From: pcw@access.digex.net (Peter Wayner)
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 23:35:14 +0800
To: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)
Subject: Re: Crypto anarchist getting through customs
Message-ID: <v02130507ad211a4ff0aa@[199.125.128.5]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 1:38 PM 1/15/96, Timothy C. May wrote:


>Frequent travellers to Europe will no doubt confirm what I'm saying. I
>travelled to dozens of countries in Europe a while back, and never was
>checked at any borders, save for a quick glance at my passport.
>
While this is generally true, I do remember that I decided to take an
overnight ferry/train ride between Paris and London to save money by
spending one less night on the hotel. I didn't get seasick, but I was very
disheveled when I got off the boat. The hours of 3 to 6 am were spent in the
ferry's duty-free shop because I was bored and I couldn't sleep.

The British customs guy pulled me over and started searching my bags and
questioning me. It went something like this:

"Are you aware of the duty-free restrictions?"

"Yes. You can bring in up to four liters of wine and one liter of hard
liquor. Or you can use your one liter alotment of hard liquor on wine and
bring in a five liter jug. Cigarettes must be limited to..........."

"Okay, you can go on."