter the International Lounge to wait for your next flight with no customs or visas. Just onward boarding card and passport. Quick and easy.
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Re: Flood of new agents to speed up Customs at JFK and Newark
it's nice when the countries treat their transit people that way, GarryRF. Someone passing through. But I've had long delays with transit situations in the UK, Japan and most recently in Chile. It's unfortunately common.
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Re: Flood of new agents to speed up Customs at JFK and Newark
In transit once at Narita, our entire onward-traveling load of passengers was left locked standing in a narrow windowless hallway, not knowing why we were there or how long it might be. Treating passengers badly is not a behavior owned by any particular nation's immigration officers, as you say, DrF. It can happen even in countries supposedly known for their politeness.
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Re: Flood of new agents to speed up Customs at JFK and Newark
You're both right of course. No one has the moral high ground on delays. When you transit an airport with several terminals you do need to enter the country first. But hub airports like Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bahrain have all been so polite and helpful it makes you realise that there is a better way. I use Philadelphia airport now to enter the US. It rates alongside Orlando as a pleasant experience. Last year I went through passport control in Philly. When asked, I told the officer that...
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Re: More Life at the Edge: What’s in a Name?
A little more...I've just been criticized for not recognizing those who took other names to protect themselves from an oppressive government (Lenin comes to mind) or a gender barrier (George Sand) or to allow political debate without reference to personality (Publius, the name used by Jay, Hamilton and Madison in writing the Federalist papers). And then there's Martin Gardner; I've just finished reading his autobiography (titled Undiluted Hocus Pocus) in which he reveals that he occasionally...
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Re: Stockholm's Skansen Museum Park: Where Gumbo Was #27
I'd never heard of this museum, PHeymont, and find it all fascinating. Another reason to visit Stockholm! But I did guess the building was a cache (name used in Canada for structures like these people use to store meat in the winter without any access except a ladder). Not claiming victory as I had no idea where it was, but you want a building without windows, large doors (although you need a way in, be it from the bottom or side) or an ability to chew threw on ground level to protect your...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 15, 2014: The artificial Lake Reschen - Italy
I have visited a few artificial lakes on my travels but Lake Reschen tops my list - simply breathtaking. It is located in the western portion of South Tyrol, Italy, approximately 2 km south of Reschen Pass which forms the...
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Arctic Birds on Migration: Saskatchewan
Many of the Arctic birds are large white birds such as geese and swans but also include smaller and different coloured sandpipers and other birds. Where is the best place to see these magnificent Arctic birds? The most...
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The North Cascades: a National Park and Scenic Highway
The North Cascades Highway (Washington SR-20) offers the northern most route across the Cascade range in Washington state, just south of the Canadian border. The eastern (and highest) part of the road is...
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U.S. bad weather, strong dollar = big bonus for Mexico tourism
A north-of-the-border 1-2-3 combination of severe weather, cheaper gas and a strong dollar have meant a booming tourist season south of the border, as Mexico is seeing more U.S. tourists than usual, with more money than recently to spend. ...
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Super-tide at Mont-Saint-Michel: High water and 30K viewers
Last Saturday's "super-tide" at Mont-Saint-Michel, the island monument just off the coast at the border of Normandy and Brittany, drew over 30,000 spectators from all over the world, anxious to see the storied island as it seldom is...completely...
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Mexico low-cost carrier adds U.S. flights
Volaris, a Guadalajara-based Ultra Low-Cost Carrier (ULCC) that has an extensive network in Mexico and also serves cities in the southwestern U.S. is pushing to increase its U.S. business by adding flights to further destinations, especially ones with...
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Holy Space Rays, Batman! Boeing patents "force field"
Boeing has taken a leaf from science fiction and turned it into a patent for a force field that could protect airplanes (and other objects) from damaging explosions. The title of the patent is "method and system for shockwave attenuation via...
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Tough Trains
It's Sunday afternoon, I actually accomplished something midday, then turned on the telly for a break, just in time for Globe Trekker on PBS. Sometimes I'm interested, occasionally not, but I hit the jackpot today. Tough Trains! A...
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Historic Route 66 (pt 3) - Flagstaff to Gallup
The next leg of my trip was the shortest distance I had to drive, but it took the longest time. There was a lot to see along the way. Flagstaff AZ I was last in Flagstaff 20 years ago. It was a dismal depressed town in which nothing was...
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Animals at the Airport: Working for you...
OK, it's a stretch, but USA Today reports on several airports where unusual tactics are being used to keep airports maintained and planes out of trouble. Among them are O'Hare, SFO and Atlanta. But surely few have gone as far as Portland...
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Why you should try Scuba Diving...
...because it's the best thing in the world! Not convinced yet? Then read on. 1) You will be able to breath underwater Isn’t that the coolest thing to be able to do? I will never forget my first experience as an instructor when I saw...
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Death Valley National Park
Death Valley is one of the most desolate place I have been. Others include central Greenland and the Dead Sea. Death Valley is the lowest place in the western hemisphere at 282 feet (86 metres) below sea level. The Dead Sea in Israel is 1,370...
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Fort Barrancas Has it All: Cannons, Gun Turrets,Tunnels and Great Views
Fort Barrancas is located within the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. You have to show your drivers license, or other ID, to enter the base. It sits on the barranca ,or bluff, overlooking the entrance to Pensacola Bay. This National Historic Landmark...
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Where Was Gumbo? Paris. Where's the Statue? Everywhere!
Where in the World was TravelGumbo? If we simply said "At the Statue of Liberty," it wouldn't have been a very precise identification, because, as I found and you shall see, the iconic statue is everywhere and in so many forms! In today's blog, I'm...
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Welcome to North America...not!
In a poll by the Guardian (UK) of countries that have the most unfriendly and intimidating border crossings, the Big 3 of North America dominated the top of the list, with the U.S. selected by 22%, Mexico 9% and Canada 8%. Only UAE/Dubai managed to...
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September, 3 2017 - Bristol TN/VA
In Bristol, crossing the street can mean crossing the line: the border runs down the street! Jonathan L reports.
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October 20, 2017: Black Middens Bastle House, Northumberland
Black Middens Bastle is a rectangular mid to late 16th century stone two storey defensible farmhouse in Northumberland.