Security for your Safety

I've just returned from an overnight trip to Manila. The hotel was in one of the newer areas of the city, surrounded by western-style shopping malls and populated by gun-toting private security guards. I had to go through a metal detector just to enter the shopping mall.

Coming home last night, the authorities were taking no chances when it came to ensuring my safety. I had to:

• put both my bags through an x-ray machine and walk through a metal detector, just to enter the Manila airport terminal
• after checking my bag and going through customs, I had to do the same again - X-ray machine and metal detector, followed by a physical pat down
• upon getting to the departure gate, my carry on bag was manually searched
• we arrived ahead of schedule into Singapore. Great! Apart from the fact that the entire planeload had to stand in queues, waiting to be security checked again. According to the signs, this is "security for your safety". X-ray machine for the bags and an extra-sensitive metal detector which beeped due to my watch and belt, requiring an additional check by a guard with a hand-scanner.

Arriving back at Newton Gems, the guards on the gate waved the taxi through and I was home.