How backpackers carry money in SE Asia?

"Peter Webb" wrote in message
...

Take a few hundred $US in Travellers Cheques as security, and access the
rest from ATMs, getting two or three days' worth at a time. Get a second
card on a different account and keep it separate from the first one.
Link the two accounts electronically so that if one card gets swallowed
or stolen, you can access both accounts.


I agree with all of this post, except I wouldn't link the accounts - use
the internet to transfer money between them as needed, and keep them
independent. That way losing one card can't possibly hit both accounts.


That's actually what I meant. Make it possible to transfer money between
them.

In article , Markku
Grönroos says...

No big risk in carrying even large amounts of money with you, because
people in SE Asia are on average very honest. It's only in heavily

However, in the case the improbable happens, little it consoles that the
incident was just of bad luck. Moreover, I don't find people in South East
Asia more honest than people elsewhere. I know that credit card companies
share my opinion. Typically there is little need to carry large quantities
of cash.

Well... I have this habit of withdrawing large amounts of cash when I'm
in Asia. I use it to pay for airline tickets, hotel bills etc. I guess
I'm the ideal target for pickpockets, walking around with expensive
camera gear and lots of cash.

Some time ago Miguel Cruz reported that after withdrawing the equivelent
of USD 1000 from the Citibank ATM in Jalan Ampang (Kuala Lumpur), all
those bills fell on the ground and the people surrounding him helped him
collect everything. Nothing was missing.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

"Alfred Molon" kirjoitti
s.com...
In article , Markku


Some time ago Miguel Cruz reported that after withdrawing the equivelent
of USD 1000 from the Citibank ATM in Jalan Ampang (Kuala Lumpur), all
those bills fell on the ground and the people surrounding him helped him
collect everything. Nothing was missing.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________


Yes but this is something most subjective. It still is so that a traveller
shouldn't count on the good will and honesty of the local folks a tad bit
more than people elsewhere. For instance in that part of the world credit
card fraud has been all too common. I have dropped money on the floor every
now and then and nobody has ever stolen a penny at my sight (well they had
felt a lot of pain in their flanks if they had ever tried..)

I don't think one can generalize about honesty, but you are quite unlikely
to be carjacked or held up at gunpoint in most of SE Asia. I also often
withdraw relatively large amounts of cash if I'm going to be away from bank
machines for a while. That while gets shorter every year, but sometimes you
have to take out 1 or 2 weeks worth of cash. I've never had a problem with
crime in SE Asia, or anywhere else for that matter. There are stories of
"razor blade artists" on buses and "knockout drug candy bars" on trains, but
in many years of travel, I'm becoming more and more convinced these are
either one-off anecdotes, or urban legends. The only experiences I've had on
buses and trains are boring things like sharing lunch with a woman and her
kids in India, and trading Bahasa for English words with kids on a bus in
Indonesia.
If you do stupid things, you may well fall prey to petty theft. A friend of
mine used her little pocket camera in its case as a pillow on an overnight
train once. The camera vanished. Suffice to say not many people would go to
sleep with their camera just sitting there.


--
Bob

Travel and Astronomy Photos
http://www3.sympatico.ca/bomo





"Alfred Molon" wrote in message
...
In article , Markku
Grönroos says...

No big risk in carrying even large amounts of money with you, because
people in SE Asia are on average very honest. It's only in heavily

However, in the case the improbable happens, little it consoles that the
incident was just of bad luck. Moreover, I don't find people in South East
Asia more honest than people elsewhere. I know that credit card companies
share my opinion. Typically there is little need to carry large quantities
of cash.

Well... I have this habit of withdrawing large amounts of cash when I'm
in Asia. I use it to pay for airline tickets, hotel bills etc. I guess
I'm the ideal target for pickpockets, walking around with expensive
camera gear and lots of cash.

Some time ago Miguel Cruz reported that after withdrawing the equivelent
of USD 1000 from the Citibank ATM in Jalan Ampang (Kuala Lumpur), all
those bills fell on the ground and the people surrounding him helped him
collect everything. Nothing was missing.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

you must be the life and soul of the party, a whole $ 10 (379 THB) to go
out
on the town, now that's what I call living

For me travelling is not about partying at a Thai Planet Hollywood.

Cheers,


Pete Loud
Maps of Indonesia etc. etc.
www.peteloud.co.uk/





"Sleeping Dog" wrote in message
...
you must be the life and soul of the party, a whole $ 10 (379 THB) to go
out
on the town, now that's what I call living


"Pete Loud" wrote in message
...
Leave it in the bank and use your ATM card, definitely, and take out
only
a
little at a time. In some places in Thailand you have to be careful
about
leaving money and credit cards in hotel security boxes. When I'm out
around
town I rarely carry more than $10 on me for the pickpockets.
whatever, bad

Pete Loud wrote:
Leave it in the bank and use your ATM card, definitely, and take out only a
little at a time. In some places in Thailand you have to be careful about
leaving money and credit cards in hotel security boxes. When I'm out around
town I rarely carry more than $10 on me for the pickpockets.

I think you're overestimating the point of pickpockets. I regularly
carry several thousand baht in my pocket. I've been spending 3 months
or more per year every year in Thailand for 15 or so years and now I
live here. I have never had my pocket picked.

You're right, of course, about ATMs.

Markku Grönroos wrote:
"Alfred Molon" kirjoitti
s.com...

No big risk in carrying even large amounts of money with you, because
people in SE Asia are on average very honest. It's only in heavily

However, in the case the improbable happens, little it consoles that the
incident was just of bad luck. Moreover, I don't find people in South East
Asia more honest than people elsewhere.

That isn't what he said. He siad that they are on the average very
honest. Most people are everywhere.

I know that credit card companies share my opinion.

Nonsense. That only applies to Indonesia and that is because of the
existence of a couple of large CC fraud rings, not because of any
inherent dishonesty in Asians. I certainly doesn't apply to Thailand.

On 31 Jul 2006 17:26:49 -0700, "Tchiowa" wrote:


Pete Loud wrote:
Leave it in the bank and use your ATM card, definitely, and take out only a
little at a time. In some places in Thailand you have to be careful about
leaving money and credit cards in hotel security boxes. When I'm out around
town I rarely carry more than $10 on me for the pickpockets.

I think you're overestimating the point of pickpockets. I regularly
carry several thousand baht in my pocket. I've been spending 3 months
or more per year every year in Thailand for 15 or so years and now I
live here. I have never had my pocket picked.

Some people do seem to be incredibly unlucky.

I've lived for most of the last 25 years in various parts of Asia, and
have been pickpocketed twice in all that time. Once about 20 years ago
inside the departure area of the domestic airport in Manila, and once
about 7 years ago in a bar in Hong Kong. The total amount of cash lost
as a result of those incidents was less than $100.

Its just a matter of taking simple common sense precautions like not
carrying more cash around than you need for the next few days. When I
use an ATM I'll normally withdraw around US$100 at a time. On the rare
occasions when I need a large amount of cash to pay for something like
an air-ticket I wait until I actually need the money before
withdrawing it and then go straight to the travel agent's office.

Chris

Chris Blunt wrote:
On 31 Jul 2006 17:26:49 -0700, "Tchiowa" wrote:


Pete Loud wrote:
Leave it in the bank and use your ATM card, definitely, and take out only a
little at a time. In some places in Thailand you have to be careful about
leaving money and credit cards in hotel security boxes. When I'm out around
town I rarely carry more than $10 on me for the pickpockets.

I think you're overestimating the point of pickpockets. I regularly
carry several thousand baht in my pocket. I've been spending 3 months
or more per year every year in Thailand for 15 or so years and now I
live here. I have never had my pocket picked.

Some people do seem to be incredibly unlucky.

I've lived for most of the last 25 years in various parts of Asia, and
have been pickpocketed twice in all that time. Once about 20 years ago
inside the departure area of the domestic airport in Manila, and once
about 7 years ago in a bar in Hong Kong. The total amount of cash lost
as a result of those incidents was less than $100.

Its just a matter of taking simple common sense precautions like not
carrying more cash around than you need for the next few days. When I
use an ATM I'll normally withdraw around US$100 at a time. On the rare
occasions when I need a large amount of cash to pay for something like
an air-ticket I wait until I actually need the money before
withdrawing it and then go straight to the travel agent's office.

A couple of kids tried once in Ho Chi Minh City about 10 years ago. The
only place my pocket was successfully picked was in Rome.

Common sense is that answer to almost all of life's problems.
Unfortunately, as someone once said, common sense isn't common.

I think you're overestimating the point of pickpockets.

I have spent several years travelling, mostly around Indonesia, with much of
that in Yogya. While in Yogya I would encounter about three pickpockets a
week, usually on the KOPAJA,
city minibuses. When I told this to tourists they would think I was
exaggerating. To prove my point I would invite them to join me on the
minibus from Jl. Prawirotaman to Jl. Malioboro, about half the times we did
this pickpockets would have a go at us.

In Bali, on the buses I was frequently accosted by pickpockets. After a
while I'd recognise them as they climbed on board the bus. I'd shout across
to, "Selamat Pagi, tukang copet". They'd recognise me then turn around and
get back off the bus.

After years of learning their tricks and foiling them they eventually got me
in Pekanbaru in Sumatra. They didn't get much, but it hurt my pride.

Cheers,

Pete Loud
Maps of Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Maldives etc. etc. Oh, a few
good photos too :-)
www.peteloud.co.uk/





"Tchiowa" wrote in message
ps.com...

Pete Loud wrote:
Leave it in the bank and use your ATM card, definitely, and take out
only a
little at a time. In some places in Thailand you have to be careful
about
leaving money and credit cards in hotel security boxes. When I'm out
around
town I rarely carry more than $10 on me for the pickpockets.

I think you're overestimating the point of pickpockets. I regularly
carry several thousand baht in my pocket. I've been spending 3 months
or more per year every year in Thailand for 15 or so years and now I
live here. I have never had my pocket picked.

You're right, of course, about ATMs.