Thorn Tree travel forum

1

Thailand uses Thai Baht - airport has ATMs which spit it out, and there are ATMs all over Thailand.
Laos uses Kip and Cambodia uses Riel, but US$ are the hard currency in both countries. Advisable to bring some with you, but in Cambodia there are ATMs in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, and Battambang which dispense dollars. In Laos the only international ATMs are in Vientiane and dispense Kip at max. 1million per transaction (roughly $100). Bring your ATM card and at least one Visa or Mastercard in case you need a cash advance somewhere which doesn't have an ATM.

2

Can add at least one ATM in Poipet, saw it there myself 3 weeks ago, it was online :)
I Vietnam the Dong is used. ATMs dispense Dongs. Buying US$ in your home country (if you're from UK, Eurozone or Australia) should be a good deal right now...

3

I've been buying dollars with UK pounds each week for several weeks now in anticipation of my next SEAsian trip, in which I'll be needing at least five thousand of them.

4

Depends on your itinerary .. that is which countries you are going to first but things are very different to how they were a few years ago..

For example you will find that you can change cash at the airport in BKK without the steep fees that you will often find that you often get in western countries. Take some cash with you and it will be changable in most places though in Indochina - VN, Lao and Cambodia and for that matter Burma - US$ are the most widely accepted currency. YOu might think about taking a few travellers cheques as back up but if you have a credit card there will not be too much trouble getting cash.. even where there are no ATMs there are still banks - we seem to have forgotten that these institutions actually dispense cash.

Once upon a long time ago I would have made big plans about cash but a couple of weeks ago I left for Cambodia with $50 AUD and a couple of hundred US that I already had and then my atm card. Travelling and getting money was a breeze.