Traveling Tip #1

Rats, time flies. It is almost two months since my Samui trip.

This draft has been sitting in my folder for more than a month, so let's get it out before August is over! 

We went with four bags and came back with seven because S and I combined our shopping into one bag and split the stuff when we arrived at the airport. 

See the pink lock on the black luggage on the left?

Well, it was missing by the time I collected the bag from the carousel. 

So I reported the incident to the security, as I wasn't sure if the lock fell off or was cut off. It took some filling in of forms and waiting for the airport security to come with a scanner to check if there was a threat of a bomb being planted in my bag.

I was then asked to surrender my passport and head back to the Silkair office inside the gates. 

Sat in front of the counter and caught a picture of this interesting chart. We tend to take for granted that we will see our luggages at the other end of the flight. This chart shows a list of different types of luggages and colors for any lost luggage - vertical, horizontal, bags with/ without zippers, wheeled/ duffel, etc. so tip #1: Wouldn't hurt to take photos of your luggage bags before you check them in, in case they get lost. There may be a baggage tracking number, but definitely easier if you could leave a photo with the authorities!

Here is my yummy lunch that I had with my gfs as they waited for me outsid the gates.

In short, travel tip #2 was to share that if you have any parts of your luggage missing or damaged during the flight, report it immediately! Airlines would note down your claims formally and follow up with you, as part of their customer service protocol. For mine, they replaced a lock since it was lost during the journey with them. One of my gfs said that if she had known, she would have told the airline about her torn luggage on one of her trips where the bag had a deep cut after retrieving the bag at her destination.