In Reply to: Everyone has their own preferences. posted by Fiona on Tuesday, 7. February 2006 at 14:20 Bali Time:
My preference is Travs cheques & a small amount of cash. I never ever use either a credit card nor a debit card just because there are no wucking furries with TCs. (Credit cards are handy for being overweight coming home, tho). And if you do a search just on this site, you'll see how many things can go wrong with cards of any kind.
I also take some cash as well as my my credit cards, but both the cards & cash are backups only. TCs are as easy to exchange as cash and if theTCs are lost/stolen they are replaced within 24 hours easily. Cash is totally gone if it's stolen or lost. And replacing cards there is a huge hassle. Money machines there are different from those here and cards have been known to get eaten - do a search.
Money is a personal thing - I don't have much so I err on the side of safety & caution & use the extra-safe Travellers Cheques. It's really up to you and this is just my opinion. I would hate, tho, to just arrive in Bali and have my cash stolen - and there is nothing you can do about it if you have only taken cash.
I would also hate to have the credit card I used at a Balinese department store or wherever used by someone else in a totally different country. Sure, the credit card company sorts it out, but why risk it? And it takes yonks to sort out.
For over 2 decades I have been happy using Travs Cheques in Bali, but as I say, it's up to you:)) My opinion, s'all.