Nairobi Airport Security Officer’s Bribe
byMy sister had the most terrifying experience in Nairobi a few weeks ago. “As you know,” she said to her jet-setting family members, “flying…
My sister had the most terrifying experience in Nairobi a few weeks ago. “As you know,” she said to her jet-setting family members, “flying…
I wrote about this ages ago, way back in Hotel Oddity #6, but back then the idiotic installation was in the Miami Radisson Mart…
Our Data, Our Selves They know who you are. They know what you buy, where you live, where you work, where you go in…
A lightning bolt of fear shoots down your spine when, returning late to your hotel room, you see the door is not fully closed….
It happens. For the most part, it’s rare. At the risk of tempting fate, I’ll admit that we’ve never been victims of hotel theft,…
So much personal information on display at quaint, old-fashioned hotels like the one we recently stayed at in Bali. Which rooms are occupied? What…
In what could be called a social experiment, it is proven that a man in a police-like uniform has great power and ordinary citizens…
Contrast Mamak with our New Year’s day dinner at Appetito, also in Sydney. Recommended by two people, nearby—and most important: open—it seemed a reasonable…
There goes our iPad. Swallowed by the security conveyor belt, immediately under the prominent sign that says “The tray stays until it is emptied.”…
People often share their credit card anxiety with me. They’re afraid their cards will be lost or stolen and huge bills will be run…
When you check into a hotel and are handed a key to a room that turns out to be already occupied, you have to…
No reports expand on the claim that this ballsy Asian impostor “swapped boarding passes with a U.S. citizen and passenger who was born in…
How to do a hotel room security check ob and I sleep more nights in hotels than in our own home and, to date,…
Is it legal to take photos at airport security checkpoints, or not? Occasionally I’ll politely ask a TSA officer if I may take a…
See anything wrong with the chain lock on this door at Miami’s Radisson Mart Plaza Hotel? It’s mounted backwards! Upside-down. It’s useless this way…
How safe is the safe in your hotel room? Not safe at all, it turns out, unless you factor in the odds. Odds are,…
The Hilton Tokyo-Bay, aka Japan’s Disneyland Hilton, was shockingly behind the times when we visited. Our paper electronic room keys had our room number…
We checked into a hotel last month and plodded through the tedious check-in procedure in a daze. It was a Millennium Hotel, but I…
Brother-in-law, though a frequent flyer, forgot to move his pocket knife from his carry-on to his checked bag. He groaned when TSA discovered it….
What would you do if you opened the safe behind the hotel manager’s desk and found your passports gone? One woman took creative action….
A reader of this blog recently wrote to me and described a suspicious encounter: In Dublin, I noticed a tall young man in a…
I’m sure it sounds obsessive to mention the necessity of onboard watchfulness when you fly. The likelihood of theft while on an aircraft is…
Loot ‘n scoot: Through my police friends, I learned of another devious M.O. resulting in theft from hotel rooms. The thief simply poses as…
We flew from Anchorage to Homer on Alaska Airlines flight 4878, operated by ERA Aviation. No TSA. No screening; none at all. Liquids? Okay!…
So you’ve made it through security. Does that mean you’re in a secure area? Not secure enough to relax your attention. Thieves have been…
“Did you know you’re wearing mismatched shoes?” a well-dressed Englishman said to our friend, Brooks, at London’s Heathrow airport one day. Brooks was talking…
As a very frequent flyer, I can understand that 12,000+ laptops are lost each week in U.S. airports. What’s shocking is that, according to…
To a pair of pickpockets in London, Lionel Skidmore looked like an easy target. The thieves mounted a bus, then immediately turned and got…
[Finally, a few words from Bob Arno.] As we travel the world every year, we interact with organized crime figures, street criminals, and security…
For a cross-country flight, I packed a lunch of deconstructed sandwiches. Slices of homemade walnut bread, a handful of arugula, a tomato, and a…