Beware of money changers at most airports

Location: Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand (13° 40′ 52″ N, 100° 44′ 50″ E)
Date: 21 June 2010, 11.15am
Camera: Canon 400D with Canon 70-200/f4.0

Airports around the world are tourists’ traps of some sort. These days most of the airports are more friendly to budget travellers than the past and there are a lot more amenities for the budget-minded. Asian airports are leading the way in this respect and these days one can get free internet access in most Asian airports such as Singapore’s Changi and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi. However for the weary travellers, money changers in most airports still managed to trap them. The money changers in the majority of airports around the world- be it any of the Indian international airports or Atartuk Airport of Istanbul- still charge a hefty commission rate of up to 10% on any currency exchange that they transact. This is despite the fact that normally no such commission are charged for exchanges made in the cities proper. Unfortunately many travellers who are unprepared will have no choice but to change currency at the airport for immediate use such as transport and so on. So the smart travellers will always try to change some currencies of their destinations before-hand in their home country and NEVER do any currency exchange at the airport.