On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 05:06:38 -0700 (PDT), Sapphyre
wrote:

The biggest obstacle I face with changing money is that I don't know
the current exchange rate. The Mozambique Metical rate is not posted
on Yahoo Currencies, so I'm not even sure how much I'm supposed to
get... That's probably how the money changers rip you off.

Avoid using money changers at the border, airport, or on the streets.
In Mozambique you can always use a Bureau de Change or a bank to
change money. They won't rip you off, but they do charge a small
commission which means you will lose a few percent. The street
peddlars will rip you off completely!!!

In Zim, almost all of you spending will be in US Dollars in any case,
so don't bother about changing money. If you have to change, make sure
that it is only small amounts at a time. The country is experiencing
inflation at 2 or 3 MILLION percent, so prices change hourly. The
money you change today is virtually worthless tomorrow.

Regarding Angola... I can't see much reason for a tourist to go to
Angola unless they have specific personal reasons to visit. It's a
tough country, VERY expensive, and the bureaucracy is staggering. I
grant that there are some gorgeous places to visit on the southern
coastline, but the hassle outweighs the vista IMHO.