The Luggage Carousel Of Life
February 23rd, 2007
Submitted by: Erik Slayter
I don’t really have any commentary regarding this New York Times article (A Round Trip on a Conveyor Belt in China), but I found it entertaining and interesting and wanted to share. I would be curious to know if this is a one-off type of situation or if it is indicative of Chinese culture.
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, China, Misc.
4 Comments Add your own
1. Chris Carr | February 23rd, 2007 at 8:56 am
I too saw this article. Loved it. I can say that I have never had this experience in China, nor have I ever noticed what the signs on the conveyor belts say or do not say.
I can say this … there have been long waiting periods at our local SLO airport where I WISH I could step on that conveyor belt, walk through that mystery hole the bags come out of, go out and find my own darn bag, and grab it so I can get headed home!
2. Kerry Huang | February 23rd, 2007 at 12:08 pm
This is so strange! I guess China’s airport security is lax letting him go into the employee area. Although I’ve never seen those signs in China I have seen a “Don’t bring crabs on to the plane” in front of the security screening line at the Taipei airport. Apparently, according to my friend, people used to bring these crabs onto the plan and then some how they end up crawling around the aisles.
3. Christopher Arena | February 28th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
When I read this I can’t help but think back to when… I was a kid, wanting to ride the luggage carousel and getting yelled at by my mother. It always sounded like great fun, but I was never permitted to play on the conveyor belt. So on one hand, I’m a bit jealous, and on the other the story makes me a bit optimistic. This is a story of compassion and tolerance that is all to rear in this world. I’m relieved to see that the Chinese where so understanding of a knife wielding American riding a conveyor belt. This story is strait out of a Mr. Bean skit.
4. Lindsay Yoshitomi | February 28th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
What an odd story. It’s almost a contradiction of what China perceives to be. On one hand, you have a country that is steeped in tradition and seems so rigid with its laws, but you can run around the airport with knives in your hand? Allowing someone to breach that hole in the wall, which by common sense is off limits, is kind of humorous. I don’t know if I would have had the guts to venture back there, especially not being able to read any signs. Maybe the airports are not being so stiff anymore. Has anyone been to Maui recently? The last time I was there with my family, some guy was ever so nonchalantly pulling our boxes off the carousel and loading them on to his cart. Never mind that our name was written in bold markers on every side of the box….too bad he got my mom mad. Anyway, so does this mean when we go to China, it won’t be such a hassle to bring back souvenirs or things made there?
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