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There are no coins in Laos, they have only banknotes running from 500 (6¢) to 50,000 ($6) kip, which is the largest bill. This makes it a pain in the ass to pay large sums.

When we covered our 3 months rent - which came in at $1050 - or 8,925,000 kip - I was carrying around a wad of 179 of these notes in bulging pockets and had to count out each one for our landlady.

Visa and MC can be used in a few tourist places in the larger cities, American Express is unheard of. The man pictured here is Phomvihane Kaysone. More on him later.