The Riel Deal

I%26#39;ll congratulate myself on a great pun firstly.

Secondly, I saw a bar called the Kep Riel Bar advertised which promotes the use of the Riel. As a believer that the Riel should be the one and only currency (also due to the fact it adds significantly to my holiday pursestrings due to the crappy AUD vs USD exchange rate at the moment), can anyone recommend hotels/bars etc that use the same sort of system as the Kep Riel Bar? Their website is... http://www.kep-riel-bar.com/.

Cheers

John.

PS if you are going to tell me to accept the way it is.. USD blah blah, please don%26#39;t.. Thanks in advance to the awesome people who are going to offer me awesome advice, because you are awesome.

JC

The Riel Deal

I do not see the %26#39;Riel deal%26#39; here , my wife pays for practically everything in Riel , it is , after all , the local currency . Please explain where you will make out better , I am truly interested .

The Riel Deal

Yes not sure where the maths are in this one?

US$10 converted to Reil is 26857

AU$10 converted to US$ is $6.48 then converted to Reil is 26881

The extra 24 Reil equates to a massive AU$.0089

Hardly seems an issue.

Hey bobnjanette , your math is off also , $10.00us is 41,318 Riel , by accepting US dollars at 4,000 to the dollar , a bonus is made of a little over $3.00 when exchanging $100.00 us into Riel . My wife had no formal education , I taught her math , she can even add cash register reciepts in her head (try that with your average jo-blow ) . She can equate the bonus of paying in Riel when the average market peson equates $1.00 to 4,000 Riel . You can fool some of the people some of the time , but not all of the people all of the time .Colin .

4410.00us is 41,318 Riel

Dunno seems like not that big of a deal at the end of the day. However most places prefer the yank dollar, but will accept the monopoly money known as the riel too. :D

Sorry everybody, but you%26#39;re missing the point JC is trying to make.

He is stating that by paying in Reil he will make a small saving on every item, if the going accepted rate with vendors is 4000 reil to the US dollar.(according to Odball).

I%26#39;be just been on Oanda.com for the lastest currency conversions and without giving you all the conversions, the end reslt is that JC can save 1,329 Reil ($.50AUS) per $10US at today%26#39;s(27-02-09)rate. He is coming to Cambodia in a couple of days so this rate is relevant to him.

Now, I agree 50 cents is hardly worth getting excited about, but add all those 50 cent savings over his whole holiday together and the amount may be quite significant. So, I%26#39;m with JC. When I come to Cambodia I also plan to pay in Reil too.

Lets all wish JC a great holiday.

Thanks

Cooperellie

Coops and Colin thank you for your input as always.

The point is not just to save 50c in every $10- at the end of the day it%26#39;s all sheep stations anyway.

I don%26#39;t see why an independent nation is piggybacking on the USD when they have their own currency. I don%26#39;t care if ';thats the way it is';- personally I%26#39;m going to make an effort to promote the riel.

Thanks everyone for all your help, especially everything I%26#39;ve read on this forum from odball, britmaverick, thmoore, bobnjanette and coops.. you%26#39;ve all been a big help.

Ooops...I stand corrected OddBall. So much for trusting my calculator.

Oh, and BTW 4410.00 US = 18,222,561 Reil :)

Just going back to JC%26#39;s comment - I%26#39;m not sure that cambodia is piggy-backing on the USD but perhaps more of the (IMO) %26#39;wrong%26#39; notion that the greenback is somehow supperior to all other currencies.

the US seems to think they run the world and therefore their $$ should be the currency of choice.

all power to the riel - it%26#39;s their country lets all use their currency!

If you can afford to travel to places like Cambodia then 50c in $10 is probably not a big deal - you%26#39;d drink it and not notice the difference. A $15 meal is almost a months rent, or 2 months school fees for Cambodians - perhaps we need some perspective.

Helen

I have enjoyed this thread , some will nave noticed in previous threads how I suggested travellers think in the local monetary bracket when wondering how to tip etc , some berated my way of thinking , but you know , looking at this thinking now coming to a form of fruition by purchasing in the local currency , may throw a different light on what I was attempting to explain . Saving .50 on $10.00 , chicken feed , no , people feeder , that .50 will buy 2 meals for a hard up local , that is : rice porridge/liver,mint and a smidgen of pork . Way to go guys , thinking to improve the life and experience of the locals will enhance many travellers experiences , god bless you one and all . Colin .

themoore - yanks have nought to do with $ being the defacto choice of currency for Cambodia. This is their choice, so lets not bring politics into this because at the end of the day has nought to do with it.