International High Finance

For anyone interested in international travel, it literally pays to be informed. Our dear friends at the credit card companies are more than happy to offer cash advances from foreign ATMs for a foreign transaction fee of 3% of the amount withdrawn, or $10, whichever is greater, PLUS the fees the ATM company charges. On top of that, the credit card companies start charging around 25% interest on the money from the time of withdrawal. Even using a standard credit card for regular purchases of food, goods or services-- without the cash advances-- is subject to the 3% or $10 minimum charge per transaction. This is certainly NOT an economical way to finance a trip.

The best solution we found was to use our bank debit card, which is good anywhere a Visa card is accepted. Using the debit card gives access to funds already in the bank, bypassing immediate interest accumulation and the foreign transaction fees. Arvest bank charges $2 per transaction, with no foreign transaction fees or interest (since the money is already ours). That seems to be a much better solution than carrying a wad of cash, or paying the insane fees to credit card companies.

When we arrived at the Thailand airport, we were able to retrieve the local currency from an ATM. We knew the current exchange rate was basically 30 Thai Baht per dollar. While we relied on the help of calculators to get through some of the more complex purchases, it didn't take very long to get used to the conversion. However our feelings of accomplishment were short lived - enter Cambodia!

We were advised different things by different people at different points. We were told that Cambodian money (Riel) could not be used inThailand so don't get much at one time. The man who was guiding us across the border advised us of the dangers of pickpockets and to hold tightly to our passports. He told us we'd need to convert our currency at the border because Thai money wasn't used and although American money is accepted, it is best to use their own currency. At the crossing we converted 8000 Thai Baht (about $260) into Cambodian currency and got over 800000 Riel. It was a huge wad of bills and they were quite nasty compared to the pretty and clean Thai baht. It took a while for us to acclimate to the new currency value because when we tried to tip the TukTuk driver 500 Riel he said it was worth about a dime. Oops! After that, our first few meals and transactions had us furiously calculating these huge numbers that had so little value. Whew!
We also soon found out that American money is preferred over thier own currency, and most everything is Priced in American dollars. Many shops will not take their own currency if it is dirty or torn, and of course much of the money given to us at the crossing was filthy. Live and learn.