The 195th Episode : Very rich !?
[June, 2009 Conakry, Guinea]
In the afternoon of the next day I exchanged money to the local currency at a bank. The lobby was full of people, but all of them didn't seem to have any errand. They were in the bank lobby because air conditioners were working there. I worried if there might be robber(s) who follow someone with large money to steal it.
It was a little much amount but I asked to exchange JP¥80,000 (approx. US$590 !?) to Guinean Francs. I was sent to a couple of contact points. In spite of the signboard of the first counter saying "money exchange" she said me to go to another counter. I didn't understand.
Nearly one hour later the wad of notes for me in Guinean Francs surprised me very very much. Four wads of notes were on the counter, each was tied with rubber bands. If they were stacked it would be approx. 2.5 - 3 inches high. And if each note was US$100, the total amount would be US$48,000!? I felt if I were a very rich man. The notes were crumpled and slightly sticky in the hand. Touching with hands was uncomfortable.
It was impossible to put the wads in the wallet. They were put into a paper bag that the bank gave to me. I looked around if there were robber(s) as said above lol. I didn't feel comfortable.
My errand was finished and I tried to leave the bank, then it was raining cats and dogs outside. Squall! More people were coming into the bank from the street to take shelter from the rain. Majority of the people seemed to have no errand with the bank. Another one hour passed until the squall was over. It took two hours to exchange money... Never in Japan.
The local people accompanied me were not in a hurry and were relaxed.
