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Did you declare ALL of your personal items?
I had just returned to Bahrain from a holiday in the UK. I was taking a taxi through the causeway connecting Bahrain and Saudi Arabia when, at the Bahraini end of the causeway, I was stopped by a customs official. After examining my passport, he asked me to step out of the taxi. Once I had gotten out (jet-lagged and completely beat), the customs official started pointing towards the trunk of the car, indicating that he wanted it open. At the same time, he kept mumbling something in English. Unfortunately, English wasn't his strongest point, so all I could make out was a word that sounded ominously like underpants ... The taxi driver opened the trunk, revealing my suitcase, but the official continued to point and mutter the same word. So there he was, gesturing towards my suitcase and saying "underpants," and there I was, in my mixed state of exhaustion and nervousness nodding "yes, yes." After about three rounds of this exchange, I decided to finally just reach into my suitcase and pull out my underpants for the said officer to inspect. The officer looked at me very strangely, and motioned for me to get into the taxi and drive away. Perplexed and relieved, I drove off. However, on my way home it finally dawned on me what the officer was asking about: contraband! Apparently, the causeway is the unofficial channel for smuggling contraband (i.e., alcohol, drugs, etc.) into Saudi Arabia. I'm not quite sure what he thought about my underpants gesture; I'm just relieved it didn't lead to further trouble with the customs official! - Scott (Sharjah, UAE) Tags: customs, newsletter, pronunciation, travel story
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