Philippines - Money

The Philippines currency (the peso) has interesting bills. They're colorful, and very instructive about Filipino values. It also makes me wonder how many other non-American currencies have a picture of an American flag on them. Or how many currencies of any nation picture an assault weapon.

Beautiful picture of terraced rice paddies - bet they're especially scenic in person.

10 baht

The 10 baht coin is a great coin.  I've always liked the gold inside silver type coin, and the picture of Wat Arun is detailed and attractive.

I can't read most of the Thai on the coin, but the Thai that looks like "90" on one side actually says "10" in Thai numerals.  And the part that looks like "urn" with a backwards "r" means "baht" in Thai (that's a good one to know around town).

This one is fairly worn but the wear actually brings out a bit of the detail on the temple motif.

Currently, 10 baht is around 35 cents USD.

Cambodia - money

Cambodian money is very interesting, for at least a few reasons:

1. Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world.  Money has more utility there.

2. US dollars are used in Cambodia at a constant 4000:1 exchange rate to riel (the local currency), and preferred to it.  So strange to use US dollars and see USD prices halfway around the world!

3. The money has famous sites on it - for instance, the 500 riel bill has Angkor Wat, and the 1000 has the Angkor Thom.

Dong

The currency of Vietnam is called the Dong.  I went to Ho Chi Minh City on business in March, and not once did I get tired of puns based on the name of the Vietnamese currency.  I was (and still am) giggling like a schoolgirl.

Here are some pictures of Dong, along with a bit from the hotel policy manual regarding what one can do Vietnamese Dongs.