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<blockquote data-quote="vantexan" data-source="post: 3613173" data-attributes="member: 24302">Money is easy these days.&nbsp; You get the best exchange rate withdrawing from ATM&#039;s and they are literally everywhere, at least in towns of any size with banks.&nbsp; I find the website XE very easy to use to get the latest rates.&nbsp; When I was in Almaty, Kazakhstan had real difficulty with lack of English usage and it&#039;s a huge city.&nbsp; Better in Bishkek.&nbsp; You&#039;d be surprised how often you see English words there.&nbsp; Best in Republic of Georgia.&nbsp; They have laws mandating English alongside Georgian everywhere.&nbsp; Government years ago brought in thousands of English teachers so most adults under 30 speak at least some and often understand more than they speak.&nbsp; You&#039;ll find in the former Soviet republics a lot of pro-American people and a lot of animosity towards Russians.&nbsp; People really light up when they ask where you&#039;re from and you tell them USA.&nbsp; Have had several tell me they have relatives in the U.S..&nbsp; Haven&#039;t had to use medical services yet.&nbsp; Other than taxi drivers trying to overcharge have been treated great by most.&nbsp; And here&#039;s a list of American fast food I&#039;ve seen in these countries: McDonald&#039;s, Wendy&#039;s, Burger King, KFC(only American fast food I&#039;ve seen in Bishkek besides Nathan&#039;s Hotdogs)Hardees, Subway, Papa John&#039;s(Oops, that&#039;s in Bishkek too).&nbsp; Generally American fast food is only slightly cheaper than the U.S. and is a bit of a rip off.&nbsp; And yet they are swamped with customers.They all stare at their smartphones here too.&nbsp; And on the streets I see everyday high end Audis, BMW&#039;s, Mercedes, Lexus, and tons of Toyotas and Hondas.&nbsp; Even Land Rovers and Hummers.&nbsp; Somebody forgot to tell them they&#039;re poor.&nbsp; Usually one, sometimes two American movies will be shown in English weekly, but most are dubbed in Russian.&nbsp; That depends on the city.&nbsp; No such luck where I&#039;m currently at.&nbsp; You can go out to the countryside in Kyrgyzstan and still see people living in yurts and herding horses and sheep.&nbsp; They have a game they play on horseback where they try to put a headless goat carcass inside a ring.&nbsp; Some call it the world&#039;s most dangerous game.&nbsp; People get killed playing it.&nbsp; They have video of it on YouTube.&nbsp; Mind boggling stuff.&nbsp; Generally if you smile a lot people here really open up.&nbsp; I almost always give my change to whoever waits on me at restaurants.&nbsp; Often it&#039;s the equivalent of 25 cents, more or less.&nbsp; They already add 15% automatically onto your bill.&nbsp; A four dollar meal gets them 60 cents, so throwing on even a little extra makes them extremely happy.&nbsp; I&#039;ve never been shown so much appreciation in my life for doing so little.&nbsp; I gave my waitress about a dollar in Kyrgyz Som today.&nbsp; She followed me to the door and thanked me profusely.&nbsp; I&#039;ll be gone in 6 weeks but while here trying to show my appreciation for their very good service.&nbsp; So in answer to your question, if you are polite and friendly you&#039;ll have no worries here.&nbsp; I&#039;ve never felt threatened once here other than some young men giving me some harsh looks.&nbsp; Could only assume they thought I was Russian.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="vantexan, post: 3613173, member: 24302"] Money is easy these days. You get the best exchange rate withdrawing from ATM's and they are literally everywhere, at least in towns of any size with banks. I find the website XE very easy to use to get the latest rates. When I was in Almaty, Kazakhstan had real difficulty with lack of English usage and it's a huge city. Better in Bishkek. You'd be surprised how often you see English words there. Best in Republic of Georgia. They have laws mandating English alongside Georgian everywhere. Government years ago brought in thousands of English teachers so most adults under 30 speak at least some and often understand more than they speak. You'll find in the former Soviet republics a lot of pro-American people and a lot of animosity towards Russians. People really light up when they ask where you're from and you tell them USA. Have had several tell me they have relatives in the U.S.. Haven't had to use medical services yet. Other than taxi drivers trying to overcharge have been treated great by most. And here's a list of American fast food I've seen in these countries: McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, KFC(only American fast food I've seen in Bishkek besides Nathan's Hotdogs)Hardees, Subway, Papa John's(Oops, that's in Bishkek too). Generally American fast food is only slightly cheaper than the U.S. and is a bit of a rip off. And yet they are swamped with customers. They all stare at their smartphones here too. And on the streets I see everyday high end Audis, BMW's, Mercedes, Lexus, and tons of Toyotas and Hondas. Even Land Rovers and Hummers. Somebody forgot to tell them they're poor. Usually one, sometimes two American movies will be shown in English weekly, but most are dubbed in Russian. That depends on the city. No such luck where I'm currently at. You can go out to the countryside in Kyrgyzstan and still see people living in yurts and herding horses and sheep. They have a game they play on horseback where they try to put a headless goat carcass inside a ring. Some call it the world's most dangerous game. People get killed playing it. They have video of it on YouTube. Mind boggling stuff. Generally if you smile a lot people here really open up. I almost always give my change to whoever waits on me at restaurants. Often it's the equivalent of 25 cents, more or less. They already add 15% automatically onto your bill. A four dollar meal gets them 60 cents, so throwing on even a little extra makes them extremely happy. I've never been shown so much appreciation in my life for doing so little. I gave my waitress about a dollar in Kyrgyz Som today. She followed me to the door and thanked me profusely. I'll be gone in 6 weeks but while here trying to show my appreciation for their very good service. So in answer to your question, if you are polite and friendly you'll have no worries here. I've never felt threatened once here other than some young men giving me some harsh looks. Could only assume they thought I was Russian. [/QUOTE]

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