i've been reading on a travel forum that customs / aduana at the pop airport have been absolute pricks to people. basically confirep001ing anything and everything they wanted from you. any verification here?
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i've been reading on a travel forum that customs / aduana at the pop airport have been absolute pricks to people. basically confirep001ing anything and everything they wanted from you. any verification here?
[quote=beersterry;1389713]i've been reading on a travel forum that customs / aduana at the pop airport have been absolute pricks to people. basically confirep001ing anything and everything they wanted from you. any verification here?[/quote]i made eight return trips and they never even spoke to me, let alone looked in my bags. i just marched straight through. so i guess ymmv. may depend what you look like and how you act.
are you talking about confirep001ing stuff you are legally entitled to bring in / out or stuff where you are breaking the rules?
[quote=beersterry;1389713]i've been reading on a travel forum that customs / aduana at the pop airport have been absolute pricks to people. basically confirep001ing anything and everything they wanted from you. any verification here?[/quote]i have been in / out of pop over 25 times and the only thing ever confirep001ed was an umbrella, where are you reading this fiction, unless you are importing a tv set, i think you will be ok.
[quote=buscemi;1389995]i have been in / out of pop over 25 times and the only thing ever confirep001ed was an umbrella[/quote]i second that. i had one taken from me as well. but it will only happen if you put it in your carry-on. other than that, nothing esle has been confirep001ed.
but if you have anything you really care about (especially electronics) , put them in your carry on. i had a digital camera stolen from my check luggage somewhere between pop and mia international in my very early days of international travel. only took one time to never do that again, lol.
also, i am glad i happened not to have left the photo/video card in the camera :d.
hassling tourist is a great way to lose your precious job. i would seriously doubt they are that stupid.
[quote=savepros321; 1390000]i second that. i had one taken from me as well. but it will only happen if you put it in your carry-on. other than that, nothing esle has been confirep001ed.
but if you have anything you really care about (especially electronics) , put them in your carry on. i had a digital camera stolen from my check luggage somewhere between pop and mia international in my very early days of international travel. only took one time to never do that again, lol.
also, i am glad i happened not to have left the photo / video card in the camera.[/quote]
are you saying that i made up the story of them telling me i cannot take my travel-sized umbrella on the airplane (there by confirep001ing it), and that my digital camera some how sprouted legs and unzipped its self from my camera pouch and walked off on its own?
[quote=oldkool;1390019]hassling tourist is a great way to lose your precious job. i would seriously doubt they are that stupid.[/quote]apparently you have never been to sosua. i guess being shaken down by tourist police isn't your definition of "hassling tourist". jarmondy would probably disagree with you.
[i]"the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits."[/i]
- albert einstein
[quote=oldkool;1390019]hassling tourist is a great way to lose your precious job. i would seriously doubt they are that stupid.[/quote]they won't lose their job because their superiors are more crooked than they are, it is the way of life down there. look at all the corruption in the dominican government, it is rampant.
that said, i haven't had anything stolen or confirep001ed in over 20 trips through dominican customs but colombia is a whole different story. i have had clothes stolen many times and the bottle of hot sauce i always travel with only makes it about 50% of the time, hahaha. i never put any electronics or anything of value in my checked bags, ever, that's just a given regardless of where the heck one travels.
hey gogo, wasn't it you that had one shoe stolen out of your bag?
[quote=savepros321;1390028]are you saying that i made up the story of them telling me i cannot take my travel-sized umbrella on the airplane (there by confirep001ing it), and that my digital camera some how sprouted legs and unzipped its self from my camera pouch and walked off on its own? [/quote]
theft of checked luggage is a routine, everyday occurrence throughout latin america and africa. last time going to colombia they gave me an extra thing to put on my bag to lock it. (which is no big deal because the zipper can be opened without taking the lock off [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf-dgkunffi[/url]) if i recall correctly i was not able to take my umbrella out of dublin as well. the only thing i have had confirep001ed out of pop was my afro pick.
"outside the united states, risk assessment experts say, some airports in latin america and africa are known for high rates of theft, with airport security personnel and even government officials sometimes working with the thieves."
"in africa, johan breytenbach, an analyst on ijet's africa team, said that theft at the johannesburg airport, africa's busiest with more than 13 million passengers a year, occurs daily. in may, a network of thieves that included security guards and airport employees was found to be working the airport. in nigeria, security officials and airport employees were also involved in large-scale theft networks." [url]http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/business/04theft.html?_r=0[/url]
[quote=savepros321; 1390028]are you saying that i made up the story of them telling me i cannot take my travel-sized umbrella on the airplane (there by confirep001ing it) , and that my digital camera some how sprouted legs and unzipped its self from my camera pouch and walked off on its own?
apparently you have never been to sosua. i guess being shaken down by tourist police isn't your definition of "hassling tourist". jarmondy would probably disagree with you.
[i]"the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits."[/i]
- albert einstein[/quote]"never argue with an idiot, he'll bring you down to his level and beat you with experience". will rogers.
you forgot he got an amish bowl cut at the barber and went and got the cops, his barber and his drug dealer were side by side.
there have been many incidences in the us of handlers stealing. so carry your valuables with you. o yes there is corruption but the little guys pay for it if they are caught. tourism is serious shit in the dr and i have been to sosua many times and never had any issues. if you do something stupid yes you can be fucked with. i see the guys fucking with locals but tourist never seen in my dozen or more trips.
[quote=mr enternational; 1390039]theft of checked luggage is a routine, everyday occurrence throughout latin america and africa. last time going to colombia they gave me an extra thing to put on my bag to lock it. (which is no big deal because the zipper can be opened without taking the lock off.
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf-dgkunffi[/url]
) if i recall correctly i was not able to take my umbrella out of dublin as well. the only thing i have had confirep001ed out of pop was my afro pick.
"outside the united states, risk assessment experts say, some airports in latin america and africa are known for high rates of theft, with airport security personnel and even government officials sometimes working with the thieves."
"in africa, johan breytenbach, an analyst on ijet's africa team, said that theft at the johannesburg airport, africa's busiest with more than 13 million passengers a year, occurs daily. in may, a network of thieves that included security guards and airport employees was found to be working the airport. in nigeria, security officials and airport employees were also involved in large-scale theft networks."
[url]http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/business/04theft.html?_r=0[/url][/quote]
From what I can gather, it was legit stuff. And I read it on LP.
Funny I have never had a problem in Colombia but have had lots in Cuba, including my luggage coming off the conveyor belt wide open.
A buddy who works in Africa and former Soviet Union tells me that Africa is bad but in the former Soviet countries, they open your luggage in front of you and take whatever they want before allowing you into the country.
[quote=beersterry;1389713]i've been reading on a travel forum that customs / aduana at the pop airport have been absolute pricks to people. basically confirep001ing anything and everything they wanted from you. any verification here?[/quote]i have made at least three trips per year through pop for the last 8 years and only once have i been stopped for a search and i just smiled and said in spanish," it's not necessary" and they waved me through. while i am waiting for my bag to show up i observe if they are searching and then hold back and wait until a whole bunch of people are leaving and then just trail along behind and get waved through.
When I was moving down to DR about 3 years ago, I would bring 3 body bag style bags with around 70 LBS of goods, from microwaves to ceiling fans as checked luggage, I did this several times. Nothing ever got stolen and 20 bucks inside my passport with the customs form got it through without checking every single time.
It now seems like things are a bit cracked down from a few years ago, but I've been checked (several times) , never robbed and never rejected.
[QUOTE=Manizales911;1390037]They won't lose their job because their superiors are more crooked than they are, it is the way of life down there. Look at all the corruption in the Dominican government, it is rampant.[/QUOTE]Stamford, Connecticut based Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc, will have three hotels in the Dominican Republic by the end of the year; Four Points by Sheraton Puntacana Village, The Westin Puntacana Resort and Sheraton Santo Domingo Hotel.
[url]http://www.starwoodhotels.com/fourpoints/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3684[/url]
[url]http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3805[/url]
[url]http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/directory/hotels/all/do/detail.html?sortType=[/url]
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is a well run company with an intelligent management team.
In the past you posted that you dislike John F. Kennedy International Airport. Attached is a recent photo of a tricked out jetBlue aircraft parked at the JFK airport, with the Boston Red Sox colors and markings. Maybe you dislike the Boston Red Sox baseball team because of the 100s of millions of dollars they paid to Dominican baseball players (Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez) who helped Boston end an 86 year drought without a baseball championship. Maybe you would have preferred if Boston had players from Colombia instead.
[QUOTE=Jaosousa; 1390968]Stamford, Connecticut based Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc, will have three hotels in the Dominican Republic by the end of the year; Four Points by Sheraton Puntacana Village, The Westin Puntacana Resort and Sheraton Santo Domingo Hotel.
[url]http://www.starwoodhotels.com/fourpoints/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3684[/url]
[url]http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3805[/url]
[url]http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/directory/hotels/all/do/detail.html?sortType=[/url]
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Is a well run company with an intelligent management team.
In the past you posted that you dislike John F. Kennedy International Airport. Attached is a recent photo of a tricked out jetBlue aircraft parked at the JFK airport, with the Boston Red Sox colors and markings. Maybe you dislike the Boston Red Sox baseball team because of the 100s of millions of dollars they paid to Dominican baseball players (Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez) who helped Boston end an 86 year drought without a baseball championship. Maybe you would have preferred if Boston had players from Colombia instead.[/QUOTE]Here we go again.
I have the right to dislike an airport if I want to. The reason I dislike JFK is it takes me longer to get in and out vs. Boston, no biggie.
I am a huge Sox fan and could care less what country the players are from.
Colombia's government is corrupt also, that doesn't take away from the fact that the DR government is corrupt as all hell, anybody that thinks it isn't has their head stuck in the sand. If you read my post I mentioned that I NEVER had anything stolen from my bags in the DR but DID have things stolen on a regular basis from my bags in Colombia.