Finance and money forum

Happy New Year Winstan. Everytime I go to SE Asia I use a Pre-paid card. I've used Cash Passport (http://www.cashpassport.com/1/en/uk/) Visa Card US Dollars two years ago and re-used it again in November past. I think its the handiest thing to carry around instead of travellers cheques (where you have to find the best money exchanger which is time consuming and hard to find). You just treat it like a Debit Card, use in the cash machines, use in shops etc. With my card I didnt pay a withdrawel charge and when I lost my card after a mad rush to catch a train on a motorbike, I called them on the train (24hrs emergency helpline) and they voided my card, transferred some of my money to my friends card (very handy - if you are travelling alone you could always carry two separately) and delivered a new card to my next destination hotel in 2 days.

At the time of my November trip I decided to search for the best pre-paid card and believe me it took some searching, the best one I could find was from Fairfx (https://www.fairfx.com) - anywhere card, but unfortunately I left it too late.

Always order your currency card 2/3 weeks in advance to your travel date. If you need help deciding which one is best for you Money Saving Expert does a great summary (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money)

Although always have some cash on you because I found some places in SE Asia they dont take card at all (especially in the small islands).

Hope I've helped.

Hello Winstan,

I fly out to Thailand in a few weeks

I'm going to be using Caxton FX

I shopped around for quite a while and found this was the best pre-paid card with no hassle

Hello Winstan,

Sorry for the late reply

I put GBP on mine, the Caxton FX card automatically converts your money into the local currency

My friend used it when she travelled through Thailand and Malaysia last year and had no problems

I fly out to Thailand later this month, Bangkok through to Chiang Mai then back south

What trip are you making?

Speak soon,

James

Hi sorry for late reply. I used US dollars. Yes I'm from Edinburgh. I really enjoyed chiang mai. Done rock climbing, visited the elephants, played with baby tigers etc etc. you have to visit chiang rai for the "white temple". I've seen enough temples to last me a lifetime but this one is gorgeous. It's a 3 hr bus journey from CM, only need an hr to see it and best of all it's free. If you need any more advice let me know.

Im back home now . I headed to Laos - Vang Vieng for the famous tubing and then Luang Prabang, blue lagoon.

I've been to quite a lot of places in SE Asia. Air Asia and Nok air are quite cheap if you are in rush to get from A to B but mostly travel on trains, buses and boats. Cambodia Siem Reap is amazing done quad biking for a day and seen so much of where they live and survive etc. Vietnam halong bay on a junk cruise is recommended as well.

Where are you starting? What's your plans? How long are you away for?

TC cheques are much more convenient in SE Asia. And even cheaper, you get always a better rate then for cash. And easy to change, nearly every bank even in a small city does it. And you avoid the bad exchange rate on prepaid cards and the fee for using the card.