Off to Jakarta!!

So before arriving to Jakarta today, my friend sent a few tips in advance of my arrival.

Among them he mentioned that if I saw a chalk mark on my checked baggage when I picked it off the belt that it meant they'd want to stop my bag, search, and find some reason to charge me import money. His advice was for me to wash the mark off in the baggage claim area, without being noticed, and then make my way to customs and enter the "nothing to declare" lane.

And the only thought that ran through my mind was that Claire Danes movie where she got put in jail for life after pulling some sh*t in the airport....ok, I know the movie was drug related, but a country that puts "penalty of death" wording on their customs card does not mess around!!

I arrive to Jakarta, grab my bag from the belt and see the chalk marks. At which point my heart begins to race...you know how I like to follow the rules. But the new nadia throws caution to the wind, and I make my way to the ladies room to undertake the wash down. Besides, I was way too nervous to work up the saliva needed to wipe off the marks and needed the extra help of the sink water.

As I enter the ladies room, this little old lady who was attending saw the marks, grabbed a wet cloth and wiped my case down. Would you believe every side (top and bottom too) had a mark on it. When she finished wiping my bag, she put her fingers to her mouth to signal "hungry, give me money for food". I pulled out 2000 rupiah, placed the note in her hand and walked out of the washroom with a clear conscious...technically, I NEVER touched the marks.

I then walked through the "nothing to declare" lane and once I crossed the exit, I finally exhaled and met my friends with a smile.