Sometimes unfortunate things happen when we travel ... please read and learn from my mistake!
After not travelling for 17 months, my first trip was a Western Canada vacation that included the Rocky Mountaineer train from Vancouver to Banff, Lake Louise and then Calagry & Kamloops to visit family followed by some sightseeing in Whistler & Vancouver. Truly a wonderful way to kick start my travels again!
As travel resumes, we are a little rusty with the procedures which can make us susceptible to things going wrong.
I am sure you will agree with me that the airport check in process is the least favorite part of any trip. Now add to that, we are out of practice and are unfamilar with the new health and safety protocols. My first trip since Covid was an adventure on this new frontier. Going through the security check area created some new challenges such as temperature check and an abundance of checking and re-checking. There was a lot going on and this is where I got distracted and my troubles began.
One of my travel companions had her carry on luggage x-rayed twice and all of her toiletries pulled out and I was concerned for her. In all the confusion I forgot about my laptop. You see my laptop is gray and so are the bins. My best guess is that someone must have stacked an empty bin on top of my laptop in the gray bin assuming it was empty.
I arrived in Vancouver without my laptop. I was so excited to be travelling again that I didn't realize I had left my laptop behind until the next morning. That's when panic set in and the quest to find it began. I did find it after a week of phoning and follow-up.
I am sharing this story to help you be prepared in case you have this happen to you.
Here are steps you can take to be prepared in the event of losing your laptop, cell phone or anything else that is important to you while going through airport security.
1) add identification to your device - I now have my business card taped to the bottom of my laptop
2) take a picture of your device including the model & serial number that you can access (e.g. on your phone, hard drive or e-mail)
3) pay attention to your belongings, we are all responsible for ourselves
4) make sure your devices are password protected for security.
Happy travels!