slightly damaged dollar notes
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slightly damaged dollar notes
Today I paid rent as usual in cash to the guy who is in charge of guarding the door downstairs, who handles that stuff for the landlord. I checked before that the dollar notes are all without tears, because I know the people here have strange issues with that. Now, hours later the guy comes up to my apartment and shows me a tear in a 20$ note that I supposedly gave him and obviously wants that I change it for an undamaged one.
Me not speaking Khmer, him not speaking English, he left after some "discussion" without success.
Then followed this conversation with the landlord in Telegram:
Obviously, I don't want to have bad relations with my landlord or the guard at the door. But this kind of stuff annoys me to no end. I've had issues with slightly torn dollar notes several times now and have become careful about the notes that I handle. I'm pretty sure the notes were really undamaged when I gave them. But even if not: Why is it that Cambodians are so crazy about tiny tears in dollar notes? Of course, the fact that most Cambodians will not accept them leads to most Cambodians not accepting them because they can't pay with them. It is a self-perpetuating problem. No one wants that trouble. But who came up with that trouble in the first place? And Is this common in other countries? Or am I wrong in my statement that "Only in Cambodia are people so crazy about it"?
Me not speaking Khmer, him not speaking English, he left after some "discussion" without success.
Then followed this conversation with the landlord in Telegram:
Obviously, I don't want to have bad relations with my landlord or the guard at the door. But this kind of stuff annoys me to no end. I've had issues with slightly torn dollar notes several times now and have become careful about the notes that I handle. I'm pretty sure the notes were really undamaged when I gave them. But even if not: Why is it that Cambodians are so crazy about tiny tears in dollar notes? Of course, the fact that most Cambodians will not accept them leads to most Cambodians not accepting them because they can't pay with them. It is a self-perpetuating problem. No one wants that trouble. But who came up with that trouble in the first place? And Is this common in other countries? Or am I wrong in my statement that "Only in Cambodia are people so crazy about it"?
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- horace
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I don't believe this as 30 years ago when I changed money in the banks in India the bundle of rupees was always stapled together!Fred Edwards wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:54 pmIn India if your rupees are damaged they will not accept them.
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k440, something to do when you're pissed.
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Don't ever use the English word "crazy" with Cambodians.
The equivalent Cambodian word has a much more negative connotation than the English word.
The equivalent Cambodian word has a much more negative connotation than the English word.
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30 years ago isn't today. Maybe people there became so careless about the integrity of their notes that it became a real problem, and then authorities over-corrected and taught people to have OCD about it. Maybe something like that happened here, too.horace wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:08 pmI don't believe this as 30 years ago when I changed money in the banks in India the bundle of rupees was always stapled together!Fred Edwards wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:54 pmIn India if your rupees are damaged they will not accept them.
I remember over 20 years ago in Greece I was fascinated how the Greeks handle their Drachme notes. They were all torn and crumbled and handled like waste paper to throw away. And they were commonly used for scribbling down notes as well. Quite uncommon to not have any notes that did not have any scribbling on them. In Germany that wouldn't have been acceptable at that time.
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Oh, okay. Thanks. Good to know.
What is the equivalent Cambodin word?
I remember many occasions where I regretted not knowing any Khmer swear words.
- Stokely
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I once saw this Khmer dude wearing sunglasses and acting weird.
I said to my wife, look at him, he's crazy. No, she said, he's just a Ray-Ban lunatic.
I said to my wife, look at him, he's crazy. No, she said, he's just a Ray-Ban lunatic.
"Now, then, in order to understand white supremacy we must dismiss the notion that white people can give anybody their freedom." Stokely Carmichael
Don’t swear at people either. You can end up in a lot of trouble if you are not careful. Always be polite and remain calm.trollkotze wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:30 pmI remember many occasions where I regretted not knowing any Khmer swear words.
That kind of behavior can have serious repercussions no matter how right you are.
You should apologize to your landlord and offer to replace the torn bill. It’s the healthiest choice. Tell him that you were in a bad mood because you had diarrhea or dreamed about ghosts or something.
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See here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12191trollkotze wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:30 pm
What is the equivalent Cambodin word?
I remember many occasions where I regretted not knowing any Khmer swear words.
Follow my lame Twitter feed: @gavin_mac
Easy peasy: You should have stopped writing after your sentence "I checked ....".
With that, you put the problem on their side, instead of trying to solve their problem in a way they don't like it.
I often get the message about a "torn" note. Unless it's a USD 100 note, I just lift my shoulders and wait until they back down, which usually works within a minute, even in AEON.
To restore the relationship, do the apology with some bogus reason.
With that, you put the problem on their side, instead of trying to solve their problem in a way they don't like it.
I often get the message about a "torn" note. Unless it's a USD 100 note, I just lift my shoulders and wait until they back down, which usually works within a minute, even in AEON.
To restore the relationship, do the apology with some bogus reason.
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Why is it that Cambodians are so crazy about tiny tears in dollar notes?
While I can understand your frustration, as others have pointed out calling Cambodian people crazy is not going to win you any favors, you are lucky the guy was so calm about it.Only in Cambodia people are so crazy about it.
As for the dollars and their condition I do find it annoying at times. However it is a foreign denomination and is not issued here. During the wars, especially after 1970, the local currency faced some huge inflation, while the dollar stayed stable. It wasn't possible to change them at banks but they had a black market value, especially on the trade routes to Aranyaprathet. Because they weren't being issued or replaced anywhere in the country it became important to keep them in good condition. It's also not in any bank's interest to ship worn out notes back to the US to be replaced so I imagine they discourage it too.
That's my take.
Romantic Cambodia is dead and gone. It's with McKinley in the grave.
It is up to the guy who handles the rent money to check the notes there and then....Similarly, if you get notes from a moneychanger or corner store you can't come back hours later and complain about a torn banknote....
Best to pay by yourself of course or you can go to the extreme and take a photo of your bills before paying....
Has happened to me before at bars and minimarts...always present the notes with 2 hands and show that you have looked at them carefully...
Best to pay by yourself of course or you can go to the extreme and take a photo of your bills before paying....
Has happened to me before at bars and minimarts...always present the notes with 2 hands and show that you have looked at them carefully...
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Thanks for all the input. I think I can understand a bit better now why people care so much about the perfect condition of USD notes. I'll try and be extra careful to visibly check notes before paying.
Regrding the advice to restore the relationship: I feel like that Telegram chat ended on friendly terms. So I don't see anything to repair. I never see my landlord anyway, see no reason why he would wish to make my life difficult, since I always pay my rent. I did have diarrhea, though.
Regrding the advice to restore the relationship: I feel like that Telegram chat ended on friendly terms. So I don't see anything to repair. I never see my landlord anyway, see no reason why he would wish to make my life difficult, since I always pay my rent. I did have diarrhea, though.
- horace
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Ecuador is where all the old dollar notes end up. Never seen so much crap come out of ATMs as in Ecuador and all twenties nothing else but the dirtiest ripped n torn twenties you have ever seen!
k440, something to do when you're pissed.
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