Los Angeles International (a.k.a. LAX), a world-renowned airport for transit and holiday destinations... is a nightmare.

Ok so we weren't intending on being one of those bloggers who just moan and complain about everything, but hear us out! This place is pretty rubbish, and here's why:

So we fly in to LAX from Nadi, Fiji more than 2 hours ahead of our connecting flight up to Vancouver - plenty of time for transit in any normal airport.

1st port of call: customs. Long queues. Finger prints, G'day mate! jokes, the usual...

2nd: collect checked baggage and take them through security checks.In any other airport the airline takes your bags directly to the next plane and you make your way to the next gate to board. Not at LAX! Apparently we need to get our bags and take them through security, having just been checked on departure and going to be checked again on arrival... Imagine a line of 300+ people waiting for unnecessary bag scans. Now combine this with no trolleys anywhere. So we have to drag our 20+kg packs along in this line (yes, our fault for packing heavy but we're going to Whistler... it'll be cold!).

We eventually got an Express Pass off a ground staff member, that allowed us to bypass that task (like in the Amazing Race - all bright orange and flashy!). Yeeha! On to our next flight.

We had to make our way to Alaskan Airlines which coincidentally was over a km away and the only way to get there was walking along outside. In the rain. Fortunately we scored a stray trolley along the way, so slightly less of a workout. Eventually got there and were told we were too late to check in to our onward flight and we would have to talk to customer service. Got yelled at by an angry American lady. Stood in line. Chatted to a lovely Canadian lady who also enjoyed not being allowed to check in, missing flights, and being yelled at.

Eventually they told us we were scheduled to fly out at 10pm or something ridiculous that night... meanwhile it's 10am and our booked flight had just left. So we would be arriving in Vancouver after midnight, after around 36 hours in transit. We weren't keen on that idea by this point, so we asked for other options. Directed back to Fiji Airways... 1km back the way we came. Yeeha.

Eventually got speaking to a lady at Fiji Airways. She got distracted by a security breach in customs and left us for about 10-15 minutes to go sticky beak. Apparently there were 4 guns found in 2 bags during the checks for departing flights. Yes I understand the irony of whinging about security whilst 4 guns have been found; but they weren't on connecting flights - this was straight up first flight security breach. IDIOTS!

Sirens. Cop cars. Cop buses. Cop trucks. Cop vans. Cops on scooters... ok I'm exaggerating but you get the point. Cops everywhere. They were all black and white with blue and red sirens going. Sjane felt like she was in NYPD Blue or some other American cop show. Anyway... us getting to Vancouver.

We got told to walk 1km the other direction to Air Canada and get on a 3pm flight out there. So we walked some more... Along the way we had a good laugh at the density of cop cars parked around the outside of the airport. They were everywhere. Goodness knows what that number of officers were doing. Hopefully they weren't all involved in the cavity searches.

Eventually got to Air Canada where a lovely lady took pity on our dishevelled selves and checked us in to the soonest departing flight, along with 3 seats so we could spread out a little and sleep on the flight up. We must've looked like s*** lol.

More security now! This one was the most intense by far. Shoes off. Belts and jumpers off. Watches off. Hands held overhead for a full body scan. Lots of customs officers that like yelling. Felt like a criminal.

Eventually got on flight. Sjane slept and hardly remembers the flight at all. Got to Vancouver and slept fopr 15 hours.

Some key words to describe our time at LAX: absurd, insane and intense. Security in other countries is like a pre-pubescent teenage boy trying to puff his chest out. LAX has steroids!