5 fun water parks in & around Vancouver

On a warm, sunny summer day, one of the best places to hang out with your kids is a water park. Spraying water, splashing water, running through the water, stomping in the water... it's all fun (and cooling). Here are five great places in and around Vancouver to hang out with your kids and let them get wet:

1. The Variety Kids Water Park, Stanley Park, Vancouver
Location: Lumberman's Arch in Stanley Park
This water park is located just a short walk from the Vancouver Aquarium and has a lot of cool water-play features. You can sit on the benches or on the grass surrounding the water park, but on a hot day that can get pretty hot. Bring a picnic or buy some food from the nearby concession.

2. Granville Island Water Park, Vancouver
Location: Granville Island, right next to the playground 
Granville Island is a fantastic place for a walk, buying fruit and veggies, and listening to buskers. My kids love it, and on a hot day you can spend some time cooling off at the water park here too. You can buy a wide variety of baked goods, candy, ice cream, fresh fruit, and other treats in the nearby Farm Market.

3. Steveston Community Park, Steveston, Richmond
Location: 4011 Moncton Street
My kids love the extensive playground in this community park, and there's also a water park here that is open in the summer months. There are benches and grassy lawns to sit on and also some shady trees. Steveston also has lots of coffee shops, ice cream parlors and restaurants if you want to go for a snack or meal with your kids too.

4. Garden City Community Park, Richmond
Location: 6620 Garden City Road
This is not really a traditional water park. There are no slides, spraying thingies or water cannons. Instead, there's a little "river" that runs down a hill, there's a small water wheel and water pump, a bridge, and a small pond like area where kids can play with water, sand and gravel. More like water-play activities really, but my kids (and all the other kids I see there) absolutely love it.

The adjacent playground is fantastic as well. Great photos of this park here.

5. Bear Creek Park, Surrey
Location: 13750  88 Avenue, Surrey
Bear Creek Park has an extensive garden, as well as a miniature train and a big, fun playground. There's also a big water park with all sorts of spraying and splashing things. It's a great place for a picnic with extensive lawns and big, shady trees. Lots of parking too.

7 tips to get through airport security faster, with or without kids

These days, if you travel by plane, you'll end up in an airport security lineup at some point. If you're lucky the lineup isn't long at all. Usually though, that lineup will take some time to get through.

When you're traveling with kids, it's especially nice to get through the lineups at the security checkpoints as fast as possible. Because, in general, lineups and waiting do not make for happy kid.

Here are some things you can do to reduce the time it takes you to get through security:

1. Don't bring any prohibited items in your hand luggage.
Bringing something you shouldn't in your hand luggage will definitely slow you down, and you might also be forced to leave behind that prohibited item. TSA's website has a very extensive list of things not to bring. Most of it is pretty self-explanatory. Also make sure your kids haven't stashed anything in the hand luggage that shouldn't be there!

2. Empty or get rid of water bottles or other drink containers
These days, there are usually garbage bags filled with water and juice bottles at any airport security checkpoint. The screeners won't let you through with a big bottle of water, even if it's half full. Drink it or dump it before you get to end of the line.

3. Make sure any liquids in your hand luggage are packaged correctly
Liquids that you want to bring on board have to be in containers that hold no more than 3 ounces (100 ml). Those containers have to be put into a 1 quart (1 litre) clear, ziploc bag, and each traveller can bring one of those bags. More information about traveling with liquids here.

You are allowed to bring baby food (formula or pumped breast milk for example) even if it doesn't conform to these rules. Just be prepared for things to maybe take a little longer through security if you do.

4. Keep things that need to be removed from your bag easily accessible
Items that you will be asked to remove from your hand luggage at security include:

• your ziploc bag with liquids
• any additional liquids (baby food for example)
• larger electronic devices like iPads and laptops: TSA recommends you put your laptop in a "checkpoint friendly" bag to simplify things. I found a Samsonite sleeve for my laptop that worked well.

Small cameras and cellphones can stay in your bag. On our latest trip I found that it also helps to keep everything that needs to come out of the hand luggage in the same bag. That way, you only have to worry about getting things in and out of one bag instead of first opening and then repacking several bags once you're through security.

5. Empty your pockets ahead of time
At most checkpoints they will ask you to empty your pockets of any items that might set off the metal detector, such as loose change, keys, cellphones, and so on. It's easier and faster to not carry anything in your pockets: put it into your hand luggage ahead of time.

6. Don't wear a lot of metal
If you go through the metal detector and it beeps, you will have to stop and be scanned by a screener, maybe patted down as well. Not a big delay really, but hey, if you don't have to, it's better. So don't wear a belt if you can help it: belt buckles usually set off the metal detector. Also avoid or reduce the number of other metal items on your person, such as big jewellery, studs and buckles on your clothing, and any girdles with metal hooks (my grandmother would set off the detector wearing hers!).

Sometimes nothing at all seems to set the detectors off, so even if you do everything you can, you might still get beeped. My 8 year old son even got beeped on our latest trip to Europe. Not sure what that was all about.

7. Be ready to strip down
No, you probably won't get strip-searched (let's hope!), but you will be asked to remove any outerwear like jackets, sweaters, and scarves and put it on the conveyor. Sometimes, thought not always, you will also be asked to remove your shoes. The shoe-thing seems to happen consistently in the United States but not so consistently elsewhere, at least not where I've traveled. Usually there will be signs advising you to remove your shoes if it is required.

If your kids are small and need assistance with their footwear, this can slow you down a bit, so just be ready for it ahead of time.

When you're done:
Once you and your kids are through security, gather up your stuff and head somewhere away from the immediate bump and grind that is usually happening next to the checkpoint. Take the time make sure you have everything with you, put everything back into your bags, and put every one's shoes and other outerwear on.

Traveling with kids: 5 ways to make air travel go smoother

Air travel is never really easy, at least not if you're flying Economy class. It also means a lot of standing in line, waiting and sitting still, which is not exactly a great fit for most kids. However, there are things you can do to make things go smoother when you're flying with kids. Here are some tips on how to make things easier on you and your kids when you're traveling by air:

1. At the airport: eat, play, and go to the bathroom
Eating, playing and going to the bathroom are activities that are much more difficult to do on board an airplane than at the airport. So while you're waiting for your flight to take off, take your kids for a meal, and let them eat something you know they'll like (for my kids it's usually chicken nuggets and fries, or pasta). Then find a play area or just a larg-ish area where they can run around, watch planes and generally burn off some energy. Well-fed kids who have had a chance to play and run around will do better on a long flight.

And before you board, try your best to get the kids (and yourself) in for a bathroom visit.

2. For the sake of family peace, make seat assignments ahead of time
If you're traveling with two kids (or more), it can definitely be a good idea to decide on seating arrangements before you board. Roll a dice, pick a card, draw straws, or use parental authority to decide who goes where.

Who gets the window seat? (This is usually the one my kids fight over.) Who gets the aisle? (I personally think whoever uses the bathroom the most should get the aisle, but it's sometimes hard to sell that idea to the kids.) No one usually wants the middle seat which is ok with me, because if I'm sitting there the kids can't bug each other as easily and I can more easily help them with their food trays and headphones.

3. Organize the garbage disposal at your seat
When I travel with my kids, garbage seems to accumulate around us pretty quickly making it even more challenging to get comfortable in our seats, or to get in and out of those seats. One solution: as soon as you sit down at your seat, grab a bag, either one of the airline barf bags or a plastic bag from your hand luggage, and use it for garbage disposal.

Empty plastic cups, snack wrappers, chip bags, empty cans, half empty food tray remnants... it all adds up. And it's always in the way. For example, imagine one of your kids wants to go to the bathroom when you have three food trays, and one or more half-empty cups of juice on your tray table. Not good. My solution: pour leftover juice or other kids' drinks into their litterless juice boxes, and grab all those leftover odds and ends and boxes and hand them over to one of the crew. They might not always really appreciate being handed all that stuff, but at least they have a bigger garbage bag to put it all in somewhere. 

4. Get the kids' movies started asap
If you've got those individual TV-screens on your flight, then get those things working as soon as possible for your kids. Mindless TV-watching might not be the best parenting strategy ever, but on a long-haul flight it's a life-saver. So help your kids get their headphones on, and if they need assistance picking a TV-show or movie then get that going as soon as possible.

My kids on the flight after their airport meltdown.

5. Be prepared for potential trouble in airport lineups
Waiting in airport lineups with travel-weary kids can sometimes be the worst part of a plane trip. I sympathize: I just want that lineup to move ahead so we can get to the next flight or the luggage carousel, the check-in counter, or the x-ray machine or whatever it is we're lining up for.

On our latest trip, when my kids had discovered the fun of bugging and punching your sibling as a way to pass the time while standing in line, I ended up trying out different strategies to keep them from driving me and each other crazy. Handing out snacks worked pretty good. Prepping them for what to do at the end of the line also seemed to work alright: for example, getting them ready to take off their shoes for the security screening, or to smile and look at the immigration official.

Just be prepared for the lineups being a potential flash-point for trouble, especially if you've just come off a long flight (or two) and your kids are getting into the exhaustion zone. Do your best to head off potential meltdowns or sibling punch-ups before they happen.

On our recent trip the worst point came after our first two flights (8 + 3 hours in duration), when we were waiting in line to check our luggage for the third and final flight. The kids were so tired and so fed up that there was pretty much nothing I could do but drag them with me. One was crying because she wanted to buy a stuffed reindeer/moose thingie we'd passed in a souvenir shop, and the other was screaming that he wanted to go back home, and punching the hand luggage because the airport was too loud and too crowded for him.

We finally made it to the gate, the kids had some water to drink and a snack and got to watch the planes and sit on my lap for a bit and then it was all better. Travel fatigue is no fun, but it does pass.

Traveling with kids in Sweden: 12 things to do in & around Skellefteå

View Larger Map
On my recent trip to Sweden with the kids, we stayed with my parents outside Skellefteå in northern Sweden. This is the town where I grew up, and where I still have lots of family and good friends.

Skellefteå is located on the Swedish east coast, approximately 800 km north of Stockholm. From Stockholm, you can get there by plane (a one hour flight), train (an overnight trip), or by car (the drive is quite scenic in parts, and takes about 8-10 hours or more depending on how fast you want to travel).

I've written previously about things to do if you're visiting northern Sweden with kids, but after our visit I feel like pushing specifically for my old hometown, so here's a list of things to do and places to visit in and around Skellefteå:

1. Make a splash at Vitbergsbadet
This is a an outdoor wave-pool located just outside central Skellefteå. There's also a baby pool and water slides. The facilities are good: change rooms, washrooms, ice cream vendor, and a fast food restaurant. You can also borrow or rent flotation devices for your kids too.

My kids had a blast here, and loved playing in the big waves in the pool. The waves might be challenging for kids under 4, and you do want to keep an eye on your kids when you're here: it can get pretty frantic in the water with lots of waves and lots of kids.

Goofing around on stage at Nordanå.

2. Hang out at Nordanå
This area surrounding an old school building is a beautiful place for a stroll, feeding the ducks in the pond, visiting the museum or restaurant, or hanging out at the old-school store in one of the small wooden buildings. In the summer there's also an outdoor theatre here that puts on kids' shows, like The Wind in the Willows. There's also a brand new, fantastic playground here with all sorts of nifty climbing equipment, slides, swings and more. 

3. Pet the animals at 4H
This small farm house has a lot of animals for kids to get up close and personal with: goats, rabbits, pigs, sheep, horses... It's located in Moröbacke, an area just outside the center of town.

4. Go for a swim at Falkträsket
This lake is a popular bathing spot for locals in summer. It's close to town and there's a large, grassy area to relax while the kids splash or play on the dock. There are not a lot of facilities, though there are washrooms, change rooms, and a small kiosk where you can buy drinks, snacks and ice cream.

5. Head to Byske Havsbad
Another great place for family-friendly swimming and bathing is Byske Havsbad, located in a small community 30 km north of Skellefteå. Apart from a good beach, there's camping, and a lot of family-fun activities.

6. Have some fun at Lilleputtlandet
This activity & adventure park for kids is located close to the wave pool and Skellefteå's campsite. There's all sorts of stuff going on here: BMX bike track, a Lego barn, a western town, a wonderland forest with fairy-tale creatures, a small petting zoo and more.

7. Go crazy at Leos lekland, aka Leo's Playland
My kids love, love, love this place. How could they not? It has gigantic slides, trampolines, bouncy castles, ball rooms, massive jungle themed play and climbing areas, bikes to zoom around on and more. It's perfect for rainy days in summer or really cold days in winter (when it gets down to minus 30 celsius for example!).

Tons of fun for kids, somewhat frantic for adults... There's a restaurant, a separate play area for babies and toddlers, and it's a great place to wear your kids out. 

8. Go for a walk "around the bridges"
Broarna runt ("around the bridges") is a popular 5 km walk in central Skellefteå that goes along the rive and across the old wooden bridge Lejonströmsbron, then along the other side of the river and across another bridge in town called Parkbron. It's a great, easy-to-walk, scenic route that's easy to do with kids or a stroller. For a treat, stop in at the coffee shop called Stigs konditori for a pastry, ice cream or sandwich.

9. Get cheesy at Ostens hus, aka The House of Cheese
This part of Sweden is home to the very sharp and tasty Västerbottens cheese which was originally "invented" in Burträsk just outside Skellefteå. In Burträsk you can visit Ostens hus where you can see how the cheese is made, learn a lot about cheese-making and northern Swedish history, and also let your kids play in the play area. There's a gift shop and a small restaurant as well.

Whether your kids will like this cheese or not is hard to say. My Canadian husband and I both absolutely love it, and my son does too, while my daughter shuns it. Diff'rent strokes and all that.

10. Have a nice meal at Burträsk Värdshus
If you're in Burträsk for Ostens Hus, I also highly recommend a visit to the restaurant/hotel Burträsk Värdshus. It's located in a beautiful old building, and they serve a lot of wonderful food made from local ingredients. I tried the moose burgers (!) when we visited this summer and they were fantastic. They also make great pizzas and have a nice kids' menu.

11. Eat very Swedish burgers at Max
Max is a chain of fast food chain that originated in Sweden and that has competed very successfully against all American challengers: for example, in Skellefteå

The food isn't haute cuisine, but it's good, fast and kind of a fun place to eat with the kids when you want a quick, simple meal. 

12. Take a break at cafe Lilla Mari
Lilla Mari is a small coffee shop located in an old wooden house in central Skellefteå. They serve simple meals for lunch, and also have delicious cookies, pies, pastries and cakes. Very yummy, very Swedish, and kid friendly. In the summer there's lots of outdoor seating in the courtyard too. It's a nice, relaxing place for a cup of coffee and a treat.

If you're traveling to Skellefteå and are looking for more information about accommodation and places to go, Destination Skellefteå is a good website.

Traveling with kids & getting the evil eye

This story caught my eye in my local newspaper, The Vancouver Sun, this morning.

The study questioned 1,000 British parents about the experiences of travelling with children to discover the main stresses and strains of family holidays - most of which are connected to the reactions of fellow passengers.
More than half of parents have been made to feel bad when their child cries or misbehaves on holiday, and four in ten have found themselves on the receiving end of "evil stares" from other holidaymakers, the survey found.
Fellow travellers have asked one in four parents with noisy kids to move away from them, with one in ten being asked outright to keep their child quiet.

I can totally relate to this. As a traveling parent, it's really easy to get more stressed out by how other people react to your kids crying or acting out, than by the behavior itself. Even if you don't see anyone giving you the evil eye,  you can still feel that stress build up inside because you figure other passengers want to give you the evil eye, whether they're showing it or not.

Over the years, my experiences on board with my kids have mainly been good. Many people understand that traveling by plane can be tough for little kids, and they do have compassion for parents who are dealing with a crying child. Sure, I've been on the receiving end of some evil eyes and nasty comments too, but that's been the exception rather than the rule.

The article I linked to has some good tips on how to make travel easier on yourself and your kids, and you can find more tips in several post on this blog, including:

• What to do on the airplane when traveling with kids
• Traveling with kids: 5 tips on how to keep it together
• 9 tips on how to handle tantrums when traveling with kids

Here are some things I try to keep in mind when my kids are acting less than perfect, and I can feel myself sweating and stressing out over how other people will react:

• This too shall pass. Whatever my kids are doing it will eventually end, even though it might not feel like it at the time.
• Try to maintain a sense of humor. Often, my kids only get more upset if they sense that I'm worked up or upset. So joking about something, or bringing out a goofy puppet, can be pretty effective. More on this in my post Traveling with kids: 5 ways to maintain a sense of humor.
• Come prepared, but know you can't prepare for everything. As a parent, you do the best you can and prepare as much as you can, but kids are not perfect, life isn't perfect, and airplane travel can bring a lot of unexpected stuff with it. All you can do is deal with it as best you can.

Some people advocate child-free flights, but that seems like an extreme measure to me (but then I'm biased obviously!). Child-friendly flights and compassionate fellow-passengers is what I wish for when I travel.

Traveling with kids in Vancouver: visiting the dinosaurs at Science World

Vancouver's Science World has been one of my favorite go-to destinations with my kids for years. It's a great place for hands-on exploration where the kids can play with weird inventions, science experiments, and explore various toys, play equipment, and scientific concepts all at the same time. And best of all: everything is meant to be touched, grabbed, and handled by kids. No need for the dreaded "Noooo, don't touch that!"

View from Science World towards downtown Vancouver.

However, since last year when Science World began some very extensive renovations (read: re-build), I have avoided the place. I brought the kids there once last fall, but there was so little to do, and so many exhibits and areas were closed that it was basically a complete waste of time. Considering the price of admission (we do have an annual pass, but still...), that was just not good enough.

Extreme Dinosaurs: extremely fun
Today we finally went back again and it was a hit: the kids had a blast, mainly due to the brand new feature exhibit: Extreme Dinosaurs. How could it not be a hit when it features 19 life-size and life-like animatronic dinosaurs, complete with roars, blinking eyes, moving jaws and swinging tails?

My kids (8 and 4 years old, boy and girl) were completely blown away. The first time we walked through the exhibit it was almost too much for them. The dinos are activated by movement, so as we and other visitors walked through, there were roars and swinging dinosaur limbs everywhere in the huge gallery.

My 8year old son, who has some trouble handling loud noises and too much sensory input, was pretty much freaking out. But after playing in a different area for a bit, both of the kids wanted to go back to the dinosaurs, and this time they were more excited and less freaked out.

In all, we walked through the exhibit about 5 times and the kids were just in dino-heaven. The main attraction is definitely the enormous Tyrannosaurus Rex, big and loud enough to unsettle even adult visitor, but the other dinosaurs are fantastic as well. One part of the exhibit showcases a large group of various feathered dinosaurs, and it was spectacular. I never even knew there were so many feathery dinos.

And it's educational too!
The Extreme Dinosaur exhibit features many interactive displays like a place to play paleontologist and look for dino foot prints, there are also games, quizzes, as well as dino eggs to touch, and dino poop to look at. Some of the animatronic dinos can also be controlled by visitors by pushing buttons to make them roar, blink, swing their tail and more. This also helped reassure my kids that the dinos were in fact not real...

I'd highly recommend this exhibit to anyone with kids aged 2 and up. It might be a little scary depending on your child's age and disposition, but it is spectacular (as well as educational, if you get the time to read the informative signs!).

My family obviously has a thing for T-Rexes...

The low-down on Science World during renos
Renovations at Science World are still very much on-going and the place looks and feels like a construction site. Still, compared to last fall, I felt that are now enough exhibits and displays  that a visit is worth our while again, especially with the addition of these dinosaurs.

Right next to the dinosaur gallery is the so-called Living Lab, a room where many of the toys from the old play area at Science World have been set up. There's gigantic Lego, a slide, a UFO to climb in to, lots of toys for babies and toddlers... in short, enough stuff to keep my kids' interest for quite a while.

In the main areas on the ground floor and second floor there are also lots of interactive science displays, experiments, puzzles and brain-teasers to keep children of all ages occupied for some time. 

Facilities
You can bring your own snacks or food and eat them at the tables provided on the ground floor, or you can buy something to eat at the White Spot restaurant. I generally love the White Spot chain, but at this particular location I've never been impressed with the food, so I usually bring something to eat for my kids.

There are lots of washrooms (all newly renovated!) on the ground floor and the second floor. There's also a private area for breastfeeding provided in the back of the "Living Lab".

I really hope that renovations will be finished soon, but after seeing the state of the place right now, I don't think it will be completely done until next year. However, those roaring, moving, swinging dinosaurs are definitely worth a look.

6 things I learned on the latest trip with my kids

I'm back home in Canada with my kids after a wonderful month-long trip to visit family in northern Sweden. Every trip with my kids teaches me something new, and here are six things I learned on our latest outing:

Third flight of the day: exhaustion.

1. Stuff happens, but don't panic (if you can help it)
Even with all the preparation in the world, you can never be prepared for everything that can happen when you're traveling with kids. I found this out on our trip to the Canary Islands in the spring, and again when we were coming back to Canada from Sweden on this latest trip.

This time, the unexpected came in the form of a special security check when we were showing our boarding passes when heading for our gate at Keflavik Airport in Iceland. It was my 4-year old daughter who was picked for this special security check. She had to be taken to a separate room (accompanied by me and her brother of course), where several security personnel were present. Once there, we were all patted down and so was our hand luggage. The staff then placed the gloves they had used for the pat-down in what I guess was a bomb-sniffing machine.

The kids handled this unexpected incident admirably, though they did look somewhat confused by the proceedings. Picking a 4-year old for a special security screening was weird enough, in my opinion, though I guess it was a true random check. What made the whole thing really crazy however, was that we were already over an hour late for our connecting flight to Seattle, due to our flight from Stockholm to Keflavik being delayed. So when my daughter was selected for the screening, our flight was actually boarding and due to leave in 15 minutes!

As part of the special security screening, an airport employee had to escort us to the gate and when we finally got there, the screen at the gate said "Final Call", and we had a plane full of passengers waiting for us. I do appreciate that Iceland Air did wait for us to get there (we were assured repeatedly that they would), but wow, that was one extra-stressful connection!

2. One more use for zip loc bags
I already had 8 uses figured out for zip loc bags, now I have one more: keep your currencies straight while traveling. On this trip I carried Canadian currency, Swedish currency and Icelandic currency. I kept the coins and bills for each in a small zip loc bag, which made it very easy to see what kind of money I was getting out of my purse. Much easier than carrying it in a wallet.

3. When traveling with a picky eater, eat a good pre-flight meal at the airport
My daughter is still in a picky eater phase, and she usually turns down any food offered on board unless it's chips, or a familiar snack like a granola bar. This time around, we had enough time at Stockholm airport before we headed out to eat a meal before catching our flight.

Airport restaurants usually do offer better variety than any on-board menu, and it's also more relaxed to eat while seated at a regular table. Since I knew my daughter had eaten a good meal before we left, I didn't have to be too concerned about her getting a full meal on board.

4. Always ask if your luggage can be checked all the way to your final destination
On this trip, we were traveling with Iceland Air and Scandinavian Airlines (for the domestic flight between Skellefteå and Stockholm in Sweden). At the Scandinavian Airlines' check-in at tiny Skellefteå Airport, I asked if our luggage could be tagged and checked all the way to our final destination, Seattle, even though we were traveling on Iceland Air for the rest of our flights. And it was no problem: turns out Scandinavian Airlines cooperates with Iceland Air in Sweden.

This meant we did not have to wait for our luggage in Stockholm, and just needed to get our boarding passes there. Big time and stress saver, especially when traveling with kids. My advice: always ask if your luggage can be checked through to your final destination, even if you are traveling on several flights with two or more different airlines. It's definitely worth a try!

5. Kids who now what's going on make much better travelers
There's a lot of waiting around when you're traveling by plane, and this can be very frustrating and aggravating for kids (and adults too!). However, if your kids know why they're waiting, it can really take the edge off the frustration. On our trip home this time, one of our planes sat on the tarmac for what seemed a very long time before making it to our gate.

Instead of getting anxious and impatient, my kids (4 and 8 years old) discussed the delay as seasoned travelers: 4-year old: "I think we're waiting our turn." 8-year old: "Yeah, there must be another plane in front of us. We'll be moving soon."

The kids did amazing on this latest trip. They handled the 20-hour travel day and multiple connecting flights like pros with very few cranky moments.

6. Just when you think you know the potential problems and how to deal with them, new problems will arise
Used to be, the problems I had to deal with when traveling with my kids basically had to do with calming fears and anxieties and dealing with boredom. Now, those things are no longer big issues at all. Instead, my main problem turned out to be occasionally having to prevent two tired, travel-weary kids from getting into fights with each other.

This is quite a new development. They have both figured out exactly how to push each others' buttons and love practising this new skill. On this trip there were intense moments of mutual pinching, poking, and generally just annoying the crap out of each other. It didn't happen a lot, and it didn't happen on board (because then I was sitting between them), but it did happen in a couple of airport lineups. Shoving, elbowing, and loud shouting just are not my favored activities when in line for immigration...

Next trip, I'll be better prepared for those kinds of shenanigans, but then they'll probably have something new in store for me anyway!