Monday, August 6, 2012

Currency confusion

A new country means a new currency. My math skills (or lack thereof) add an extra dimension of culture shock while traveling. Standing at the ATM in Vientiane, Laos fumbling with my remaining Baht and trying to estimate how many hundreds of thousands of kip I would need for my stay in Laos, I felt like a complete rookie.

Currencies floating around in my inept brain:

1 Canadian Dollar
= 0.81 Euro in Italy
= 6.3 Yuan in China
= 31 Baht in Thailand
= 7745 Kip in Laos
= 3598 Riel in Cambodia

Thank goodness for technology. I don't know what I would do if I wasn't armed with a calculator and currency converter app on my phone. I should probably work on some basic math skills in case of emergency. My brain hurts already.