Krayton Travel

Here is a recent news story:

“A planned 36-hour strike by French air traffic controllers has prompted the cancellation of 20 percent of flights from Paris Orly airport and a third of flights from Marseilles, The Guardian reports. Paris Charles De Gaulle airport was not expected to be affected.

The Eiffel Tower is set to be closed all day due to a lack of staff. Rail company SNCF has also warned of disruptions to national and regional service, although international service to London and Brussels is not expected to be affected.”

These pop-up events happen all over the world. When you are traveling they can be a bit unnerving as well as make your journey challenging.

I was in Paris a few years back visiting the Louvre. I was in line to enter when suddenly there was a big commotion in the main hall. Dozens of women lined the corkscrew staircase with placards. They began shouting to protest for woman’s rights. Everything came to a halt. After 15 minutes the protestors dispersed and everything went back to normal.

I could have been annoyed, angry and disappointed that my time at this great museum was being cut short. They could have closed the museum altogether. That didn’t happen.

Instead of being upset, I accepted this as a once in a lifetime experience to see how other cultures handle life. In this case civil disobedience, free speech and public access. I was fascinated by the swift but orchestrated way they organized, presented their message and then left. There were no sirens, no police disruptions.

When traveling just expect to find delays and stoppages. Expect that some things you had your heart on seeing will not be available to see. Instead of disappointment, look at this as an opportunity to be a part of how real people function in the countries that you visit.

For example, on the same trip to the Louvre, there was a private cocktail reception in the hall with the the Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, a 2nd-century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). Since 1884, it has been prominently displayed at the Louvre and is one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world. It was on my bucket list, but it was not to be.

It did free up some time which I used to visit some other halls of the vast museum (you cannot see everything in one visit). I was not disappointed, and now I have this story to share with you.

If you are on an escorted tour or working with a travel advisor like Krayton Travel, alternatives to these things can be found for you. If you are safe, just relax and let this surprise moment be one of your many memorable stories to share.

A friend of mine told me of a business colleague who needed to travel to Saudi Arabia for business. It was company policy that while traveling, all executives needed to take a company-issued computer, which is sanitized and configured for international travel.

The executive would have none 0f it, insisting that he wanted to take his personal computer instead. He and the head of security had a heart-to-heart talk. The reluctant executive accepted the company-issued computer for this trip.

However, it seems the executive still had other ideas as they found the company-issued computer on his desk the day he left town.

What happened next is a tale of woe.

On entry to Saudi Arabia, the executive’s personal computer was examined along with his luggage. He and his bags were cleared but his laptop was not so lucky. It was seized because it contained ‘pornography’. It’s not what you think. You see the executive had photos of his kids swimming in his backyard pool. They were wearing bathing suits. This is innocent and harmless to American values, but was considered terribly offensive to the Saudis.

The executive completed his business and was forced to return home without his beloved computer.

After weeks of deliberations by the IT and security teams at his company, the Saudis finally agreed to release his computer and ship it back to the US, minus the photos of the kids.

This should have been sufficiently embarrassing, but there is more.

When the computer came into US customs, knowing that the Saudi’s had seized it and had access to its contents, the customs authorities also seized this computer on the possibility that the Saudi’s had compromised the laptop and may have installed some kind of malware that would be a threat to US national security.

Once again, the IT and security departments of his company had to negotiate with the US Security agencies.

After 4 more months, this computer was finally released and returned to the executive.

Moral of this story, listen to your IT and corporate security teams. You are going on business, and your personal needs should never out way those of your organization. This foolishness cost the company hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars. The executive went without his personal computer for a very a long time, not to mention the humiliation he endured for his stunt.

Tip: When taking any electronic device outside the United States, check with each country’s Embassy and the US Department of State for the latest guidelines of what is acceptable or not on your trip.

For more information on international travel, visit http://www.kraytontravel.com/resources/