Travel Lesson: Don’t Forget Your Duty Free

Yesterday I wrote about how much I learn from traveling (see Fun Facts: Anguilla). Cultural learning is separate from Travel Lessons, where I chronicle mistakes I make that can derail my trip. The latest lesson is remembering your duty-free purchases.

At The Gate

Some airports deliver your duty-free purchases to you at the gate. When the duty-free deliverer is on the jet bridge, it’s easy to remember your purchase. When the delivery is made outside the gate, it is possible to forget that you made a purchase.

On The Plane

Placing duty-free purchases in overhead bins can be a problem if another passenger moves your items or puts them behind his carry-on. If you’re someone who doesn’t typically buy duty-free, you might easily deplane and leave your duty-free on board.

Anguilla Anecdote

Since it was my birthday, I decided to splurge on a bottle of rum and picked up a bottle of Zacapa XO for $200 from Miami’s DFW. Waiting in line to enter Anguilla, I asked Ms. TPOL, “Where’s the rum?” She said, “I thought you had it.” Immediately, I was consumed with the sickening, nauseating feeling. In a mild panic, I skipped the line to see if I could find someone from the airline. My mind began to race as I wondered if my rum was gone forever. I knew that I would not be allowed back on the plane to see if it was still there, and I wondered if an opportunistic passenger might have taken it for his own consumption. Luckily, a flight attendant had it waiting for me at the immigration counter.

Put Your Duty Free in Your Carry On

The easiest way to make sure you don’t forget your rum is to put it in your carry-on as soon as possible.

ABCDE Solution

Whenever I’m traveling, you’ll see me do the following: Tap left pocket for phone, tap right pocket for camera, and top left back pocket for wallet. It’s a compulsive habit to ensure i have my most precious belongings. It has saved me many times from leaving something behind.

I have a similar luggage checklist called ABCDE.

• A stands for Alex’s carry-on.
• B stands for backpack.
• C stands for my coat.
• D stands for Duty-Free.
• E stands for everything, a reference to checked-in luggage, on the rare occasion that I bring more than my typical ABC.

Don’t Touch My Stuff

As a general rule, each traveler should look after his stuff. I would rather leave my bag behind and go through my checklist than have my travel companion pick it up for me. This ensures that there would be no miscommunication about who is responsible for what (This same philosophy is applied on the golf course with clubs left on the green).

Overall

Developing travel habits and creating checklists is a great way to avoid travel disasters.