Currency

One of the things about a new country every few days is getting the money sorted out, especially when most of the currencies one has never heard of.  China was quite straightforward with the yuan, Mongolia has tourog, Kazakhstan the tenge, Uzbekistan the sum, Turkmenistan the manet and Iran the rial.  The result of all of this is a wallet full of odd bits of useless money.

The sum in Uzbekistan has been the strangest; the largest note printed is worth very little and so when changing as little as $150 you are given a wad that almost needs a carrier bag.  One evening in Samarkand 20 of us went out to dinner.  The bill came to about $10 per head and the money needed to pay it was almost 6 inches high.

In Turkmenistan almost the first thing we had to do was get some petrol.  when Adrian went to pay the attendant held up his fingers and we thought he had got it wrong and needed to add some noughts.  In fact, petrol in Turkmenistan is so cheap they are almost giving away free.  A litre costs just a few pennies.

Here, in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini  graces the notes and as I am typing in the hotel lobby in Tabriz his portrait is staring down at me disapprovingly.  Maybe my hijab needs adjusting.