Cabin Baggage Blues...

As I sat at my desk this arvo during lunch, I was pondering on how I can organise my cabin baggage. I know it seems trivial, but I am one of those people who would obsess over the most inconsequential matters, just for the sake of it. I remember the good old days where you didn’t have to think twice before putting lotion in your bag so you can use it on the plane to protect your skin from the cold air conditioner. The days when you could slip in some eye drops in your purse to protect your dry eyes or lenses on long flights.
This of course is a luxury thanks to the myriad of regulations now in place for carrying liquids on cabin baggage.
Up until now the terrorists dictated the way we travel. Now they are dictating how we pack our bags! When will this stop? Will there come a time when they dictate the way we dress to board a flight (well in a way they already to do with shoes)? In a survey done by the US govt they found that most people now feel more threatened by terrorists than they did before 9/11.

I thought about the survey and how the world around us has changed and I thought about the nuisance in airline travel today. I quickly set the thoughts aside to address the more important issue at hand – finding out the updated rules for travel to the Philippines. I contacted my father to give me an update on the cabin baggage situation on flights to Manila. What sucks more than the new rules is getting stuck between the regulations of two different countries. Australia and Philippines have different rules for liquids on cabin baggage. Australia allows liquids in a 20cm X 20cm clear plastic resealable bag containing bottles less than 100ml. Although seems rigid, I am actually glad that they are specific and allow bare essentials. Philippines have banned all liquids on cabin baggage. I would have just kept to the Filipino rules but I have an overnight stopover in Singapore (in context, I want to check my bags through to Manila). I believe that I am fairly flexible but travelling without a toothpaste and deodorant for an overnight journey is pushing the boundaries of personal hygiene. I am extremely grateful that Singapore doesn’t have any rules of its own. Otherwise travel to Manila via Singapore would have been even more arduous.
I remember my flight to London from Sydney a couple of years ago. It was by far the most painful flight I have ever been on, 23 hours with ½ hour stop in Singapore. Can you imagine someone (with BO issues) travelling Sydney – London without a deodorant? I think in such cases toiletries are essential for the welfare of the people in the flight!! :)

So I write down list of everything I need for an overnight stop like finding the smallest toothpaste and deo available in shops, because I would probably have to throw them out after one use. While writing down the list I again thought about simpler times and how we take some comforts for granted.
I find that new rules always frustrate me till I get used to them. I remember when they first introduced the random explosive test. I always questioned how “random” it was since I always got picked out of the line for the test. I remember my parents trip to Australia in 2004 when we got pulled out for the “random” explosive test at every airport on every flight. My father abuses got more and more animated through our travels. Now when I walk to through security I know there is about a 70 – 80% chance I would be pulled for an explosive test. So I just joke about it and think about what it would be like if I was Caucasian.
Moving on, I find out there are rules to even travel from India with regards to cabin baggage. I let out a sigh, complain to a co-worker and mumble some abuse under my breath. I go to the shops to find if they sell any single use products….