Tarnished silver coins dangle from the headdress of an Akha tribeswoman in Northern Thailand . An Indian merchant in Rangoon will pay double what you paid for your black-market, brand-name whiskey. Banks all over have walkup windows and ATM's are sprouting while fishermen in South Thailand barter part of the morning catch for a bag of rice. Concepts of money change by location and situation in Asia .

Traditions are breaking down as the young look to the West for role models. Some strata of the cultures such as the Chinese see no hope of rising to the top echelon of their society. They therefore have become less reluctant to suffer the humility of wealth. Gradually wealth is taking on the status it has in the West. Some of the young are impatient. They make as special effort to learn English for the sole purpose of making more money. A few take a more direct route by relieving you of your shoulder bag or accepting the gift of an unguarded camera.

"How much is this?" asks a traveler looking at some fruit. The vendor behind her mangos, eyes his camera and lets a smile leak onto her lips. Her mangos are worth what she can get balanced by what the buyer is willing to pay. "You, how much?" She tires to get him to make the first offer and the game begins with righteous indignation at the insult of his ridiculously low price and counters with a high counteroffer in hopes the traveler isn't familiar with local prices or the currency. Teasing insults about the quality of the fruit are rebutted by reports of sickness in her family, gossip about the mean village headman who doesn't like foreigners, predictions of crop failure, additional fruit is added to the offer, references to the price of oil... All the while the grand joke of price hides beneath the surface.

If the mango lady gets to know and like you she'll squirrel away some of her best fruit until you come along. She will bargain more easily as a sign of friendship. If she doesn't speak English and you don't speak her language she has less fun and wants some extra money as compensation. For all she knows you can afford to pay a lot more. You're in her country, probably came by plane and you're not working. She's never been farther from her village than the market.

It isn't only the price of mangos that is negotiable. Taxi drivers feel justified in charging quadruple fare if no price was set before the trip. In shops, even in those that have "fixed prices" an automatic discount is given to anyone who asks. A hotel clerk usually have the right to give a discount, or have a cheaper room than the one he shows you. Even the cost of a visa sometimes varies with the bureaucrat who is trying to survive on his beggar wages. How much is it? That depends.

Traditionally, only merchants handled money. It was considered beneath the dignity of nobility and sacrilege for a priest to be seen receiving crass cash. To handle currency in public became a symbol of vulgarity. Gifts of money are discreetly placed in envelopes. Envelopes are now rarely used but to be polite, all passing of money should be done with the right hand. Touch your elbow with your left hand to be extra courteous in the exchange.

Many of the families who offer you a place to stay would be deeply insulted by the crudeness if you offered them money, whereas a gift especially from abroad would be graciously accepted--but not as payment.

Once in Banaue in the Philippines I had a wonderful room in a home converted into a B & B. It was a corner room with windows on two sides looking onto the fabulous rice terraces. When I came back to the B & B one day they asked me if I would mind moving to another room. A couple had come but the single room was too small for them so they were wondering. I simply couldn't give up the wonderful room but didn't want them to lose money so I offered to double what I was paying. They wouldn't hear of it and refused to allow me to leave my room until I was ready to leave town.

The day I was leaving I saw a blanket they had woven that was up for sale. I asked how much they wanted and was told that it was worth twice what the going rate for such a blanket. I acted outraged, bargained badly and was able to pay them for the kindness of the other room.

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