Want a Stress-Free Vacation? ‘Don’t go to the USA.’

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  01.22.08 | 11:55 AM ET

macauPhoto by ScubaBeer via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Matt Rudd has a blunt message for potential U.S.-bound readers in the Times of London: Take your travel dollars elsewhere. There are plenty of places in the world that are just as interesting, he argues, and they come without a “preflight e-interrogation, epic queues at immigration, thin-lipped questioning from aggressive border guards, and an outside chance of a rubber-gloved rectal rummage.”

After a scathing introduction (including a suggestion that Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff would really prefer “if all we prospective visitors could be so good as to stay at home and just send our holiday money over in an envelope”), Rudd suggests alternative destinations for a handful of popular American destinations: Macau instead of Las Vegas, St. Moritz instead of Aspen, and so on.

I understand Rudd’s frustration, but at the same time, I wonder whether he’s ever tried to enter Britain without a European Union passport? There may not be a “rectal rummage” involved, but the cross-examination I get every time I pass through Heathrow has always irked me a little. Especially when you consider that my Canadian passport includes the phrase “in the name of Her Majesty the Queen.”

Tags: Travel and Security, Europe, England, North America, United States, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


6 Comments for Want a Stress-Free Vacation? ‘Don’t go to the USA.’

Julia 01.22.08 | 2:41 PM ET

“Rubber-gloved rectal rummage” takes alliteration to new heights, I think. That’s a phrase that will stick with me next time I pass through passport control.

Lynn 01.22.08 | 7:30 PM ET

With the Pound at Multi-Year highs against the Dollar.  You are hard pressed to find a more affordable Vacation than the USA.
Rubber-gloved rectal rummage aside.

Can’t afford a UK vacation for the same reason plus you have to worry about home grown terrorist as evidenced by the bombings and attempted bombings in London and Glasgow…....

Peter Daams 01.22.08 | 8:48 PM ET

And he didn’t even mention the fingerprinting and photographing that all visitors are put through.

He has a point.

Ken 01.23.08 | 11:53 AM ET

I’ve travelled overseas many times over the last few years.  When you are at an airport or on an airplane you are participating in a process that is grueling to travellers and employees.  I try to adopt the most stoic, yet pleasant, attitude and I never judge the location by the people I meet at the airport, especially the customs and immigration people that I encounter.

Steve 01.23.08 | 4:00 PM ET

Having been fortunate to travel quite a bit overseas I’ve always remembered that when overseas “you are the foreigner” - be polite, calm and learn the customs of the country/area your visiting!

Royal Caribbean 07.02.08 | 11:07 AM ET

I was thinking of traveling to the US soon and being from Europe makes me think it’s not such a good idea. I’m a brunette with darker skin. This will surely attract the airport’s attention and I don’t wanna risk a full physical.

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