Travel and Vacation Digest » Asia Passport

What Will Customs Permit To Enter The Country

Ed — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 07:53:01 +0000

For those of you who travel a lot usually know what customs will permit you to bring back, but there are some things that they won't let into the country due to disease, or potential harm it can bring to those here. Customs are working diligently to keep specific things out of the country and to avoid violating any international laws since hunting animals and bringing back their skins and ivory-based products are also among the products that are not allowed in the United States since it violates laws protecting elephants that were on the endangered species list especially from Asia. That's why it's ideal to find out from the state department what you're allowed to bring back from certain Asian countries items that may or may not be allowed here in the States. Some people don't know that they're unknowingly violating laws with customs by bringing back things that aren't allowed in the country since customs are trying to protect people from disease and infestation of things from products that originate from a foreign land.

Customs agents will likely to detain someone if they can't answer to where they got the items they're bringing into the country. It's not just animal based items they're also stopping those who bring back electronic items like computer related things because they could contain information for illegal activities or things to commit computer espionage. Anyone traveling with medication are advised to leave their medications in their original bottles and containers with the labels in tact with the doctor's name visible to avoid questioning and possible detainment from customs since drug dealers will hide small shipments in stuff like medicine bottles which usually passes quickly through customs since intact bottles will not draw attention to customs agents. Customs will also inspect any electronic equipment like cameras and computers and will ask that you fill out a form called form 4457 which means you have to show the item to a customs agent for it to be registered so it's on record that the item was purchased in the states.

Customs agents also advise people to keep their bags with them at all times and to not accept packages or bags from strangers because many people who unknowingly accept these things could be transferring things that is considered contraband. Customs also advise people the same thing when leaving out of a foreign airport because the laws are not the same in other places with their customs agents and in some cases the laws are much more harsher in foreign countries than in the United States so custom agents in the states are saying what they're saying to save you from being detained in a country that you are not familiar with in terms of their laws and immigration policies. Travelers should be careful and watch their possessions because foreigners who don't want to get stopped in the states will knowingly trick people into transporting something they believe is harmless, but later find out will get them detained for crossing international boundaries with contraband or other illegal items. Your best bet as a traveler is to basically keep tabs on your own possessions.

Asian Countries That Require Passports For Entry

Ed — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:48:01 +0000

Most countries throughout Asia require a passport for entry and exiting, but they also require you to apply for an entry visa which should be done around the same time you apply or renew your passport because you have to have entry visas issued for the length of time you're staying in the country that you plan to visit. Japan, China, and various countries in Southeast Asia require entry visas for at least 30-60 days since many people who work and go to school overseas usually need these documents. People who travel seldom stay more than a month unless they're touring or visiting someone, but the average stay is 10-14 days. You have to pay out the same amount of money for a visa like you would a passport so you're looking at a stellar cost for these things just over a $100. You have to apply for visas in advance like you would your passport to ensure you have them when you travel to the country of your destination.

You can apply for visas to enter a specific country from the consulate office since they handle the paperwork for visas. You can contact the State department for them to refer you to the appropriate consulate office to contact for the appropriate forms to fill out for a visa. Most offices have their own time frame to when you should apply and expect to receive your entry visa. For an experienced traveler it's ideal to apply at their earliest convenience because at certain times of the year or whenever there's a rise in travel to specific countries it can get backlogged with other travelers requesting visas which can make the turn around time longer so the sooner the better is ideal to get your visa ahead of your tentative travel date. Too many people think they can get visas in 30 days when an experienced traveler who goes to countries that require visa entry usually request them 90 days or longer to ensure a faster turn around time and to give some leeway in case of a backlog so that there's time in the interim between the application and receiving period.

Just about every asian country has a US Consulate office and it's ideal to contact that one or the consulate of that country to request any documentation or getting your questions answered. Most visas are not difficult to apply for you just have to indicate how long you plan on staying in the country and what the protocol is if you plan to extend it for however much time you're permitted to do so. In traveling to a foreign country it's practical to have any and all documentation needed for entry to be requested, processed and sent back to you within a certain amount of time because you don't want to get close to your travel date and you don't have these things with you because you can't get past customs and security check without this important piece of documentation.

Airlines That Have Flights To Asia

Ed — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:42:01 +0000

In flying to any place in Asia you want an airline that will take you there and has a reputation for having good decent service. The most frequently used of all carriers that fly to many Asian countries are United Airlines and American Airlines. Both airlines fly non-stop, but usually they have a layover in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, and Athens or other cities in Europe, but usually they do non-stop flights. The average person will spend about 12-15 hours on a single non-stop flight depending on where they're flying. Most of the time you would have to change flights in either New York since some people fly to Asia that way or out of Los Angeles or San Francisco-though the flight is much longer going from New York to Tokyo with maybe a layover in Rome or Athens. Many foreign-based airlines have terminals inside American airports in certain cities that have the highest concentration of international flights and travelers who travel to Asia for business to leisure vacations. Some of the airlines have frequent flights to countries that have a lot of customers flying to them.

In recent years with the increase of traffic to places like Tokyo, Beijing, and other cities in Asia the airlines have been increasing the number of flights they put out per day to meet the demand of the market and the traffic that uses specific routes throughout the region. Some airlines did cut their routes short to Asia when they weren't drumming up enough customers. What's nice is that usually the international terminals for U.S. based carriers are less crowded than those who are on domestic flights since you go through a more thorough security check and through customs screening before being allowed to enter the terminal. Usually most international flights leave out twice a day in the morning and afternoon, but depending on the carrier if they have red eye flights-very late night flights, but usually red eye flights leave between 10 and midnight and land at their destination the next day or early afternoon. These flights can a lot longer than ones that leave early in the day. These are also the less crowded flights since more people will likely travel during the day instead of at night.

Night flights are comfortable because it's quiet and you can actually relax and sleep through the flight and some late night flights will show movies and serve a really nice dinner versus the snacks you're served in coach and business class. Some carriers will serve a nice meal depending on your flight and where you're going on your itinerary. Usually the flights to Asia going east from New York or west from California are the ones you can watch movies on and relax into a different time zone before landing so it makes dealing with jet lag a lot easier and less stressful on you when you officially wake up for the day since many travelers mainly those who fly to Asia will deal with a higher level of jet lag since the flights are a lot longer.

Getting Through Customs

Ed — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:51:01 +0000

Upon entering any foreign country you're required to pass through customs because what may be legal in the United States may be illegal elsewhere. This is to ensure that certain things are not being smuggled into the country. Customs will ask to see your entry visa when you go through security check in the airport or port of entry. Inexperienced travelers will pack important things in their luggage that should be on their person at all times which should be your plane ticket, ID, passport, visa, credit cards, and any cash because if those things aren't in your possession you can't get into the country. This is why people should be organized when they approach customs and security to be able to get through and not have any delays. Travelers are also advised to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours early before a scheduled flight to give yourself time to pass security and customs check before you board your flight.

People who are experienced travelers will not make errors especially being well prepared when they travel because they double check everything they have in order to get through customs in an expedited manner and without any delays. The issue people have with customs is traveling with things that can't be taken on the plane or attempting to transport things that can't be taken between countries. People aren't the only things that pass through customs when they are coming or going out of the country. You also have mail and packages that pass through customs when it's shipped or sent to another country especially Asian countries because there are specific things that are not permitted to be shipped to countries that may have restrictions placed on certain items that come from another country. This is why it's ideal for anyone traveling to Asia to check with the State department to find out what you can and cannot bring back into the country or even traveling with.

Find out ahead of time what you can bring and what you're advised to pack among your possessions to avoid customs confiscating anything and making sure you're prepared and any travelers who take prescription medication should have a permanent note from the doctor explaining the purpose of the medication or any necessary equipment like needles or blood glucose monitors for those who are diabetic. It's important to make sure you're prepared so you're not detained by customs for having something potentially illegal, but you want to be well organized and prepared so that you can get through customs and all security checkpoints in the airport. Travelers who are experienced in passing through customs can get through with relatively less issues and can expedite their time spent having customs and security checking their belongings prior to them boarding the plane when departing. The most a person spends at the checkpoint is less than 5 minutes to have their passport and visas stamped and are clear to go. It's rare that someone gets stopped at customs unless they have a reason to think someone has something illegal in their luggage when passing through security check.

When To Update Your Passport

Ed — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:15:01 +0000

The best time to update your passport is when it's close to the time of expiration and usually you don't have to wait to do it when it expires and those who have them are advised to do it right away before the expiration date. You renew your passport every 5 years, but with the exception of women who can get their passports changed if they married or changed their last name which requires them to show a marriage certificate stating their status or ID or driver's license that has their new name on it or some kind of legal form that was issued by the court for a name change and it has to be the original that you need to show since copies will not be accepted due to the high concentration of people altering or forging legal documents. It's not a huge hassle as long as it's done in a timely manner and not too close to when you travel. Children can renew their passports by mail by or after the age of 16 with a valid state ID or driver's license. When you update or replace a passport keep a note of what documents are needed so that it can expedite the process and being familiar with the passport laws in the United States can save you a lot of time and stress.

If you update your passport and are looking to expedite you're going to pay a pretty penny in express mail or FEDEX fees to have it sent there and back right away. You can get forms for renewal from the post office or you can download the PDF file on the Department of State website which offers you first time and renewal forms which is probably the most convenient and practical way to do it so you're not making a trip to the post office when you don't have to go there unless you need something. It's a lot less of a hassle to stand in line if you have Internet access and you can download the forms and fill them out and mail them to the address stated in the instructions. The idea is to save yourself an unnecessary trip to stand in line at the post office for a simple form you can actually download, print, and mail with the correct fee for applying or renewing and wait the time out for it to be mailed. Time is of the essence when you are renewing your passport and should be utilized wisely.

When renewing also consider updating the photo since people gain or lose weight or changed hair or whatever physical changes had taken place. If you want to save the money in having pictures made you can do it yourself using a photo shop program or digital picture enhancement programs you can edit and print out on photo paper and cut carefully and apply to the application. It's a good way to save money and time and to get what you need right away and in an efficient and timely manner.

What Is Duty Free Shopping

Ed — Sun, 17 May 2009 13:48:01 +0000

This is a relatively a popular thing for people coming in or departing on international flights to Asian countries. According to reports duty free doesn't mean that for buyers, but the shop owners who don't have to pay a tax to import their goods into the United States and it's the tax charged by customs to bring things into the country. This is why many travelers usually take costly route of mailing their purchases home so they don't have to encounter forking up large sums of money for taxes. Anyone who buys things from a duty free shop will have their items held until they board the plane. Shops that are located near borders into countries the purchases you make will be sealed and inspected upon entry across the border. These are protective measures that are in place to keep people from using items that were purchased in another country. Americans re-entering the United States are allowed a limit of $800 of goods purchased in other countries. Customs calls this personal exemption and the amount in question can vary by the countries you've visited. If you purchase $800 or more in goods you still have to pay a tax even if they were purchased at a duty free shop.

Also many countries have a limit on the quantities of items you purchase to avoid the taxation of such goods. Liquor and tobacco are often restricted, but in some cases you can purchase these things in the duty free shops since there's a restriction to fly with glass bottles. The specific details of duty taxes and quantity limitations varies by country so if you have any questions regarding this you're best to contact the consulate of the country you're planning to visit since they have information in place to address things like taxes for duty shopping and laws that are currently in effect. Even if those of you who do shop in these places don't pay taxes you don't exactly save a lot of money and it's easier to do your research for shops overseas that ship to the United States with inexpensive shipping. Articles that were written on duty free shopping recorded that a camera that cost like $129 was $40-50 more in these shops and this was an Australian periodical that had written and published the article addressing this. A study conducted in England had published the cost of a bottle of liquor that was 14 pounds which is about $25 in U.S. dollars. You don't exactly save much money when you have to cough up a chunk of change for taxes when it's easier to go to liquor stores that specialize in bringing in liquors from foreign lands since they paid all necessary taxes for these products to be imported to the states.

Travelers are advised to do some detailed and thorough comparison shopping before they get slapped with a huge tax bill for the luxury items that the United States charges a huge price for, but in a duty shop will hit a higher cost over the actual price the item(s) are charged for at retail price.

Airfare To Fly To Asia

Ed — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:04:01 +0000

The cost to fly overseas to Asia depends on where you're flying out of because if you live far from Los Angeles and San Francisco to the west and New York and Miami to the east it will cost more. The average amount paid for airfare to fly to Asia goes anywhere between $900-1500, but you could be paying upwards of $2500 or more depending on who you fly with and what seating arrangement you have since coach is the cheapest seats whereas business and first class are more and they don't serve you snacks you get complimentary things like cocktails and actual food served on china, but no silverware since those things were banned after 9/11 for security reasons. First class is nice because you can stretch out and the same in business class and it's a lot more comfortable for people who are going to be on a long flight for up to 15 hours. You will switch flights depending on what airport you departed from originally to catch a non stop flight or ones with layovers halfway to your destination. There are websites out there that you can research airfares and the best time to book the flight to get the best price. Cheaptickets.com is a good one since they've been around for more than 20 years and people would call in for the price checks with the date they wanted to book to find out.

Now with the internet you can access the site 24 hours a day with information that's updated every few minutes to an hour so you can see how fast airfares change quickly because some go up and some go down, but it's how fast you can catch them to be able to book the flight you want at the price you want to pay. Many people end up paying more for a plane ticket than those who take the time to research the prices for all carriers and catching the price that they want to pay. It would be ideal to get email notices for ticket deals since you don't want to miss the opportunity to book a flight you want when the right price comes up so you can get it right away before the rate goes back up and stays there for the next few hours or days.

Airfares change so fast it's hard to catch it right away especially since some people can't use the internet at their jobs unless it's for work since many office computers are checked on a regular basis and those who are using it for personal use during the workday are reprimanded because of the risk of downloading stuff onto the system and tying it up with high traffic websites. Cheaptickets.com is not the only site out there for cheap airfares when there's other sites, but the most known is Cheaptickets.com since they've been around for a long time to go from people calling them for the information to making it openly available online for people to access at any given time since the information is changed frequently so people can see what fares had gone from 30 minutes ago to 24-48 hours ago.

Obtaining A Passport

Ed — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 05:48:01 +0000

A passport is documentation of your status while traveling abroad in another country. This is to get you through customs when you enter or exit the countries. You can apply for your passport at any given time if this is your first time applying for a passport. You're advised to apply for your passport at least 90 days before your scheduled travel date, and that's because you need to give yourself as much time in advance to go through the application process and to get a recent photo made to accompany the application since immigration doesn't take photos for passports you have to get one made by one of those small photo booths or at a drug store like CVS or Walgreens who charge about $5-8 for a set of 5 ID sized pictures.

You can apply for a passport either through the post office, county courthouse, public libraries, city or village halls, State and other government municipal offices. In recent events there have been major delays of processing application for first timers and renewals of passports. The state department estimated that applications for renewal and first time passports has gone up from 12.1 million in 2006 to 18 million in 2007, and from the normal 6 week processing period the wait could go as long as 12 weeks. The delay is due in part from a new law that went into effect in January requiring those who traveled abroad to Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, and Bermuda to produce a passport upon re-entry into the United States.

According to news reports that in early 2008 it will be required to show a passport when re-entering the United States from Canada and Mexico by land and the Caribbean by ship. In the recent months that the passport application processing time was down from 12 to 10 weeks and was working to get the turn over time back to the standard 6 week waiting period. This new law was to enforce better security when people entered the country from foreign lands. Those who did apply for passports didn't have immediate travel plans versus those who were traveling within a specific amount of time when they got their passports in the mail. Homeland security had stated that this was aimed to better monitor who enters and exits the country and to verify the identities of those who come in and out of the country through air, land, and sea ports of entry into the United States.

Some attribute the surge in passport applications because of the fear of terrorism and a backlog of having hired nearly 3000 more employees in the past 3 years to the State Department to handle the demand of applications for passports and other matters within the department. Politicians have gone on record and said that their offices were flooded with calls from angry citizens to why they haven't been able to get their passports in a timely manner, yet they couldn't do anything about it because it was out of their jurisdiction when this was an issue that was to be directed to the local state department office so the individual(s) can get the appropriate response to their questions and inquiries to why there's a huge delay in getting the passports that were applied for or renewed to be returned. The State department is working towards getting the return rate on passports back on track so people can get on with their travel plans and not have any further delay in getting their passports returned as a first time applicant or renewal. Eventually this problem will improve with time so backlogs like this won't happen again.

Hotels Located Throughout Asia

Ed — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 06:29:01 +0000

You have endless choices of hotels in Asia since Hyatt, Hilton, Best Western, Ritz-Carlton, and others have locations overseas in a few Asian countries since most are pretty fancy and upper class. Many of the well-known hotels around the region are themed to that country's culture and architectural design. The Ritz Carlton has 7 locations throughout Europe with new locations opening in China and India between 2007 and 2010. Hilton has 3 locations in Japan, and the Best Western chain is all over Asia from Indonesia and Japan. These are some very luxurious hotels and are more upper class than the locations they have in the United States and Europe. Many tourists and business people like staying at these hotels since the lower end places don't sound like the places many people from outside the country are used to staying at. Most of these places are in urban cities where they're close to places tourists and business executives frequent during their stay.

These hotels have websites and either a pre-listed location or fill in the fields and search type listing and tells you current locations they have or listing locations that are coming soon with tentative completion dates to let future customers know what year they'll be going into business. Places like this attract not only the regular everyday people and those staying for business, but celebrities and even royalty stay at places like this for their vacations or business affairs. Websites like Hotels.com and others like Orbitz and Hotwire will give you an extensive listing of hotels in a single region with individual web pages and information. Hotwire.com, Hotels.com, and Orbitz.com will categorize hotels according to luxuries and price them accordingly to their level of service since hotels are categorized as star hotels by the level of their luxury and what amenities they offered to customers and what they don't have before the customer books a room there. This helps for customers who are seeking specific amenities.

Most times the amenities at these hotels are extremely luxurious and costly because many of them don't permit pets, they have internet access in the rooms and other features like wet bars and that's based on what type of room you have. It's interesting to do the research on hotel rooms when you're planning a trip, and overseas in Asian countries hotels will have a 3-D type of set up on their websites to give you a floor to ceiling picture of the room and indicating what comes with it. Hotels.com is probably by far one of the best sites out there since they do the 3-D imaging of the floor to ceiling plan to show people what the rooms look like and listing their amenities and the cost to rent per night. This was helpful since back in the day before the Internet you didn't see the inside of the room until the day you checked into it to see what came with it which was more going in blind and by someone's word to really see what you're paying for in the end.

Customs Regulations On Items Coming Aboard Flights

Ed — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:48:01 +0000

The Transportation Safety Administration as of September of 2006 has issued a rule that certain things can't be taken on flights to foreign nations especially Asia since that part of the world is also fallen to a high concentration of crime and other illegal activities. Customs are on high alert to specific places in the world including Asia. The TSA had made adjustments to their ban on liquid, gel, and aerosol meaning that they had to be in 3 ounce or smaller containers packed in the same size plastic container when being packed into someone's luggage. So that meant that anyone who traveled to Asia had to check their own luggage before even traveling so they wouldn't have any of their possessions possibly being confiscated. The thing was that they still had faced having stuff confiscated anyway no matter how hard they checked everything. It was September 11th that changed the face of customs and airport security for many who traveled on international flights to Asia and the only thing that's not being stopped that was baby formula, breast milk, prescription and over the counter medications and other items of personal use for health and medicinal purposes.

It was explained according to the TSA website that the current rules were implemented after having conducted extensive research and understanding current security threats. These were created to help air travelers to be able to have essential toiletries and hygiene products and explained that travelers who needed to carry larger quantities of their toiletries that they should pack it with their luggage and check them with the airline. This was to ensure the health and safety of not only the flight crew, but the other passengers themselves to keep the security risk low by not having passengers to carry large amounts of personal effects for cosmetic and hygiene purposes. Travelers are also advised to inform the security guard at checkpoint of the items in that person's possession. There are 6 stipulations that the TSA allow certain items such as carrying juice or formula for a child or baby, all medications (prescription and over the counter), items that are used for cosmetic reasons after surgery such as a masectomy prosthesis, or any bras with saline or gel padding, and gels used for cooling down items like medical stuff like liquid nutrition (i.e. Boost, Ensure, Jevity) or insulin for those who are diabetic.

Passengers are advised to pack such items in zipped bags and inform security of the items so that it's not confiscated or removed for being not allowed when you need to have it and also present to security at the x-ray counter since these items will be subjected to further inspection. You should also check out the links they have for the 311 on what you can bring and other important information that's needed to make your travel plans less of a hassle and for you to get through customs and security with little to no problems.