I’ve written before about the prevalence of local-only ATMs in Indonesia and the Philippines. And, after a few hairy moments of being down to our last ten dollars on remote islands, we don’t travel anywhere without a stash of both local currency and dollars in the backpack.

But all dollars are not created equal. Here’s some things to be aware of when taking dollars around the world.

1: Don’t Fold Them
Yes, really. The more remote the place, the more pristine your currency should be. Small town money changers can get very nervous about notes that aren’t shiny and new: we had a hairy moment on Palawan, in the Philippines, where the money changer refused a $100 bill that had been folded once.

Ripped or marked notes? Fuhgeddaboutit.

2: All Serial Numbers Are Not Created Equal
Among other, erm, eccentricities found in the state of Myanmar is a pathological aversion to dollar bills beginning with the serial code CB. No one, and I do mean no one, will touch these notes.

There are no foreigner-enabled ATMs in Myanmar, so make sure your bills are pristine, do not start with the code CB, and that you’re carrying more dollars than you think you will spend.

3: Take a Mix of Bills
Most money changers offer different rates based on the size of the bill: the larger the note, the better the rate. It’s good, however, if you find yourself stranded somewhere where the only rate available is low, to be able to change only $50, or even $20, to get you to your next stage.

In countries where dollars are freely exchangeable, usually those where the local currency is weak, breaking a low denomination note can get you change in local currency (generally at a bad rate). This is really handy when you’re about to leave the country and don’t want to be stranded with Monopoly money.

Single dollar bills can prove surprisingly useful for services such as transport.

4: Don’t Assume a Bank can Change Your Dollars
A lot of Westerners assume that any bank will have currency exchange facilities. Only to discover, on rocking up at a small town rural bank, that its function is very different from that of a high street bank in the West.

Outside the most touristed areas of Indonesia, for example, the only currency that holds any power is the local currency, rupiah. When travelling into the wilds of anywhere, be sure you’ve got much more local currency than you think you’ll need. Otherwise you might find yourself headed back to civilisation faster than you’d hoped.

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