3 ms·

Staff have generally been friendly yes, with the process sometimes quick, sometimes slow, as anywhere. Customs and Immigration are not there as an alternative

Staff have generally been friendly yes, with the process sometimes quick, sometimes slow, as anywhere. Customs and Immigration are not there as an alternative comedy store anywhere in the world. But it's been friendly with bags searched nearly every damn time, and the clear implication that I am a threat. I am a white middle class male with nothing against the US (and indeed a long time working for a US flagship company), but I am clearly unwelcome. So I simply don't attempt to go any more.

pdkl95 9y ago
> Customs and Immigration are not there as an alternative comedy store anywhere in the world. I participated in a student exchange program that traveled to Russia the summer after the USSR became the CIS. At the end of that trip, we took a buss from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, which required a passing through customs on each side of the border back-to-back. Exit customs on the Russian side were what you would expect. The group leaders carefully warned us to be quiet/polite/no-jokes, have your passport/visa in hand, etc. It was a polite but very strict situation that created a small but persistent nervousness. After the very-brief drive to the Finnish side, the customs official that boarded our buss to take the group's passports noticed this nervousness, paused briefly with a laugh, and said to our buss full of students, "Don't worry! You're not in Russia anymore! You can laugh!"