PSA: DO NOT USE HOTEL CURRENCY EXCHANGE!!!
I exchanged RM 800 for SGD 311.20 which is a 0.389 exchange rate. It’s ridiculous!
Yee Hou told me it was more like a 0.24 rate outside hotels and a quick check via XE.com verified that it is 0.24542 so I should have gotten SGD 329.840 instead of SGD 311.20.
However, it’s not that bad la…SGD 20 is about RM 50 and I paid more than that for drinks last night so for the convenience, well, *shrugs*.
If you’re changing large amounts of $ it’s not advisable though. I have access to my Xpax BB WiFi so I could have checked the going rates but I was tired after the Nuffnang Awards. Oh well.
BTW, I’m starting to love my BB, I can’t believe how I lived without it before. Imagine Twitter, MSN and surfing at your fingertips with QWERTY!
I’m off for the Singapore Tourism Board tour. Catch ya on the flipside.
aiyo! u poor thing!
Hope today is a better day ya!
RM is always less value if u change outside Malaysia. I normally change mine before I leave the country. Usually I’d carry the visiting country’s currency plus some USD for emergency.
lanjiao kia!
change frm our MAMAK FOREX ler . . .the best rate compared even to BANK. . .hotel needs to make $$ as well right ?
Hows the frog legs??? 😉
thenomadGourmand: Thanks bro! Today is a GREAT DAY! =D
I met someone and learned something important. She’s fucking apologetic and accepts her lifestle and doesn’t give a shit about what others think of her. Respect.
headsteadi: Yeah, USD is universally accepted. I should have that in stock. :S
audrey: Cibai kia? :p
Can you like come up with more witty insults ar? Boring la you.
foodcrazee: Ya, I learned that in my trip to Korea! T_T
A friend of mine exchanged at a damn good rate at those mamak forex. 😉
he got a really good deal, but the good thing is I’m using CIMB which offers rate protection as in they will exchange the same amount within 2 months no matter what so you can play the forex game. Prob can earn me a packet of maggi mee or two. 😉
Tuanku: DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!
Who are you??????????????????????????
How did you know I had frog leg porridge tonight??????????????
Only 3 people know (smokers club).
Now I’m really curious. :p
HB, well some hotels are greedy with service charge. In Hong Kong I never had any problem in the Mandarin Hotel. But I always ask first or head to the bank.
Now only you know?…You get the best deals at those Indian money changers. Lots in Singapore…or Bukit Bintang in KL. So far, I find the best rates at the one at Bukit Bintang Plaza…basement.
Your conversion rate doesn’t seem right, the current conversion rate is around 1MY to 0.4065, not 0.2454. If that were the case, then you’d have received only ~SG195?
Vickie: Yeah I usually do that too but I didn’t have the time and it was already 1 am at night so I just did it at the hotel desk. 🙂
suituapui: Yeah, those really offer the best rates, no bank charges or overheads to speak of. Heh! 🙂
aaron ong: It’s 1 MY to 0.24542 – check XE.com, but I got 0.38, so I got SGD 311.10 instead of SGD 329.840 for RM 800. 🙂
Not much difference la, you’re paying for the convenience.
And no one changes at XE.com rate anyway, so even outside you wouldn’t get that rate.
It’s not just this hotel. All hotels around the world make an obscene profit from FOREX. That’s the price travelers pay for the convenience (instead of walking all over town looking for a local FOREX shop). You got the convenience, so quit the bitchin’! 😛
On a separate note, what did you think of Link Hotel? It’s supposed to be a boutique hotel but IMHO, the rooms are too darn small for my comfort. One night was all I could take of it before I checked out and stayed the remaining nights of my trip at Parkroyal.
Also, I had a horrible experience of crappy WiFi connection from my room. Had to spend a few hours working from the lobby that nite. Definitely an experience I dun wanna have again.
ShaolinTiger: Yeah, it’s just for the convenience, no banks were open by the time I got back at 1 am, I reckon. Oh but Yee Hou got 0.24 which is the XE.com rate. I don’t remember if he changed it in Malaysia or Singapore. 🙂
Eleen: I know why they call Link Hotel that – coz of the bridge that links the two buildings. Fair amount of walking if you’re at the other building.
Yeah the rooms are quite small but then again that’s true of most places in Singapore – real estate being a premium and all that. =D
Eh, there’s a LAN cable in your room, I used that during the trip – it’s free. 🙂
LURVE their frog leg prorridge! Did u have the one at Chinatown or the one at Geylang? We have it here in Penang too (similar to the one in Geylang). Remind me to take you there the next time you’re in Penang.
Eleen: I had it in Geylang Lorong 9 – I heard it’s the best one. 🙂
Okay, shall go with you for the Penang version of frog leg porridge next time I’m there! =D
yah abit of a major fail in calculation. it’s 2.57, not that far off from around 2.5 outside. lol
Yesss, the one at Lorong 9, Geylang is indeed the best! I almost always, ritually go there for one of my dinners when I am in the Lion City.
Just read your latest post. Am glad you went to that one instead of the one in Chinatown which IMHO pales in comparison. The porridge in Chinatown doesn’t come in a claypot which to me is the best part of it all.
Yes, I figured it out as well when I saw the link bridge. Am glad my room was in the main building, though.
Yes, there’s free LAN connection in the rooms but lucky me was staying there the nite their LAN server kaputed. So, had to resort to using their WiFi which can only be accessed from their lobby. Bleh.
KY: Interestingly, it says 0.389 on the piece of paper and on the exchange board they have at the desk…but yeah, calculations show it is about 0.257 after all! Hmm…
Eleen: Yup! I just posted about the famous Geylang frog leg porridge. I love the stuff. Ya, I think the claypot porridge has something to do with me finishing it as well since it adds to the taste. I don’t usually eat congee.
Ah, sorry to hear bout the LAN cable. Working in the lobby, I did that on the first day too until I found the LAN cable in the room. 🙂
Actually, there’s a reason why the space in Link hotel is so small. It’s cos it was converted from old HDB flats. Thus, the link bridge to a few separate buildings.
It’s one of the Singaporean government’s many attempts to preserve the history of the country (although some may argue – “What history??” LOL)
Eleen: Interesting…and probably why it’s called the Link Hotel. 🙂
Hotels and banks always charge higher than money changer.
Simon Seow: Yeah, money changers are always a bit better exchange rate wise. 🙂
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