The new Kiwi banknotes released by the Reserve Bank last week have brought a mixed response.
Personally, I'm all for them. They're brightly coloured and each denomination looks distinctly different from the others. Which is a key thing for travellers - in fact, it's pretty much the only thing. I'vespent a bit of time in the United States over the past few months and, like many visitors over there, when handling the American currency I find it hard to tell one denomination from the next.
It's a difficulty heightened by the fact that on any visit to the States you're dipping into your pocket every few minutes to pass some fella a buck for opening a door at just the moment you happened to be walking by. Oh, I see the barman has done his job and put a beer in front of me, I'd better put a dollar in front of him, too.
And after a couple of those beers, it's pretty easy to hand a taxi driver a $100 tip when you'd meant to give them $1. You wouldn't even know you'd done it until you went fishing for the hundy the next day. "Wow, we must have spent more than we thought."
Bright, and distinct colours will go a long way toward avoiding currency confusion.
(As a sidenote: The rate at which those $1 notes get handed around in the US must surely make them the grubbiest currency note in the Western world.)
Coming clean
Last week's Travel editorial on the costs of doing laundry in hotels brought in a few interesting responses. I was vexed by the fact that washing undies in hotels costs more than buying new ones.
The best response of all was this slightly oddball and fairly Mr Bean-ish recommendation from an online reader calling themselves SepticSceptic:
"Soap up and rinse off whilst wearing your smalls ... dry them with hair dryer, or in the unused side of the bed with the electric blanket on three."
There's an unused side to your bed? Never!
Another hot hotel laundry tip: You can make big advances on getting socks and undies dried by giving them a quick press with a hot iron.
