US help.

[Shiny Things]

Actually, going by Google Map's Prescott route will not pass Sedona & Flagstaff. That will be another route with 75 extra miles.
Do you think it's worth the extra distance & time to go via Sedona, considering that I won't have much time enjoying the place (and at most will only enjoy the scenery as we drive through).

Right, OK, I stand corrected. If you were able to stop over in Sedona then this'd be a good idea, but that might be a bit too much driving. In that case, I think the Prescott route's still marginally less boring.

 

[invisible999]

i actually manage to get the vacuum packed bak kwa into the US. my US colleagues were pretty surprised i manage to do tt. they like it a lot too

As said - you are risking very serious consequences.

Caught driving over speed limit is way less offence than bringing something you know is not allowed. You might claim ignorance, but if CBP guy has a bad day you might end up charged with conspiracy of committing crime.

 

[fone]

Actually, speeding will see how much you speed, if you exceed too much, it becomes a felony offence.

For food items, I beg to differ from the rest of the people. Generally, sealed items, with ingredients list will be fine, those unsealed and/or without ingredient list might be problematic. So for example, you have some home made Kaya, you can put it in a jar and close it with a cap, but without ingredient list, they would not know what it is inside and might just confiscate it. Similarly, for Bak Kwa, if you get the vacuum packs with ingredient list, they should allow it. If you are so paranoid of prosecution, declare it on customs, if they do not allow it, then they can just confiscate it. You are not trying to sneak it past customs by outright declaration.

This is from experience from friends whose family ship the bak kwa in. Non-vacuum packed ones have been confiscated from shipment, while vacuum packed ones have been let thru.

 

[patryn33]

Bak kwa vacuum pack ones also thrown out by immigration ppl when my parents coming in.

 

[fone]

Bak kwa vacuum pack ones also thrown out by immigration ppl when my parents coming in.

Haha, might depend on the customs officer. I might try this time, just declare and see what they say.

 

[invisible999]

for Bak Kwa, if you get the vacuum packs with ingredient list, they should allow it.

Incorrect

"Meat, milk, egg, poultry, and their products, including products made with these materials, such as dried soup mix or bouillon, are either prohibited or restricted from entering the United States, depending on the types of animal diseases which occur in the country of origin. Fresh (chilled or frozen), dried, cured, and fully cooked meat is generally prohibited from most countries. Canned meat is allowed entry, except beef, veal, lamb, mutton, venison, elk, bison, etc., from countries affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)."

 

[fone]

I do not see the difference in canned and vacuum packed, essentially, vacuum packing is a cheapo version of canning. According to wiki:

Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container.

...

Today, tin-coated steel is the material most commonly used. Laminate vacuum pouches are also used for canning, such as used in MREs and Capri Sun drinks.
..

To prevent the food from being spoiled before and during containment, a number of methods are used: pasteurisation, boiling (and other applications of high temperature over a period of time), refrigeration, freezing, drying, vacuum treatment, antimicrobial agents that are natural to the recipe of the foods being preserved, a sufficient dose of ionizing radiation, submersion in a strong saline solution, acid, base, osmotically extreme (for example very sugary) or other microbially-challenging environments.

Therefore, a vacuum-ed packed bak kwa, can be said to have undergone the canning process and is still in that state, simply without the modern can. According to the wiki, olden canning processes is using glass jars, so it is the process and not the final form that determines whether the meat has undergone the canning process or not. So technically, I can have canned bak kwa in a can, in jars, or in plastic sealed bags (as per Wiki, laminate vacuum pouches). But whether the Customs officer accept or not is another matter, but legally, going by these definition, I should be allowed to bring in.

Lol, so if I can get bak kwa made from US-pork, means, I can bring it in? Since country of origin of the Pork is US.

 

[invisible999]

Lol, so if I can get bak kwa made from US-pork, means, I can bring it in? Since country of origin of the Pork is US.

It depends on which customs agent you are going to be dealing with:

I have a friend who purchased some jerky in the US and even had the receipt. He left the US, went to Korea for a week, then came back to the US. He had forgotten that he had the unopened jerky in his bag. He was caught by a sniffer beagle dog at baggage claim. It's amazing that the dog could smell an unopened bag of jerky....

End result was a $400 fine and loss of Global Entry. Again, he could reasonably prove that he purchased the jerky in the US. No dice with the customs agent though.

I had a similar situation, though I was fortunate to remember and declare it. It was a very popular, recognizable brand, but Customs still scrutinized the package for a moment before allowing me through.

 

[patryn33]

Haha, might depend on the customs officer. I might try this time, just declare and see what they say.

Try it! It does depends esp he doesn't go by the books

 

[lcpteck]

Bringing Loong Fatt Tau Sar Piah sealed in tupperware for my mom, hope they don't throw it out.. Flying off tonight 1am, so gonna spend today doing laundry and packing...

 

[Shiny Things]

Haha, might depend on the customs officer. I might try this time, just declare and see what they say.

This is probably a good policy. If you declare it, the worst they can do is toss it out; if you don't declare it, that's when you're gonna get in trouble.

 

[Neways]

Hi guys, just wanna check. I've some old USD. Can I still use them or do I need go to the banks to chg? 1 eg is the $5. The new one has the 5 in purple. The old one doesn't. Pls advise.

 

[Shiny Things]

Hi guys, just wanna check. I've some old USD. Can I still use them or do I need go to the banks to chg? 1 eg is the $5. The new one has the 5 in purple. The old one doesn't. Pls advise.

You should be fine - most places will still take the old fives. If they don't, you should just be able to take them to a bank and change them.

 

[Hisashiburi]

Any recommendations for monthly sim card plans?

Tmobile?
Cricket?
Att?

Tks!

 

[Neways]

The banks here or in us?

You should be fine - most places will still take the old fives. If they don't, you should just be able to take them to a bank and change them.

 

[Shiny Things]

The banks here or in us?

The banks in the USA.

Any recommendations for monthly sim card plans?

Tmobile?
Cricket?
Att?

Tks!

I'd say T-Mo. I had to hook my parents up with a SIM card when they got over here a couple weeks ago; AT&T just looked at me funny, but T-Mo was basically "yep, here's the one you want, it's forty bucks for unlimited calls and texts and 3GB of data, here we'll set it up for you and make sure it works, righto, go have fun".

The tradeoff is that T-Mo's network is smaller than AT&T's, but unless you're going way out in Utah or somewhere that won't be a problem.

 

[Hisashiburi]

Thank u!
Thinking of tmobile too

The banks in the USA.



I'd say T-Mo. I had to hook my parents up with a SIM card when they got over here a couple weeks ago; AT&T just looked at me funny, but T-Mo was basically "yep, here's the one you want, it's forty bucks for unlimited calls and texts and 3GB of data, here we'll set it up for you and make sure it works, righto, go have fun".

The tradeoff is that T-Mo's network is smaller than AT&T's, but unless you're going way out in Utah or somewhere that won't be a problem.

 

[patryn33]

Check t mobile coverage map. Utah pretty good. Cali on the northern coast not great
http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage-map.html

 

[engshing]

still thinking of what to do over in Vegas beside shows and casinos.
any good tour or activities to recommend? i am reaching next week thur night and flying back sunday afternoon, so i have two full days (fri and sat)

 

[thezookeeper]

Hi! I am planning to visit Chicago in mid-June for 3-5days, anyone has itineraries to share with me or are there any places that I cannot miss there?
Thank you