currency

[dave]

Hi

Can anyone advise me what type of currency I will need on an AC trek. Coming from Australia is it best to take $US cash or travellers cheques. What exhange facilities are available in Katmandu and other places. Assume that whilst on trek I will need to take enough local currency to cover expenses. Can you get cash in KTD from a debit/credit card and where can a credit card be used for purchases.

Thanks in anticipation.

Dave

[Daniel]

US dollars are the easiest to exchange in both KTD and Pokhara, but you can also exchange Aussie dollars in these big centres. I would not hope to change the AUD on trek though. You can also get cash (Nepali Rupees) from your credit card in these places, up to the maximum daily amount in Australian Dollars that you are allowed. Not sure about cash out from your normal bank account, as you can do elswhere in the world. You can use credit cards in Pokhara and Kathmandu at the bigger hotels and more major guesthouses. In my trips there I have never used travellers cheques.
You need cash on trek, usually between 700-1000 rupees (17-25 AUD) per day on accommodation and food, depending on how many beers, softdrink and chocolate you want to buy every day. It is best to have the rupees in denominations of 100 to 500, although most lodges these days change anything. Still, if you want to buy a bottle of soft drink from a side-walk shop on the trek, it it best to have smaller denominations.

I have always used a "body pouch" which I keep invisible for my passport, credit card, air tickets and main stash of cash, and than I have a "round the neck" one for daily expenses, having in there something like two thousand rupees, 50 US dollars etc.
A small padlock to look your room at the lodges is also helpful. There is probably less chance to be robbed in Nepal than it is in Sydney (where I live), but as always on travel, it pays to be careful.

Have a good time in Nepal.

[Ron]

You can use your debit card in KTM to get cash out, I do it all the time. Go to Standard Charter Bank and you will have to fill out a form and you can get your NRS out. Bit of advice on that...when you fill out the form and it asks how much you need, put it in either USD or AUD, NOT IN RUPEES. You get the best exchange rate that way. I learned the hard way and was doing it in rupees for a while and I was getting a very bad rate.
Enjoy your trip here