filmwill

So as we ramp up for our trip to Thailand (Bangkok, Chiangmai and Phi Phi) and Cambodia (Siem Reap) in November, I never really thought to ask you all about your opinions on money and the best way to go about carrying and cashing it:

1) For Thailand, I hear that traveler checks are best. I'm also trying to avoid using our credit card for that pesky international transaction fee which I know will add up (it already has for all of our flights we purchased on it.) Any suggestions on the most efficient means of getting money? FYI, we'll be in Thailand a total of 11 days.

2) For Cambodia, I hear having USD is the best way to go about things. If this is the case, what's the traveler check situation there? Or should we just anticipate bringing some US cash with us and only use that? We'll only be in Siem Reap for 3 nights then back to Thailand.

Apologies for such a general question but this is the one angle of our trip that I'm still not very comfortable with.

Thanks, everyone!

rhkkmk

the best way to get cash in thailand is by using an ATM card from your bank...i use this exclusively now...i take not cash nor trav cks....trav cks are ok but you have to cash them when you see a place to do it....along sukhumvit area there are plenty of places to do this but elsewhere it is slimer pickens....banks of course, but there may be a service charge....

we have been told that there are ATM's in SR, but i did not see any when there 3 years ago.....i took american dollars from home---about $600 for 4 days....i probably used about $400....the rest i converted to baht on my return to bkk...take plenty of 1's and 5's and a few 10's and 20's (guides, drivers, etc)

many places do not charge you the upcharge when using your credit card and some banks only charge 1% on making the conversion

KimJapan

We use traveler's checks, as our ATM card charges a fee as do our credit cards. In Thailand, exchange booths and banks are literally all over the place. We have never, in 4 trips, ever had to actively look for one. The exchange rates booth to booth/bank to bank, are pretty uniform. For exchanging TCs, the rate has been slightly better than that of cash, and we haven't ever paid a fee. The exchange rates in the airport are good as well. To exchange TCs you need your passport...we don't carry our passports around with us (leave it in the safe), but we do carry a copy, and the copy has always worked fine for exchange purposes.

We are going to Cambodia and will likely carry TCs and our ATM card and eat the fee for using it. We will also carry a couple of hundred dollars in US$ cash.

Carrying money around...we divide it between us, and only carry around what we think we will need for the day plus a bit. The remainder stays in the safe. We also carry a TC and a credit card with us just in case we want to buy something unexpectedly costly.

easywalker

Hello, filmwill!

On my recent visit to Siem Reap (for Angor Wat), I paid for everything in US dollars: hotel, meals, tour guide, car driver, the government-issued ID card for visiting the wats, ad hoc purchases at the tourist sites etc.

The change that I received was in Cambodian currency, approximately 4,000 to 1 US dollar. I used the change to buy a local candy bar or two along the way, and as gifts to kiddies on my way back to the airport.

I too stayed 3 nights, and enjoyed my visit enormously. I do not think that Cambodia has a commercial banking system yet, so the use of travelers checks is precluded.

Enjoy the wats!

Kathie

Check on whether your ATM card charges additional fees for use in foreign countries. Some do, some don't. If you are not charged additional fees (above the 1% on the bankrate) you'll do best with an ATM card. There are small fees charged for exchanging travelers checks; the fees are per check, so bring larger denominations. They are easily exchanged at foreign currency exchanges and banks. Likewise, cash is easily exchanged, but you'll get a better rate for larger bills.

Shawnna

We have lived in Thailand for four years and for some strange reason we expected prices in Siem Reap to be comparable to Bangkok. Wrong! Our hotel was nice but not as nice as some of the hotels we have stayed at around Thailand and it cost us $100/night. In Thailand a nicer hotel usually costs us around $45-50/night. We also are used to paying very little for a Coke; we paid $2.00 for a Coke every place we went. We are glad we got to see Angkor Wat, but we don't ever plan to return. Too many hotels and too expensive for us. We tried paying in baht, but they knew we were Americans and said "we give more for dollars."

Talb

We were in Siem Reap in August and atm's were available, dispensing USD's. Our card worked in one bank but not another, so try a different bank if you have difficulty. As far as Siem Reap being expensive, we certainly didn't find it so. We paid $49 a night at Day Inn, a nice place. A good meal was less than $20 for 4 of us. A guide and driver for $50 a day was a bargain, especially considering the quality of both. Given the havoc the US caused in SE Asia, I don't begrudge the Cambodians for trying to make a living from tourists.

Guenmai

Traveler's checks,cash, and a credit card for the big stuff. The exchange rate is higher on traveler's checks than on cash and you don't have to deal with the sometimes long inspection...as in inspecting the bills to make sure they aren't fake.
I just got back from Bangkok a week ago and I usually carry a lot of traveler's checks. But, I didn't have time to drive to AmExp before leaving to get them, so I only took a few leftover ones from the Dec/Jan BAngkok trip and the rest I took in cash...$100. bills....along with my Thai-issued ATM/ debit card. Well, my U.S. bills were really inspected...and this was at my own bank branch in Bangkok. The woman even put one of those eye loop things on to inspect each bill with.
One day, I was at the same bank, standing in line to transact some business on my account when I noticed a Thai guy with a lot of bills and it took at least 5 minutes and three bank people inspecting his bills. It really held up the line for the rest of us.
Once in Singapore, I tried exchanging my American dollars at my hotel...to pay my hotel bill...and I was told that the bills were not good because they had been sent through a machine and been rejected. Now, those bills had come out of my bank here in the States...a big bank that's nation wide. But, Singpaore wouldn't accept them. That's why I never leave home without my AmExp card and some traveler's checks. Happy Travels!

sandi

ATMs are everywhere in Thailand and was what we used whenever needing Baht. Considering that our major expenses - hotels and flights were prepaid, whenever we had need to use our credit cards, i.e., hotel incidentals or souvenirs, the foreign currency fee didn't add all that much to the rate when compared to what we received using the ATM for local currency. In total, maybe our fees were $10 during our 16/day trip. Not a heck of a lot.

In REP, we used USD only which were gladly accepted, though they took Baht as well. Change was always given in local currency, which went into our photo album.

Rarely cash TCs anywhere in the world, though have these with me for emergency only. TCs are always in USD, so on return these can simply be redeposit in the bank... till next time.