We're about to leave the Asian continent for the first time in nearly 7 months. It's a strange prospect, but we're really looking forward to seeing family in Sydney and getting back into the great outdoors in New Zealand. As we leave, however, I wanted to make a couple of lists, comparing the different Asian countries we've been to. The first one is the money:
1) Japanese Yen - about 115 yen per dollar when we were there in August and Sept. 2006. Not much to talk about here, exepct that the moeny was unremarkable so as to not stick in my memory at all. It's the only currency against which the dollar improved over our visit... take THAT Japan!
2) Chinese Yuan - about 8 per dollar in Sept. and Oct. Nice, small currency, but the unusual multiple made it more difficult to do conversions in our heads. Of course, every bill has Murderous Mao's mug on it. Pusing 7.8 per dollar when we left, compared to about 8.1 when we got there.
3) Nepali Rupee - about 70 per dollar (72 when we arrived, 68 by the time we left!). Big, long bills with animals on one side and the king on the other. They're changing that, now that the king has been deposed. Pegged to the value of the Indian Rupee (160 NRs = 100 Rs), and very colorful.
4) Indian Rupee - about 50 per dollar. Lots of pictures of Gandhi, a useful 20, 50, and 100, and totally useless coins. Readily traded and used in Nepal, except the 1000 note, which is not allowed in Nepal!
5) Singapore Dollar - About a 2/3 exchange for US/Sing. Simple bills, and like the rest of the country, usually very clean (they must wash them or take them out of circulation quickly). Useful dollar and 5 dollar coins. Very colorful.
6) Thai Bhat - About 35 to 1, or 40 to 1, or sometimes 30 to 1, depending on who's doing the trading and what gets them the most money; officially somewhere near 35 Bhat per dollar. Nice small bills, usefull 5- and 10-Bhat coins (which are bi-metallic). Useless 1 and fractional Bhat coins (much smaller than a dime... more like a pinky fingernail). Thirty-five is a strange number to do conversions with, but we were here so long it got easier. Looks like Monopoly money, b/c the twenty is green, the fifty is blue, and the 100's are pink (there's no 5-Bhat bill).
7) Lao Fun Bucks (aka Kip) - about 10,000 to 1. Totally ridiculous. Just try walking around with a million Fun Bucks (in 20,000 notes!) in a wallet. Want dinner? Try spending about 35,000 for a plate of pasta, bread, and a beer! The 1000 and 2000 notes are both blue and have nearly the same design. Just silly. Lao seem to prefer Thai Bhat or US Dollars instead of their own money, and best of all: Once you have kip, you can't trade them back in anywhere for real money! Finally, it's against Lao law to use foreign currencies for any transaction, but the government-owned airline and airport only accept US dollars to pay for tickets and the departure tax!
8) Cambodian Fun Bucks (aka Riel) - about 4000 to 1. Not as ridiculous, but nearly so. Dollars are far more widely used in Cambodia than in Laos or Thailand, and riel is only used instead of quarters. They're small bills, easily lost, and are often in need of a good ironing. The 100 riel notes are nearly useless.
We've saved some money from each place, but I'm sure the internerd is a better source of pictures for the various currencies if this post has interested you. Better yet, just get your butt over to Asia and enjoy the fun!
Miss you all and we'll be back in the States before too long,
-Mike.
1 comment:
You forgot about the crazy HK dollars which totally confused us since they are bank notes, not gov't notes, and say on them that they can be exchanged for "dollars" at the issuing bank. Every bank issues different colors for the denominations, so it's totally confusing to tell what the heck you have in your wallet! Have fun with the family in Sydney!
Lisa B.
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