I disagree, I think if you've got secure storage having gold is the way forward.

I carry thai gold around with me and it never leaves my side.

You lose a tiny tiny amount but compared to the fact that gold is leaping up like a rocket against near-worthless fiat currency then gold is golden folks

I disagree, I think if you've got secure storage having gold is the way forward. I carry thai gold around with me and it never leaves my side. You lose a tiny tiny amount but compared to the fact that gold is leaping up like a rocket against near-worthless fiat currency then gold is golden folks

my wife tells me that in Carrefour, Friendship. Makro and Foodland the cashiers still demand "near-worthless" fiat currency for the products she buys. a few weeks ago, when we travelled to Switzerland, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi we experienced that all airlines, hotels, shops and restaurants priced their goods and services in "near-worthless", albeit different, fiat currencies and nowhere it was mentioned that "leaping like a rocket gold" was accepted in lieu of fiat currencies.

could it be that the goldshop in Jeddah asked for "near-worthless" Saudi Riyals when i bought a little jewelry because the value was insignificant and perhaps valuable pieces have to be paid for with gold bars or gold coins?

98% of spot is about as good as you will get anywhere in the world.

No -- I can sell for 100% of spot in a number of shops within a short drive from my home here where I live. There is also a well-known service with a strong reputation, you can look up Tulving, he pays over spot for gold and sends you a bank draft via overnight express mail the next day. The main problem is that when I buy gold, I often have to pay at LEAST 1% over spot. On the sale I can get 100% all day long.

I have an answer to this question. From my wife, she sold gold in a shop in Bangkok for 100% of spot price. The amount she sold was a small lot of Credit Suisse bars weighing 10 g, 5 g, etc. She did a calculation of what it was worth before going to the shop, and what the shop paid her was 150 baht less than that. I figure the 150 baht could be lost in calculation. My wife is pretty good with a calculator though. Perhaps the shop bought for 150 baht less. A tiny percentage of the overall transaction.

I realize this is an unusual way of getting cash while traveling especially for most people, but it's nice to know you have real money in gold if you are in Thailand and need to exchange for baht. And based on the experience of my wife, you should expect to get 100% of the prevailing spot price.