I must say that I'm quite a fan of the Kip. Having been a millionaire for a short space of time, however, I've come to the conclusion that I need a bigger bag.
Would you prefer a baguette in the post, Chris, or perhaps a beer in six months' time?
I was pleasantly surprised to find that a longneck of Beerlao was only 7000 Kip. Which you divide by 262 for Baht. And then another 41 for US dollars, or around 25 or 30ish for Oz dollars (I've lost track). Don't even get me started on Euro (which I get paid in), Kyat and French Francs (yes, my colleagues have been away from Europe for a while).
no doubt you needed a beer after working out how much it is costing you.
I remember going to an ATM in Bangkok, and getting my bank balance in Baht. After seeing the surpirsingly large amount of baht a few hundred Aus dollars converts to, I then haggled with a Tuk Tuk driver, reducing his proposed 40 Baht charge for a ride to the railway station, to 30 Baht:
Using the Mel conversion index:
40 Baht / 30 (ish) = $1.33 Aus dollars.
30 Baht / 30 (ish) = $1.00 Aus dollars.
total saving: 33c (Aus).
.. of course, you don't think in these terms when you're in the heat of a haggle.
5 comments:
Vientienne - and the currency, and I must say, a personal favourite - "the kip" :)
I must say that I'm quite a fan of the Kip. Having been a millionaire for a short space of time, however, I've come to the conclusion that I need a bigger bag.
Would you prefer a baguette in the post, Chris, or perhaps a beer in six months' time?
A beer in 6 months would be just fine thanks Mel.
.. or 1 million kips - whichever is cheaper.
;)
Chris.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that a longneck of Beerlao was only 7000 Kip. Which you divide by 262 for Baht. And then another 41 for US dollars, or around 25 or 30ish for Oz dollars (I've lost track). Don't even get me started on Euro (which I get paid in), Kyat and French Francs (yes, my colleagues have been away from Europe for a while).
no doubt you needed a beer after working out how much it is costing you.
I remember going to an ATM in Bangkok, and getting my bank balance in Baht. After seeing the surpirsingly large amount of baht a few hundred Aus dollars converts to, I then haggled with a Tuk Tuk driver, reducing his proposed 40 Baht charge for a ride to the railway station, to 30 Baht:
Using the Mel conversion index:
40 Baht / 30 (ish) = $1.33 Aus dollars.
30 Baht / 30 (ish) = $1.00 Aus dollars.
total saving: 33c (Aus).
.. of course, you don't think in these terms when you're in the heat of a haggle.
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