i stayed in the Natalia hotel in Angeles. My room safe was robbed of 400us with the hotel pass key to the room safe by the chambermaid. After realizing the money was missing I inventoried my stuff I found the safe pass key hidden on the top shelve in the back corner of the closet. I assume it was there for their next customer being I was already robbed. I reported it to the manager and he would not believe his staff would do that. Then when I produced the key the staff said I was issued it because the safe has one defective key on the pad. Which was a out right lie. I am in the hotel industry and keys are not issued without signatures. I made a police report and was told I had no evidence to do other then make a report. Use this hotel at your own risk. The chamber maid is still employed there as is the corrupt manager.

I believe this kind of stuff is rampant and hotel safes only offer security against overnight guests, not staff. I always lock my valuables inside a locked bag and then put that in the safe. I figure the average hotel safe thief is looking to skim a few bills off a stack rather than out right clean out everything. I'm sure they realize a few missing bills may go unnoticed or could be dismissed if confronted but if my entire bag turned up missing I would be screaming bloody murder.

Over the years I found a safe with a trap door in the bottom in Cambodia once, In Batam Indonesia once I found my combination reset and when I called the front desk the guy who came up to open it keyed in like 1111 or something simple to reset the combination. Neither case there did I loose anything due to the locked bag. Once in Surabaya I'm pretty sure I lost a $100 inside a duel key bank safety deposit box like drawer behind the front desk and I believe they even picked the combination lock on my locked bag which I succeeded in doing myself in about 15 minutes so I know the combination lock is pickabel. I didn't notice the $100 missing till I left the country but I knew each and every one of my $100's in detail based on the silly flaw that had caused a money changer to reject them. It was the "CB" that turned up missing. I couldn't exchange that one. I hope the thief had similar trouble although I am sure he found someplace to take it.

This bag is invaluable. http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&_action=detail&id=18 It's a corrupt treacherous world out there.

Travelers Checks, PROBLEM SOLVED

One of my favorite stories on this subject is a fellow who gave a locked pouch to the staff to put in the hotel safe in Chang Mai. When he got the pouch back it was slit open along the bottom, and of course all was not there. The fellow raised a fuss, the manager was called in etc, and the guy at the desk insisted that it was like that when handed in.

Any recommendation for combo luggage locks? I just learned from youtube how easy it is to pick the ones I've been using.
I'm don't like this TSA lock idea, pretty obvious those keys will get around. I would expect they're sold openly in some places.


(Message edited by bendejo on June 09, 2011)

Do bar girls accept travelers checks?

Travelers checks are a horrible idea, since in this case cash was stolen. The best bet is to find a slick - a hiding place - for your cash and backup credit and ATM cards. An electrical outlet, toilet tank, flower pot, under a stove, etc.

I was thinking of buying this thing. www.milockie.com/

Anyone tried this yet. Will be useless if they take the whole safe, LOL.

Woodway

My method is to put a hundred bucks or so in relatively plain sight, like in a desk drawer. The remainder I split into thirds and put them in spots that would give the devil himself difficulty in discovering. I'm willing to concede the hundred and I figure the third world thief would be so tickled pink at the score that he wouldn't want to risk getting caught in the act in what might be in his mind a fruitless search for more cash.

So far I've been lucky. I haven't had even the hundred stolen.

@stayaway: Please post your upcoming trips and room numbers in the calendar. Thank you.

Woodway wrote: "I was thinking of buying this thing. www.milockie.com/ Anyone tried this yet. Will be useless if they take the whole safe, LOL."

I have not seen this product before. I like it. I like it allot. I'll have to get one of these. I think the possibility of someone walking off with the entire safe is remote compared to someone trying to skim a few bills off of a stack. I think sticky fingered maids and hotel staff seek plausible deniability and are very unlikely to try something as overt as walking off with the entire safe.

On the topic, another thing I saw recently that made me wonder. Some not particularly valuable items that would none the less be desirable to a maid turned up on the floor under my bed without explanation. It occurred to me that a maid could put something there and if I didn't notice it and checked out. Finders keepers for the maid. If I did notice it and made a big stink about my missing items, the staff could helpfully assist me in searching for the missing item and low and behold it would turn up simply having fallen under the bed. Nothing stolen, the item was there all the time, no malfeasance by the staff, simply a misunderstanding. An almost zero risk tactic for the maid.

Gooch, Pattaya..11Jan12 - 1FEb12..Secrets Hotel..Room 206. You have been formally invited. I'll be waiting for your wise ass.

Catocony,

Well dear sir..Do I really have to explain it?

You can't possibly be that dense can you?

Stumpy,

You been to AC? Traveler's checks VERY difficult to cash. Best option now is taking money from an ATM and even they can fuck you over. Cash is still king in AC.

EA

Besides trying to find a hotel or restaurant wherever you are that will accept them, you'll lose a lot on the exchange rate. So, to reiterate, use your ATM card, take out enough local currency for the day or two, then hide your ATM card where it won't be found. There are a lot of good places to hide an ATM card and a credit card in your average hotel room.

yes yes yes, hide your money, get a lock, be safe. whatever works for you!!! now where are the pictures of the girls???

I do not believe you can find a hiding plac in a hotel room that the can't be found by another within 5 minutes.

Usually if I want to hide something in a room I will place it on top of the wardrobe. This is usually effective based on the fact that most hotel maids in Asia are like 4'6" tall and can't reach that high even if they stand on a chair.

That said, I still would never simply hide valuables in a room and expect them to be safe.

JJ, when robbing hotel rooms, it's like any other form of burglary. There are easy targets, and hard targets. They're not going to spend a lot of time hunting around in a room looking for loot that may or may not be there when there are plenty of other rooms to rob from where the guests haven't hidden their stuff in a light fixture or taped it to the underside of stove or something.

What about putting things inside the toilet in a water proof bag?

MM

It depends on the type and quality of the tank, since you don't want it to get caught in the flapper on to snag the chain or anything.

A friend of mine used to take a roll of duct tape with him and tape his stuff to the inside side of toilet tanks, underneath the box springs of the bed, inside the air conditioner, under furniture, outside his window, all over the place. Potted plants are nice since you can stash stuff in them. You just don't want to hide stuff in something that itself could be stolen, like inside stereo speakers

You don't use traveler's checks at a hotel or restaurant. You cash them at a bank. The exchange rate is the same as an ATM after ATM fees are taken into account. In some places they will want to see your passport, that's all.

In some places like Macao they won't exchange currency unless it is perfect --crisp and clean without any tears, color from counterfeit-detection pens, stamps, etc. ATM withdrawals are limited, plus you're exposing your magnetic stripe and PIN code to who knows who.

So traveler's checks aren't so bad.

Last year I left my room safe at the Nana Hotel open. (Chalk it up to jet lag.) When I got back the maids had been there and they didn't take anything! There was a lot of U.S. and Thai currency in there, plus electronics. It was lucky!

What ATM fees are you referring too? And is there a bank open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week like an ATM? Can I get in and out of the bank in a minute like I can with an ATM machine?

After 16 years of constant travel, international and domestic, I see absolutely zero value in a travelers check.

I've reconsidered travellers checks for long term stays in Thailand in particular and think they may have merit after all in that venue these days although I personally have never bought one. For some time now I have discontinued ATM's as well. I'm a big stack o' Hundreds guy now myself. Just so much less trouble in life that way for me anyway.

On one recent trip to AC a bunch of the Shabu smoking girls in one particular bar brought me three, real, $100 travellers checks they got from somewhere, that they claimed were a "tip" and were asking my advice on how they could cash them. I told them, if they weren't stolen, try a bank. They didn't seem happy with my advice.

@Catocony: the 150 baht withdrawal fee now charged by Siam Bank, Bangkok Bank, etc.

Ok, so one of the vets, the next time out, calculate the time it takes to go and get traveler's checks in the US, then the hassle of carrying and securing them, plus securing the receipt in a different location in case the checks are stolen, then how much time it takes to exchange the checks wherever you happen to be, and the exchange rate you're given, and if the checks are stolen like cash would be, how long it takes to get them replaced, and how hard all of that was.

If you're going to take travelers checks, you may as well just take cash. If you're concerned about ATM fees, there's a discussion a month started by newbies as to what finance companies offer the lowest fees and rebates on foreign ATM withdrawals.

While it is a legitimate concern of having ATM cards cloned or stolen and your PIN stolen as well, there are ways to minimize that. The best method there is to have two accounts at the bank or wherever your ATM card is from. The card you have can only access one account, and you have automatic transfer capabilities from one account to the other. So, in the morning, you transfer what you want to take out from the "safe" account to the ATM-accessible account, and then hit the ATM. There's nothing left in your account after you make the withdrawal, maybe a few bucks or whatever, so if someone does clone it or lifts your card, they come up empty when they try to take money out. If you can't get your withdrawal out and think something hinky is going on - "cannot read card" messages after putting in your PIN, a helpful local offering assistance when your card appears to not work, etc - then get online ASAP and transfer the money from the ATM accessible account back to your safe account.

It looks to my eyes that Cat's solution is essentially to do something somewhat complicated to avoid doing something else somewhat complicated. Not that either are bad ideas, they are just a bit complicated.

My method is to login to my E-Trade account, hit the "transfer" button, select the account to transfer from, then the account to transfer to, then the amount. The transfer is done instantly, and I then have X amount to withdraw with my ATM card. It's pretty easy, certainly more so than going to a bank and standing in line to cash in a check. With E-Trade, I pay the 1% exchange fee, but no ATM fees or fees for the transfer, and they reimburse any POS fees I encounter. At least in Brasil, I use ATMs that don't charge a fee, which is pretty much every one except Citibank. And the exchange rate is the closing day's official rate, to the penny.

Jumping in late here, Cat is right. Traveler's checks have outlived their time and the fees/errands associated with them are essentially a paranoia tax. ATMs have replaced traveler's checks quite effectively and prevent you from having to keep too much cash on you or in your room at any given moment.

Also, the idea of transferring in to your ATM account just the amount you want to withdraw is brilliant and simple to manage. The downfall to it though is when your hotel wifi craps out and you have to use a public computer with keystroke recording software.


The best defense against hotel theft is to stay in hotels with a track record of good security. That information alone means your club hombre subscription is worth more than all these MacGyver techniques put together.

In lieu of traveler's checks, you can get the pre-paid ATM cards that have a fixed amount. I think the transfer between accounts method is way better, but if you're primarily concerned with cash theft or you don't have a notebook and don't trust public computers to log onto your bank to make transfers, the prepaid cards are a good middle ground.

Except Thailand where pretty much all the ATM's now charge 150 Baht($5) ATM fee ON TOP of anything your bank charges and not that I personally would use such a bank but allot of US banks charge 3% on top of Visa/MC's 1% on top of a $3 American bank's ATM Surcharge on top of 150 Baht($5) Thai Banks surcharge so that is what allot of guys who don't pay attention are paying for ATM's. So if someone uses one of those scam US Banks (and unfortunately allot of people do) that is $8 plus 4% in ATM fees per withdrawal.

And then there are scams where the Thai bank makes the exchange using "their" rate and debits your bank in USD which is even worse.

I refuse to pay any of that just on principal because it infuriates me to be ripped off even just for the 150 Baht($5). I personally only carry cash in Thailand but I could see where a high roller staying for a month might call for an alternative. Since Travelers Checks come in large denominations, and often get a slightly better rate than cash on exchange in Thailand. They 'may' have found a niche and are making a resurgence in that particular venue due to the banks greed. Not that I have ever used a Travelers Check in my life, just I would consider them if I were a high roller on an extended Thailand stay.

Anywhere else I have ever been, I can't see a use for them. I don't use them myself. I have had several bad experiences with ATM networks failing at bad times and leaving me with only the cash in my possession so I carry allot now. Ben Franklin may soon let me down the way things are going but he has never let me down up until now.

Using travelers checks while in the Philippines is definitely not, I repeat NOT the answer. Learn from those who have learned the hard way. Trust me. Nobody wants to go through what I went through. I only took travelers checks to the Philippines one time, and one time only. Never again. It happened about four years ago, I made the mistake of taking travelers checks to the Philippines. While stopping over in Davao and Cebu City, I attempted to change them for Philippine pesos.

In Davao City it was one thing-a constant inconvenience of trying to find the right bank that was open which would honor travelers checks. But in Cebu, it was an ongoing hassle where I was told I had to go to a certain obscure bank, somewhere near the city center. Then, after being given directions by various bank employees at different branches, I finally located a bank which would change travelers checks into pesos. When I got there, I had to wait a certain time of the day to where the bank clerk would only accept the travelers checks. This meant I had to take a number and wait in line with about fifty people in the tiny lobby all sitting around, looking exhausted and drowsy from the heat, waiting for their number to be called.

After about two hours of waiting, (yes, that's right-no exaggeration) my number was called and I was told by the bank clerk that the signature on my travelers checks didn't match the signature on my passport. Without trying to make a scene and after being repeatedly told they could not honor the checks due to signatures on my passport and travelers checks not matching, I politely asked to speak with someone in charge. I was told the bank manager was "unavailable" and was asked to return the next day if I wanted approval for the only bank in town to change my travelers checks.

The next day I returned, but had to wait until 10:00 AM until the one certain bank clerk, who deals with the checks got to work. So, I waited....and waited...until she finally showed up. She was late. I had to wait in a very, very long line with a ticket number, so when my number was called, I again made an attempt to change my travelers checks, this time copying out my signature on a blank piece of paper in front of three employees, one presumably being the manager. They asked me to go back and take a seat, where I once again had to wait....and wait...and wait while they made some phone calls for verification.

I was then called back to the counter and told I was only allowed to change a certain amount, about $200 per day, (don't remember the exact amount) and was told to write my signature out again...and again..until they were convinced it was me, Master Bates, who only wanted to quickly exchange travelers checks so that I could get some valuable mongering time in.

It was exactly the same old runaround in Bacolod. I had to search high and low, while being given different directions of a certain bank with a certain name, which would exchange travelers checks. It seems the inconvenience in Bacolod City was far worse than in Davao and Cebu combined. After finally finding a bank which would supposedly honor travelers checks, I almost collapsed from the heat outside. Walking through the crowds in extreme humidity can be a daunting task, especially at the height of their summer.

When I finally got to the bank, and once again, while I had to take a seat and wait...and wait...and wait for the next available clerk, suspicions were quickly raised about the amount I wanted to exchange, then the question came up asking was that really me in the passport photo. Oh, please! This is getting so fucking ridiculous, I thought. When will this bullshit ever end? I was eventually allowed to exchange (I think) $200 per day, which meant I had to return every couple of days or so, depending on how fast I spent my money, (although I never spent $200 a day while in the Philippines, considering everything is so cheap there, including prostitution) and go through the extended wait period again.

Banking technology has come a long way now in the space of about three or four short years. Now, within my most recent trips back to the land of plenty, I use my ATM cards, which, must to my surprise, actually work. I fully concur when you say travelers checks are a thing of the past, almost as ancient as telegrams. Sure there is a withdrawal fee, but it's not that much and it's the same when you use a ATM card at a different bank other than your own in the USA, you're going to have to pay a service fee.

Another option of course, is to have your US cash exchanged at the airport in the Philippines, or in the US. I like the idea of the different places to hide your cash, the duct tape under the bed is one which I've used while mongering in Mexico and the Philippines.

Remember-just say "no" to travelers checks, and say "yes" to heavy-set Filipino women, who, in my opinion, always offer the best GFE!

Nice to be back on Clubhombre. I missed this forum.

Happy and safe mongering.

Regards,

Master Bates.

Wow! And imagine your risk of being robbed going up up up as you traverse unknown neighborhoods in the PI. That sort of cancels out the "safety" of traveler's checks.

The PI is so full of theft and fraud that they're very sensitive to signatures mismatching etc. I know that my signature probably looks different than it did when my passport was issued almost 10 years ago. So that's a very important consideration when you make arrangements with your cash whereby you have to get a stranger's permission to use your own money.

As far as Thai ATMs go, I've always gotten a better rate than an exchanger using Bangkok bank which is everywhere. But I haven't been to Thailand for 3 years now so maybe it's different.

I wouldn't consider banking with any bank that didn't refund ATM fees. Next to domestic cell phone plans (read:scams) ATM fess are the greatest American racket and it looks like it's spreading. My bank which is the best in the world most likely only charges 1% for a foreign transaction fee and refunds me up to 10 ATM fees per month up to $30. I'm sure most board members are not eligible to join though. So I figured, as a service I'd insert this link to other banks that refund ATM fees. Happy banking!

http://www.bankfox.com/checking/?branch_within=-1&bank_size=NA&min_balance=-1&features=R&apply=A&health_score=-1&page=1&balance=6#features=R&min_balance=1&bank_size=NA&branch_within=-1&health_score=-1&apply=O&page=1&sort=&balance=6

(Message edited by BigPoppa on June 16, 2011)

So bringing crisp hundred dollar bills is still the best option for Pattaya?

"So bringing crisp hundred dollar bills is still the best option for Pattaya?"

If you are comfortable carrying the appropriate amount of cash. An unequivocal YES.

If you are uncomfortable carrying that amount of cash, this is one place on the planet where travellers checks may make sense. You will have zero problems cashing them in Pattaya and will get a good rate.

IF, you bank with a really good US bank that fully refunds all ATM charges and doesn't rip you off on surcharges and exchange rates AND you FULLY understand the minutia your banks foreign exchange rules AND carefully read every ATM message in small print about whether they are exchanging using the network rate or are using their own rate...... ATM's are OK.

Personally, I carry cash.

Most all exchanges cash travelers checks in Pattaya, and they give a slightly better rate than cash.

However, they will charge a fee to cash them, I believe 30B, bringing large checks of $500, the better rate cancels out the 30B fee.

RT here. I don't understand something.

Let's say you don't belong to a bank that refunds ATM fees, and you pay a 2% exchange rate on ATM withdrawals, and you go to the ATM say, 3 times in a week (using MB's estimate).

You're going to get a little hurt on the exchange pretty much anywhere and anyhow you change money, so lets call the combined ATM fees $6 each.

$6 times 3 = $18.

For a week's trip:
Plane ticket = $600 - $1200, depending.
Hotel = $250 - $600, depending
Girls = $50 - $500, depending
Food/Drinks = $300 - $700, depending.

That's a low of $1200, a high of $3000, and an average of $2100, depending.

Who gives a damn about $18? Just use either Cat's ATM money switching plan, or a much simpler vacation account ATM card, and get back to your vacation.

Using your example of a bank that charges 2% surcharge. This will be on top of the 1% Visa or MC charges so 3% total. Combined ATM fees of $6.

Many foreign ATM's won't dispense more than $200-$300 worth of local cash in one shot so lets say theoretical average of $250 you can get out in one shot. That's 9 trips to the ATM X $6 using your $2,100 average week example, plus $63 in exchange surcharges to get your $2,100. $117 total and allot of banks charge more than that. Which is enough money to pull SEVEN ST sessions on Santos/Raymond St. in AC. Some guys may prefer their banker, I personally prefer the seven ladies on Santos St. To each his own.

Really, to me it's all about I hate being ripped off. Especially by banks. If a bar consistently pads my bill with an extra drink or two and doesn't bring back the correct change when I pay, I will not drink at that bar anymore even though it is likely only a few dollars. I certainly won't just say "aww, it's only a few dollars, whats the big deal".

If you are using ATM's, use a good bank like Cat says.

Even if $117 is correct, and I contend you will pay an exchange fee anywhere and anyhow you change money, $117 vs. (according to what was posted) HOURS of my valuable vacation time... not even a question for me.

Yes, I'd rather not spend $117, but I would much rather spend an extra $117, and not have to sweat and wait on line in banks (and miss those hours on a session) while I am on vacation.

I'm not sure where the expectation of free international banking services came from. It does cost your bank, and the bank that owns the ATM you use, money when you make an international withdrawal. Some banks charge more than others, but I find 1% to be reasonable. Wachovia used to not charge me anything, but I noticed that the exchange rates would be 2% or so off. Now they charge a 2% fee but the exchange rate is true. Banks used to hide the fees, now they put them up front.

Banking systems are different in every country. When I lived in Korea, I exchanged cash since, for $100 bills, I could go to a black market exchange - a lingerie shop in Itaewon - and get a better rate that was better than the forex rates pretty much at that moment. So, flexibility is the key. I always carry some cash, both as a backup and since you can sometimes get a black market rate that's better than the market rates. But I primarily use ATMs since it limits my liability of having cash around the apartment/hotel and the occasional difficulty in exchanging dollars for a decent rate.

Only shmucks use Banks, Credit Unions are far superior.

ATM fees sure rub a lot of people the wrong way. If I was the type of person (usually a chick) who cashes $20 at a time, then the vigorish is pretty high. Otherwise I am with RT, the $18 he calculated is pretty small, even less if you subtract out the amount you'd theoretically pay for travelers checks to get the same robbery protection.

Stumpy: Credit Unions may be better to the consumer than a bank, but at a certain level the bank will provide far superior personal service.

For our discussion here, a US bank and a US credit union are pretty much the same thing. On-line bank, on-line brokerage, credit union, regular bank, private bank, brokerage with a cash account; whatever you happen to use, pick something that has low international transaction costs.

(Message edited by catocony on June 18, 2011)

It never ceases to amaze me how theft, then banks and money come up with almost every monger conversation. These topics, along with frequent flyer programs, are part an parcel of monger conversation.

Shifting gears back to theft again, I'm getting the milockie before my next trip. I've never had a safe broken into in my 10 year mongering career, which tells me it's time to be proactive before my lucky streak comes to a halt. So the question is, what is the best lock brand and model? Please don't reply "Master lock we all know that." I'm looking for specifics as to why someone believes their choice of lock is best.

Thanks

The best money solution depends primarily on where you go. No way would I take traveler's checks to the Phils after reading Masterbates' account. (It gave me a headache. I felt like I was in India.)

> "and get traveler's checks in the US, then the hassle of carrying and securing them"

It's the same as the hassle of carrying and securing cash or anything else.

> "and if the checks are stolen like cash would be, how long it takes to get them replaced"

How long would it take to get stolen cash replaced? (You can't replace it.)

> "pre-paid ATM cards"

If anyone knows of one that works overseas, please post. It would be as much of a hassle as anything else but I might try it in some countries. But even the Simon prepaid Visa, renowned for being accepted where other prepaids are not, does not work overseas.

BTW, if the hotel wireless isn't working in Thailand you just take your netbook to an internet place. The ones I go to (in BKK & Pattaya) let me connect with their drop, no problem.

I'm looking forward to a Milockie report. But for just securing my bag I use a Dakine ski lock. It's feather-light, small, cheap, and it's better than nothing: http://www.dakine.com/ski/accessories/locks/ Any sporting goods store.

As a Pattaya specific conversation. What would be the best brand of travelers checks to buy? Best bank to get them cashed at?

It becomes a matter of principle trying not to be ripped off by these fees. Doing a bit of due diligence is something that we can all do to maintain some fiscal control since we can't help the Dollars dive in value.

I had terrible ATM experiences in Thailand several years ago, even with advance notice of my travel plans. So now that I hear about ATM withdrawal fees tacked on by the Thai banks, I will most likely not going to use ATM cards even though my bank, TD Bank was good with not charging an ATM fee and had a decent foreign exchange track record. I am not a fan of using credit cards in a foreign country either. Unless I have to.

Bigpoppa: This one looks good but I don't have the specifics as to why it would be better than another one. It looks different and you can use letters instead just numbers but I guess there exists less combinations.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware-Safety-Security-Personal-Padlocks/h_d1/N-5yc1vZaqfp/R-202260703/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

TFG...American Express worked fine for me. Cashed a LARGE amount at Siam Commercial Bank on Beach Road just before the entrance to Walking Street.

topfotog,

Thanks, but I was thinking more along the lines of this.

http://www.masterlock.com/products/product_details.jsp?lockStyle=Combination&typeOfEnvironment=Indoors&lockUpValue=High&category=MLCOM_ShroudedPadlocks&BestUsedForApplications=Sheds%2C+Workshops+%26+Garages&ShackleDimensionsA=5%2F16%22&SubCategory1=MLCOM_ShroudedPadlocks_251mmWideBody&modelNumber=MLCOM_PRODUCT_177D#Specifications

It's definitely overkill, but that's the whole idea, and no key to lose when I get drunk. If someone's got a better lock...shoot.

Agree with Stumpy - Amex TCs are accepted at any currency exchange in BKK or Pattaya. I brought Visa TCs one trip and had a very hard time finding an exchange that would accept them.

Stumpy: Did they charge you a fee to do the exchange that is a % of the face value of the TC? How much?

I know in the Philippines, those security guards you always see standing around everywhere with shotguns earn like 500 Piso a day or so. Might be cheaper to just hire one of them guys to follow you around everywhere.

Topfotog
The charge is a flat 30 baht per check. That's why it is cost effective to use denominations of $500. It saves you 120 baht over five $100 checks.

IAS
Most of those guys with the shotguns are strictly window dressing and have empty guns. No one in their right mind would actually arm those morons.

I don't know, the part about no one in their right mind would actually arm those morons is certainly correct but there is no shortage of people not in their right mind in the PI. I somewhat regularly hear about them getting in shootouts with some bad guy and missing them but accidentally shooting 8 innocent bystanders in the process, so at least some of them must be armed???

(and in case anyone took my suggestion seriously, I was joking)

With such short-barreled shotguns it would surprise me if bystanders were NOT hit! I went to a bank in Cebu and the guards inside had those (inside!) and I thought, "Man, I'm going to hit the deck if the s*** starts!" Fetal position, fingers in ears...

Gentlemen

Just to weigh in on the security of money issue.. My strategy is to use a Debit card.. I have two accounts that are linked.. One a savings account and one a debit account or checking account. ( I don’t use checks anymore ) .. As one other poster suggested, You simply electronically transfer the money you need for a day or two to the debit account then immediately withdraw the cash.. Its really very simple… And an added bonus is, most, if not ALL, banks using debit cards backed by MasterCard or Visa have a “zero tolerance “ policy on fraud meaning, if someone somehow or another raids your account, ALL money lost will be replaced… Its happened to me before.. Some one got my card # and Password and drained my account while I was on a vacation in Hawaii.. They took over $6000... I reported it and got it ALL back within two weeks… That was the point when I went to my new, and more cautious, money system… I then took it a step further.. I opened up ANOTHER two accounts at a different bank just in case I had to temporarily suspend my other debit account if it was compromised.. Aint nothing gonna stop the bird from having enough money for pussy I can tell you that…

A Penny on travellers checks;
Masterbates is on the money saying how difficult is to exchange TCs in PI. a humble way I used to bypass such "torture". I did opened a bank account with Philippine national bank (Dollar account/savings). don't earn interest, but, i usually bank wire money into the account when i go to PI and used what i need there. another method i do is to send money to myself via Western Union. you can practically get it anywhere in PI or Thailand for that matter. there's a small service charge in PI but no big deal.
As far as money safety in hotels, only i can say is to be wise and pick the right place. sometimes cheap places are no good and i stick with places that have been around for a long time and have solid reputations.crooks are everywhere and not just an Asian problem!!!
take care and always safe

MarcoPolo