Ah! That makes more sense.

oh my... I used a Wash Mut ATM CARD at the Canadia machine in Siem Reap!

Lcuy, what is so funny to me is that you wrote that there was a WaMu there and I believed it, as unlikely as it seemed.

Do you have a bridge you want to sell me?

;-)

BIG THANK YOU for everyone's advice. My plan is to bring a quantity of small new US bills (1s,,5s,10s,20s and a few 50s)for use in Cambodia and Laos. I'll use Visa credit card at any major establishments that will take it. In Vietnam, I'll use the ATM machines to withrawal the max limit for VNDs since most of our time will be spent in Vietnam.

Best regards to all for your advice.

Sort of echoing everyone's perspective, I brought about $1,000 in cash on my trip last year to Vietnam and Laos. Mostly $1's, $5's, and $20's, with a couple of $100's thrown in for hotel stays.

Like Kathie I don't usually carry cash in the U.S., and felt weird with this amount of $$. The upside is it is easy to settle bills with American dollars -- they are desirable in Vietnam and Laos. The downside was in college I was an English major so figuring out the % taxed my poor innumerate mind, but in the end I was happy to have that cash on hand -- I think it saved me about 10% on my trip. Keep half in a money belt on your person and the rest in the safe at your hotel.

Luang Prabang is the epicenter of the $1 USD. Everything, except hotels, can be negotiated with that denomination. I met someone whose credit card was eaten by the ATM in LP and she waited 24 hours for restitution....

There is only one ATM in Luang Prabang (close to the night market)that will accept an internatuinal bank card that is either a master or cirrus card. Visa will not work. It dispenses only kip and not US dollars. That was in December/07 so they might be more now.

Hi everyone, we are now in Hoi An, Vietnam and can report back that the US dollar is accepted almost everywhere. However, I suggest that you also get VND at ATM machines since some smaller establishment prefer it. There are quite a few ATM machines in Vietnam but you may have to go to a few before you can find one that accepts your particular card. To minimize the service charges I withdraw the maximum amount which is less than my banks daily limit. In Siem Reap, the american dollar rules. As suggested, bring a lot of smaller bills, especially $1.00 bills for tips. Most hotels will also exchange larger US denominations for smaller bills. We'll be going to Laos in a few days and will report back on the money situation there. I would also suggest bringing 2 ATM cards from 2 different banks. I have encountered the situation where one ATM card would works and the other did not. Cheers

I am now in Luang Prabang. Despite the fact that the US dollar has dropped significantly. It is still accepted as a form of payment. I have found 2 ATM machines on the main street in LP. One is always closed and the second one is open until it runs out of cash by the afternoon. If you want local currency (kips), I suggest you access this machine in the morning. Although the US dollar is accepted, I think you get a better deal when paying with the local currency. Since the amount of withdrawal from your bank is limited by the local machine, you can make at least 2 withdrawals one after the other. LP is a wonderful city and I highly recommend it as a place to see. It is so relaxing compared to Hanoi and Saigon and the people are so friendly.

Recently returned from Vietnam & Cambodia. We also took small bills USD to use in Vietnam. Initially our guide told me she only accepted Dong (Vietnam currency) then in a later e-mail told me she would accept USD. Every place we went they wanted Dong. ATM's are every where and it is easy to get local cash.

In Siem Reap they took USD and the ATM's only gave USD. Change was given in local currency even when paying in USD.

We used credit card to pay for hotels and to pay local tour companies but be prepared to pay an extra 3% when using credit cards with some tour companies. Restaurants will take credit cards, however, we always used cash taken from ATM's.

Found the same thing about Vietnam, dong is preferred, esp in North. Atms everywhere. 20,000 dong ($1.25) ATM fee. 3% CC surcharge (Amex higher) everywhere except high-end restaurants, shops, and hotels.
Be aware of a scam where the vendor tries to use 2 different exchange rates. Paid for hotel in dong and $. Transfer was listed in dong, converted to $ by hotel. When I tried to pay with dong, clerk used a different higher rate to convert back to dong. I challenged and she backed down and used the same for both parts.

Siem Reap has several ATMs which dispense only $ with $2 ATM fee. The ATMs I used only distributed $20 and $50's. In restaurants and regular shops, I was able to get change back in $ when I specified. Under $1 was riels. Markets were different, change in riels. No CC surcharge noticed. 2% surcharge for TCs.

Luang Prabang's 2 ATMs now accept both VISA and MC linked ATM cards, 20,000 kip ($2.25) fee with max withdrawal of 700,000 kip (about $79). BCEL bank gives comparable rates to ATM with no commission for cash. They will even exchange dong.
You need kip for smaller purchases. They will take $ but at a bad exchange rate, usually 8000:1 vs bank 8819:1. THB is also accepted at good exchange rates. 3% CC surcharge everywhere except high-end hotels and shops. Most restaurants have this surcharge too. Some even try to make it 10% (3 elephants cafe).
Be aware of the 2 exchange rate scam that is also done in some places in LP. Meal $8, converted to 80,000 kip (10,000:1). Drink 20,000 kip. Yet total converted to $12.50 (8000:1) instead of $10 (3 elephants cafe).

Use all kip, riels, and dong while in country. They are not exchangeable once you leave (except dong for kip).