Documentation is something you can never have too much with you. Customs people are suspicious of foreigners in any country (unless, perhaps, you're a EU person travelling within EU - seems like Europeans generally get a better deal when crossing borders). Sorry to hear that you ran into those protesters though.
Travelling to Australia was the first time I bumped into those visa forms. I had to fill one in for Hong Kong, and again for Australia, so I guess it's a staple for international travel? Also, in HK I got pulled aside because of a small cough (left over from a cold I'd gotten two weeks before leaving) that they thought was swine flu. So yeah... just a heads up, if you ever travel to China or thereabouts, make yourself look as healthy as possible at the airport - don't even dare to sneeze - unless you want to get dragged in for an impromptu medical examination. They strongly suggested I wear one of those flu masks for the rest of my time in the country even though I passed the examination ok, and I had to present a document proclaiming my health to each official at checkpoints. After getting out of the airport to visit HK city I promptly chucked the mask in a bin and luckily didn't get any more grief about it.
Have fun in USA, take lots of pictures! Can't wait to read more travel diaries from you. :)
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Date: 2010-04-06 11:37 pm (UTC)Travelling to Australia was the first time I bumped into those visa forms. I had to fill one in for Hong Kong, and again for Australia, so I guess it's a staple for international travel? Also, in HK I got pulled aside because of a small cough (left over from a cold I'd gotten two weeks before leaving) that they thought was swine flu. So yeah... just a heads up, if you ever travel to China or thereabouts, make yourself look as healthy as possible at the airport - don't even dare to sneeze - unless you want to get dragged in for an impromptu medical examination. They strongly suggested I wear one of those flu masks for the rest of my time in the country even though I passed the examination ok, and I had to present a document proclaiming my health to each official at checkpoints.
After getting out of the airport to visit HK city I promptly chucked the mask in a bin and luckily didn't get any more grief about it.
Have fun in USA, take lots of pictures! Can't wait to read more travel diaries from you. :)