The fact is that when [...]]]> Most travelers will experience some level of difficulty when dealing with foreign currency. It’s no different in Thailand. Everyone has hard time at first when making the switch between currencies. Thai currency looks strange. It’s written in a different language. Sometimes you hear it referred to as “funny money.”

The fact is that when you’re in Pattaya, out on the town, buying lady drinks, and generally having a good old time with the Pattaya girls, it’s easy to lose track of what you spend. Worse yet, it’s easy to mistake one denomination for another, especially in the dim surroundings of a Pattaya go go bar.

In a dark room the 100’s appear similar in color to the 500’s. It’s even worse mistaking a 1000 baht note for a 20 baht note which is real easy. Some unscrupulous bars always try to game you on the 1000’s. So what can you do to avoid overspending and being short changed?  Here’s a short course on Thai money.

• First off you should know that there are 5 denominations and each denomination is slightly different in size. The denominations are 1000, 500, 100, 50, and 20 baht notes. One side is printed entirely in Thai, but the other side has English numbers printed in the corners.

• Before you head out in the evening for some serious bar crawling, take the time to arrange your Thai bills so that the side with the English numbers in the corner is facing up. Arrange your bills by order of denomination.

• Don’t carry 1000 baht notes. That way you don’t have to even think about the difference between 1000’s and 20’s.

• If you do have a 1000 baht note and you want to pay your check bin, do what a lot of experienced Pattaya punters do. When it comes time to pay, always hold the 1000 baht note up in the air so that both the hostess and you can see the note and you both acknowledge that it’s a 1000 baht note before she takes it away.

• When you’re tipping the girls that do the banana act or the ice cube trick or any one of the many delightful things that the girls can do, take a moment to look  at the number on the bill. Those shows are very distracting and your eyes and mind is definitely not on your money. I’ve seen many a drunken sailor mistake a 100 for a 500 only to realize it too late after the bill has been tucked up into the nether regions by an experienced Pattaya show girl.

• Always remember that the King’s picture is on each bill, so don’t do something stupid like trample on a bill on purpose. When you’re in Thailand, always respect the King and his image.