Coinless economy (by Joe)

One of the (many) quirky things about Laos is the currency (the kip).

Years of hyper-inflation have resulted in an exchange rate of around 18,000 kip to the pound. This makes for something of an administrative nightmare, especially as the highest denomination we’ve come across so far is 20,000 kip (about $2 US or 1 pound) - so change just a couple of hundred pounds and you end up carrying around wads and wads of notes (see left - Laura modelling half a million kip).

One consequence of such an inflated currency is that there are no coins used in Laos. It’s taken a while to get used to that, but we’ve actually quite liked it - you don’t have to carry around the weight in your pockets and notes just seem cleaner than coins (coins of course remain in circulation for far longer).

The Laos people seem to hold little confidence in the future stability of the kip – everywhere you go they are keen and willing to receive payment in US dollars or Thai Baht.

Often, they’ll also take payment in one currency and return change in another. It takes application to continually juggle the various exchange rates, ensure you know what you’re paying and that you are not being short-changed at the end of it.

Joe