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Saturday, April 19, 2008

Weakening dollar worries travelers to Thailand

The current crisis in the USA and their intentional policy of a weak dollar hurts travelers all over the world; especially those who really just do travel and are in need of refilling their wallet from overseas. Still there are ways to keep your currency risk to a minimum and prevent loosing too much if the dollar exchange rate goes not in your favor.

In the end it is all about perspective -- Southeast Asia is still very cheap compared to many other places in the world and even though a weak dollar might cost you an extra beer on your night out, the party is not stopping right there. All the more important to look for a good deal (like the Free Nights Offers I just wrote about yesterday)...

Nomadic Matt had this to say:

"A little piece of me dies everyday. Or I should say a little piece of my wallet dies everyday. As an American, I live on the world's worst currency- the US dollar.
Over the past few years, the value of the American dollar has steadily declined. The dollar now only get .50 to the pound, 60 euro cents, and, for the first time in 12 years, less than 100 yen. The Australia dollar has gone from being worth .50 cents to par now. The Canadian dollar is worth more than the greenback. Needless to say, it's hard being an American tourist right now.
As a constant traveler, I worry about the way currency moves like only a Wall Street trader would. Small changes in the dollar or other currencies can really effect me. My budget for Australia was 1000 dollars short because of the strong Australian dollar.
I got extra when I went to Thailand because the Baht had happened to weaken just a bit. I watch it to know when to withdraw money and when to hold off on the ATM run.
Sometimes you can't help it- you need money but I try to be careful. Why all the work? On a short holiday, it's not that big of a deal. You're not gone a while nor are you changing over lots of money. Yet when you are gone for months or years at a time make frequent ATM withdrawals, little changes in a currency can make a big difference."

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