Indonesia

[Big A]

Hi all

We are preparing to holiday in Indonesia (Bali) in a few weeks. My wife has had no success in obtaining Indonesian Rupiahs from major banks in Bangkok.

However, one bank informed her that we must first exchange Baht to US$, and on arriving in Indonesia change the US$ in to Rupiah. I have never heard of this before.

Has anyone been to Indonesia/Bali recently, and if so, could you please tell me the regulations about currency exchange. Or is it straight forward and change Baht into Rupiah at Suwannabhumi exchange booths.

Also, can the visa on arrival be paid in Rupiah, or is it US$ only?

Thanx for any replies.

[Prakanong]

I have been to Indonesia three times this year but only to Batam. The Visa on Arrival could be paid in singapore dollar but they did prefer USD - I do not know if it was just Batam with the SGD due to its proximity. I am unsure about Rupiah.

Exchange again was from SGD so sorry I can not be of help there.

Its similar in Cambodia though where I had to change THB to USD - never changed it though as you can pay in USD most places and I got riel as small change from these transactions.

[donna]

i dont believe you can buy rupiah in thailand, but could be wrong there.

i was in bali last month and there are ATMs everywhere, just like here. they are better than the exchanges, which tend to cheat a bit (understatement of the year). you will see the first ATMs in the baggage collection area, so you will be armed with cash when you walk out.

[Prakanong]

i dont believe you can buy rupiah in thailand, but could be wrong there.

i was in bali last month and there are ATMs everywhere, just like here. they are better than the exchanges, which tend to cheat a bit (understatement of the year). you will see the first ATMs in the baggage collection area, so you will be armed with cash when you walk out.

Forgot about the exchange booth sharks ;-)

You can negotiate with them though!

[Big A]

Don't really like to use ATM cards in foreign countries. Thailand is bad enough with scanning/copying cards when in use!!

Is there anywhere in BKK I can get, say B3,000 - B5,000 worth of Rupiah and then go to the banks in Bali if/when needed?

[Edonista]

Forget the idea of purchasing rupiah here in Thailand. Just to give you an example , Siam Commercial Bank exchange rates have a bid/offer spread that exceeds 100 % ! http://www.scb.co.th/html/exchange/bk-txtexchange.htm , indonesia rupiah is IDR symbol.

When I went to Batam, change booths charge you an implicit commission of about 20% if you change baht in rupiah.

So best thing is to change your baht in USD in Thailand and then change USD in rupiah once you get in Indonesia.

Edited September 10, 2007 by Edonista

[samran]

Forget the idea of purchasing rupiah here in Thailand. Just to give you an example , Siam Commercial Bank exchange rates have a bid/offer spread that exceeds 100 % ! http://www.scb.co.th/html/exchange/bk-txtexchange.htm , indonesia rupiah is IDR symbol.

When I went to Batam, change booths charge you an implicit commission of about 20% if you change baht in rupiah.

So best thing is to change your baht in USD in Thailand and then change USD in rupiah once you get in Indonesia.

did this a few weeks ago. It works out best .

[Big A]

OK thanks. So, the general concensus is to get US$ here at BKK airport, and then convert the US$ to IDR once in Bali?

Seems a bit like Lao kip or Cambodian riel.

[THAILIBAN]

Forget the idea of purchasing rupiah here in Thailand. Just to give you an example , Siam Commercial Bank exchange rates have a bid/offer spread that exceeds 100 % ! http://www.scb.co.th/html/exchange/bk-txtexchange.htm , indonesia rupiah is IDR symbol.

When I went to Batam, change booths charge you an implicit commission of about 20% if you change baht in rupiah.

So best thing is to change your baht in USD in Thailand and then change USD in rupiah once you get in Indonesia.

did this a few weeks ago. It works out best .

100% correct. you could buy any "strong" currency b4 leaving Suvannaphum, such as US$, Euro, Singa$, British Pounds, but as u will have to pay in US$ for your Visa-on-arrival in Denpasar, US$ is the best bet.

by the way, those double-change-transactions apply for other countries in the areas as well (Malaysia, Phils.....), if u dont wanna loose 10-15% of the value of your money.

ALWAYS get rid of the local currency and buy a strong currency b4 leaving Thailand (or on return, for example, come back to thailand from Malaysia).

Edited September 11, 2007 by THAILIBAN

[samran]

OK thanks. So, the general concensus is to get US$ here at BKK airport, and then convert the US$ to IDR once in Bali?

Seems a bit like Lao kip or Cambodian riel.

not quite like the Kip or Reil, just that there is not much tourist currency exchange between the IDR and THB, so as others have mentioned, it is best to travel with a good 'intermdeiary' currency which is readily acceptable anywhere in the world. USD, GBP and EUR are good cantidates for this role.

Thai baht doesn't generally translated well into Philippine Peso's, Indian Rupees, or many middle eastern currencies where the buy sell rates are quite large.

Travelling to place like Bali, where lots of Aussies head, you may do well transferring your THB into AUD to change in Indonesia.