In Reply to: Foreign exchange questions posted by charlz on Wednesday, 3. August 2005 at 19:41 Bali Time:
We aren't comfortable carrying large amounts of cash either, even though we live in a country (Japan) where carrying large amounts of cash is normal, and the limit on ATM withdrawals is around $2000.00 US per transaction...if you need more, just make another transaction.
When we go to Bali, we have a bit of money in cash in US dollars...usually left over from a trip to the states. We use this for VOA. We had a bit of Japanese yen cash, and Japanese yen traveller's checks (about equal to $1000.00 US). And, we have VISA, MasterCard and American Express cards for emergency, and an international ATM/VISA card issued by the Japanese Post.
The exchange rate for cash and TCs is very close...not different enough for me to wish I had brought cash at all. There was no fee or commission to exchange them. We didn't use ATMs for withdrawals because of the fee, but had the card for a backup. We paid for the hotels with a credit card, as the exchange rate is best on the card.
Happy wedding and honeymoon!
On another subject...a friend of mine stayed at the Conrad last year and LOVED it. And also really loved Bumbu Bali's food and cooking class. Enjoy!