Money in central asia - ATM?

[bwv812]

You can get USD at lots of ATMs in Osh. It's pretty common in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Incidentally, you can get USD at a number of ATMs in Bangkok (that's how I got the bills I needed for Burma), even though it's far from common.

[stockmanjr]

I highly doubt any atm would dispense any currency other than the local currency. I traveled throughout india/thailand/singapore for 3 months and at no point was I able to withdraw USD.

That's not true at all. In countries with severe inflation you'll see ATM's that can dispense USD. They maybe hard to find, but I've seen them over the years.

[seysearles]

Hi Yan,

For Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, you can take out money by credit card from atm. For Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran, prepare everything in cash. Take US dollars. For Turkmenistan, 100$ bills need to be printed after 2013, they are a more blue colour.

I highly doubt any atm would dispense any currency other than the local currency. I traveled throughout india/thailand/singapore for 3 months and at no point was I able to withdraw USD.

This become problematic when you are traveling for extended periods as you not really want to be traveling with large amounts of cash.

Is the Som useable (or readily exchangeable) in Tajikistan so you can stock up on funds before crossing the border?

You can get USD at lots of ATMs in Osh. It's pretty common in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Incidentally, you can get USD at a number of ATMs in Bangkok (that's how I got the bills I needed for Burma), even though it's far from common.

This is good to know bwv812, thanks. Are there any specific machines that you can point people to in case they're struggling to find one. Same goes for any location for that matter, not just Osh.

[seysearles]

For Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, you can take out money by credit card from atm. For Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran, prepare everything in cash. Take US dollars. For Turkmenistan, 100$ bills need to be printed after 2013, they are a more blue colour.

This becomes problematic when you are traveling for extended periods as you do not really want to be traveling with large amounts of cash.

Is the Som useable (or readily exchangeable) in Tajikistan so you can stock up on funds before crossing the border?

You can get USD at lots of ATMs in Osh. It's pretty common in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Incidentally, you can get USD at a number of ATMs in Bangkok (that's how I got the bills I needed for Burma), even though it's far from common.

This is good to know bwv812, thanks. Are there any specific machines that you can point people to in case they're struggling to find one? Same goes for any location for that matter, not just Osh.

[bwv812]

Normal people won't have difficulty finding USD ATMS in Bishkek, Osh, or Dushanbe. If it were difficult, you'd find lots of posts asking where they are from people unable to find any. If you are struggling, ask your host or fellow travelers, as they'll know.

The only difficult ones are in Uzbekistan, but LP tells you where they are (typically in the lobbies of high-end tourist hotels in Samarkand and Tashkent), or what banks you can get USD cash advances at.

[seysearles]

Normal people won't have difficulty finding USD ATMS in Bishkek, Osh, or Dushanbe.

Ok thanks for this. Can't help feel bad for the abnormal people though.