Wyoming Breezes

Money from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, and Japan 1979 - 1980 When traveling it is important to carry coins and bills from the countries you are visiting. Having the foreign money provides peace of mind that you can purchase food, pay for a taxi, make a phone call, and tip if appropriate. It's never wise to cash in or spend all of your foreign money before leaving a country because the unexpected can always occur. I came home with a few dollars from some of the countries I visited. Of course, most of the money is from Japan. I never bothered to exchange any of the money when I returned to the base or even when I returned to the U.S. The exchange rate for a U.S. dollar was very good in 1979, nearly $2.30 for 100 yen; the exchange rate now is closer to $1 to 101 yen. According to exchange-rates.org , the Japanese yen in the photo would total approximate $17 at today's exchange rate. Today, the Thai bhat is worth $2.75, Singapore dollars and odd c...

Betty Moore Clark AFB December 1980 Betty and I lived in the same BOQ building, and she is the one who made all the arrangements and moved my belongings onto base while I was on vacation. She was a great friend and a lot of fun. In 1980, Betty and I planned a Christmas trip to the Philippines and arranged for travel orders (TO). With the TOs we were eligible to travel on military planes on a stand-by basis. We got to Yokota AFB near Tokyo without any problem, but from there to Clark AFB in the Philippines only one seat was available. Betty told me to go on that flight, find a place for us to stay in base billeting and meet her at the airport the next day. It sounded pretty easy, so I flew ahead. When I tried to arrange for billeting, I was surprised there was nothing available on-base due to a large training exercise and numerous airmen on temporary duty. Plan B was to find a place to stay off-base: that would have worked except, it was quite a distance. Plan C was to cry an...