Only One Plastic Bag (20cm x 20cm) for Liquids on easyJet

Whenever anyone asks me whether I've had experienced any travel mishaps before, I proudly tell them that I've not experienced any. That is until I took an easyJet flight from London Gatwick to Split in Croatia recently.

It was my first time travelling on easyJet. I only had a hand carry trolley bag because I like travelling light and I didn't want to pay extra to keep my luggage in the hold. 

Before the trip I had measured my trolley bag to ensure it's within the 56cm x 45cm x 25cm size mentioned in the easyJet website. The good thing about easyJet is that there's no weight limit to your hand carry luggage, unlike freaking AirAsia which has a 7kg limit.

Since my only luggage was a hand carry, I had ensured that all my liquid (skincare products and toiletries) were stored in 100ml containers.

I had already checked-in online, so when I reached London Gatwick, I headed straight to security to get my bags scanned.

At the security area, I saw passengers packing their liquids into transparent, resealable plastic bags (readily available) before joining the queue. So I also did the same. The only thing I didn't know is that each passenger is allowed only one plastic bag, and I had three of 'em!

Still oblivious to what I was headed for, I walked into the security area carrying all three plastic bags. The security personnel was polite enough to inform me that I'm only allowed one plastic bag. He gave me the option to go back outside and check-in my luggage or to repack my liquids. I chose the latter.

I was escorted back outside. They asked me to stand in a spot while they scanned my retina and then an officer accompanied me to the packing area where I repacked my liquids. Since I had to pack everything into one tiny 20cm x 20cm plastic bag, I had to be smart about it. What went into the bag were my Clarins and Innisfree products. I had to leave behind my toiletries and Rosken handcream (so sad).

After saying goodbye to my stuff, I went back into security and flew to Split safely where I had to buy toiletries to replace the ones I had left behind at London Gatwick.

Moral of the story:
1) Don't take for granted that all airlines have similar rules on hand carry liquids.
2) Read the hand carry rules of the airline in detail, especially so if you're flying on a particular airline for the first time. This is to ensure you don't breech any rules which may cause you to miss your flight.
3) If you're too lazy to perform Item (1) and (2), just check-in your luggage.

Tourists Everywhere in Split & Dubrovnik

When my plane landed in the Croatian city of Split that September afternoon, the first things I noticed were the cool weather, beautiful landscape and the large number of tourists that come to Croatia.

Take a look at these photos of tourists at the Diocletian Palace in Split:

What's up there?

There were a good number of tourists from Asia too.

The tour groups that come to Split were endless. Bus load after bus load they come to admire the beauty of the Old City. 

Tourists are generally good for the local tourism industry although there have been reports that the locals in top tourist destinations in Europe are getting fedup with the 'invasion' of tourists in their homes and some are even calling for a ban on tourists. 

For a fellow tourist, crowds are never good because when crowds are big,

... moving around becomes a hassle especially in the Old Towns where lanes are narrow

... queues become long at the stores and washroom

... getting a seat in a popular cafe or restaurant may take forever during peak hours especially when patrons want to sit longer and do people watching

... trying to take a photo with less people in it becomes almost impossible

On my second day in Split I made a day trip to the historic city of Trogir which is a 45 minute bus ride from Split, hoping to get away from the crowds. Unfortunately it was no different in Trogir:

Most of the time I will step aside to let tour groups pass.

The sheer number of tourists in Split had prepared me for Dubrovnik where the number of tourists was even bigger!

If you've seen photos of Dubrovnik and its magnificent, well preserved wall surrounding the Old City, you'll understand why tourists come in droves to Dubrovnik. 

This is the Pile Gate which is the main entrance to the Old City of Dubrovnik:

To ensure an orderly stream of people walking in and out of the Old City, the authorities had divided the walkway into 'In' and 'Out' lanes.

Outside the Pile Gate is the meeting point for tour groups:

If this is the crowd in September, imagine how it would be in the summer!

Ivana from Kings Landing Old Town Hostel in Dubrovnik informed that the September crowd are mainly from the cruise ships that dock at the Dubrovnik Port. Therefore they will return to their ship in the evening.

If you're planning to take photos with less people in it, you'll need to start early like 7.30am before the crowd arrives, and hopefully you'll be able to take photos like these:

 The Stradun or Placa is the main street inside Old Town Dubrovnik.

Compare this photo of the Pile Gate with the one above ... a vast difference.

So if you decide to visit Croatia especially its popular cities of Split and Dubrovnik, expect to jostle with other tourists. Just tell yourself that patience is the mother of virtue.