Should I pay in their currency or mine? Should I sell in their currency or mine?

Problems
The shop has an article for twenty something, or 200 something in their currency. How mush is that? When they ask if I want to pay in their currency or mine, what should I do?

Answers
I used to like to have prices converted into sterling from, for example, Swiss francs or Euros.

I wanted to be sure that when they added on the tax they hadn't changed the sum from 20 to 200 without my noticing. (I would be more alert in my own currency). I wanted to be able to check
easily what I had paid when I got my bank statement later.

Sometimes local money has alarmingly high sounding amounts. Or I'm not sure of the rate. It's a good idea to check the exchange rate before going shopping.

type it out.
Write it in the back page of your diary or the inside cover, or make a book cover for your diary from a piece of A4 paper from a printer. Write or print the exchange rates and a sample of prices - especially good deals. Set your own budgets for everyday items and splurges.

For example -
coffee = don't pay more than £2.50 ... euros / ... US dollars.
lunch, two courses including drink, tax and service - don't pay more than ........ their currency ............ Euros .............. my currency.
last night dinner - don't pay more than £40 / ............euros including drink, coffee, tax and service.

Book I am selling - ask for .. US dollars / Singapore dollars / eruos. It cost me ... for printing and postage. Don't let them offer less than .......

Bus from hotel to airport costs ... dollars and takes half an hour
Taxi from hotel to airport ........ dollars and takes fifteeen minutes. If taxi wants more than ... dollars take the bus.

Gold jewellery
gold price is ............
add for workmanship / design ....
don't pay more than ......... for a bracelet ......... necklace ....... ear-rings

Wine costs .......... in supermarket in the US /UK /Europe /Asia  half bottle ...............
My duty free allowance is ..............
Don't pay more than .......... their currency or ......... my currency at the airport.

Silver 925 jewellery at home costs
£... for a ring from ....
£ .... for a bracelet on ebay
...... for a ..... on ebay ........

NOTE TO YOUR TRAVELLING FAMILY OR FRIENDS
Buy for yourself / buy for me as a gift / buy for me and I'll reimburse you
I am willing to buy if it's  less / same price / 10% more / twice the price if I fancy something

Advice to spouse / family member or colleague
Pay what they want / remember to bargain
Please buy me a souvenir if it's less / same / only 10% more / really nice - please send me a photo and price on what's ap and I'll text back 'yes buy' or no don't buy
Don't pay more than ............. Euros

Pay ..... shipping and ........insurance

Carpet or Rug Tansport Story
I didn't trust the factory or the shipping services to send me a small carpet back from a Shanghai factory where I bought an old, slightly dirty and stained carpet. They rolled it up and folded it expertly and tightly with their handy wrapping. It went back with me to my hotel in the car we'd had for the day. (A friend's husband had a car and chauffeur from work all day - best day of my life!).

By the time we got back, my husband was home to help carry it upstairs. So no need to find a porter nor trust a porter to disappear in the porter's lift with my precious purchase.

My husband wanted to unwrap it and see what I'd spent all the money on. "No, no, no! I'll never be able to get it back wrapped up as compactly! I've a photo of it."

"Uh-huh. Very nice."

He reflected. "Are you sure what they gave you is the item you photographed? What's in the package?"

"Yes. It's what I bought. I stood over it the whole time. Three of us carried it downstairs to the car."

"Good. Now we need something to protect it in transit and get it on the plane."

We tried all our suitcases and none of them fitted. We measured up and bought a large suitcase, the right shape. We took my rug home as hand luggage.

Back home, it unfolded fine. A nice design, good colours, reasonable price, a bit stained. After lots of work, three applications of carpet stain remover, drying out, trying again, the stains came out. A frayed corner went under a piece of furniture. Success.

I had paid half cash, and because I didn't have enough with me, the rest on credit card. At least the credit card charge would be halved.

Finally, the bill came for the credit card amount. Only half the total cost of the item, because I had paid part cash.

Currency
Back to the vexed question of currency. You think the price is a bargain, or the same as home but you like the item. Or a bit more, but it's a must have. Ask them to change to your currency?

However, Natwest bank emailed me (in July 2018) that paying in local currency is usually cheaper, because the shop or other business where you buy sometimes does not give a favourable exchange rate.

If you have a note of exhange rates or prices, make sure you note the date on the page, or throw away the old one and print out the latest prices. The price of gold can go up and down. The price of a currency against the US dollar or Euro or Pound Sterling can change.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Instant Indonesian and Malay Language

If you go to Indonesia the language you see is the same as the language in Malaysia. If you go to Malaysia the language is the same as in Indonesia. If you go to Singapore, the four languages are English, Mandarin (Chinese), Tamil, Malay. You will see the Malay words on your train carriage and bus and at the airport. Your Malay Muslim taxi driver will appreciate hearing a few words of Malay.

Even if you don't know enough to speak fluently, you can point to written words, understand answer, follow what staff are calling to each other in restaurants and hotels, or asking at reception. If you are doing business, when you don't speak enough to converse, it helps to know roughly what people are saying, whether you will reach an agreement, stop for coffee, whether you are being praised, ignored, or insulted whether the man who is angry and leaving the room in mid-meeting has just heard there is a bomb scare, or a pizza delivery, or his pen has run out of ink.

Problem
How do I learn Malay or Indonesian in a hurry or easily?

Answer
Start with these words:
1 Words you often see on signs. (1 Because they are needed. 2 Because the frequent repetition will help you remember.)
2 Words which are identical or so similar in both languages that they are easy to recognise and remember.
3 Words which are essential.

Tips - words which are similar in English and Malay / Indonesian
Bahasa Malay (Malay Language) - English
a m b u l a n s - ambulance
apel - apples
apotek - chemist
bank - bank
b i r - beer
b o t o l - bottle
cartu credit - credit card
d o k t e r - doctor
d u a - two (as in "a duo" or 'dual citizenship")
Halo - hello
j a k e t - jacket
k a m e r a - camera
k a r t u - card
k a r t u p o s - postcard
kilo - kilo
komisinya - commission
k o n s e r - concert
lift - lift
m a n g g a - mango
melon - melon
mobile - car (not a mobile phone but a vehicle which keeps you mobile or moving)
nama - name
orang - person (as in orang u t a n g )
p a s p o r -passport
p i l - pill
p o l i s i - police
Pon sterling - pound sterling
p o s - post
rekening - bill/reckoning
tomat - tomatoes
turis - tourist
W.C. - toilet
ya - yes

English - Malay
Ambulance - a m b u l a n s
apple - a p e l (spaces inserted to thwart auto spell check)
bank - bank
beer - b i r
bottle - b o t o l
camera - k a m e r a
card - K a r t u
concert - k o n s e r
bill/reckoning - rekening
car - mobil
chemist (UK) or pharmacy (USA) - apotek
commission - Komisinya
credit card - k a r t u k r e d i t
doctor - d o k t e r
hello - halo
jacket - j a k e t
kilo - kilo
lift
mango - m a n g g a
melon - melon
name - nama
passport - p a s p o r
pill - p i l
police - p o l i s i
post - p o s
postcard - k a r t u p o s
pound sterling - pon sterling
toilet - w.c.
tourist - turis
two - d u a (as in dual citizenship or a duo)
tomatoes - tomat
yes - ya

Tip - Spelling
As you may have noticed, in Malay and Indonesian the letter c or ck with a hard coughing sound are show by the letter K.



Angela Lansbury, author and speaker. Books on Amazon and Lulu.com . Please like my posts, follow and share.

Get a receipt which states whether you have real jade, amber, opal or synthetic stone

I love elephants, national symbol of Thailand and probably some other places. Jade in stronger colours is more prized than the paler wishy-washy colours. In Asia, Singapore, and countries such as Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia, like London shops and markets, you often see trinkets and Jewellery with stones. I like green jade, green, orange and yellow amber, and multicoloured opals.
    At a trip to Hay-on-Wye in Wales, I went into a jewellery shop which had second hand jewellery in the window including opals in silver. I bought a bracelet at what I thought was a good price. I asked for a receipt. When I received the receipt, I was disappointed to see that although the silver was listed as 925, not silver plate, I had just been sold synthetic opals.  
   Watch out for stalls, even those which have a proper shop elsewhere, if they don't want to give you a receipt. I carry my own receipt book. For insurance purposes, you need a receipt. To guard against loss and theft. Once I had my bag stolen in Spain. It was a leather bag and had nothing of great value, I thought. But the replacement cost of everything from a swimsuit at £40, to a lipstick at £10, a diary at £5, soon added up to well over £100.
    So, to avoid regrets and worries later, for peace of mind when buying jewellery with stones of jade, amber, or opal, check you are getting the real stone and not a coloured synthetic. Synthetics can be cheaper, and look very effective. You might prefer costume jewellery when travelling. So it's often just as good. But for a special gift, or if you are buying as an investment, just ask the seller causally,      
    Which pieces are synthetic with silver plate and which are real stones and 925 silver or sterling silver. I usually ask about the real silver or the quality of gold and silver first, then about the gemstones. I try to be friendly with the seller and explain what I want. It could be, 'I don't mind synthetics. I just want something as a souvenir, a cheap gift.' Or it could be, 'I want metal and stones of value for mother's birthday, but also just a synthetic for when I'm travelling'. If you are buying a proper stone for lots of money, the shop in Asia might give you a synthetic stone piece as a gift in addition.
    The seller wants a happy customer, a returning customer, and recommendations, and more business. Ask, chat, say what you want, ask what you are getting. Why not - keep everybody informed and happy.