[sneak]

Political/humanitarian circumstances aside, this is a good reminder to all of us, everywhere, that 100% reliance on centralized electronic payment systems is risky because they have rare but total failure modes.

ALWAYS carry and travel with cash, no matter what.

ALWAYS keep enough cash hidden in your home to cover a month or more of expenses.

[DaiPlusPlus]

> ALWAYS carry and travel with cash, no matter what.

Funny, that's the exact opposite of the advice I hear to only travel with only petty-cash and rely on cards instead, so if you're mugged/robbed or simply misplace your wallet you won't be SOL far from home.

[latchkey]

Exactly. Never mind that as you cross borders, there are legal limits to the amounts you can carry as well as the potential to be searched. If you've ever been through corrupt border crossings (hello Moc Bai), the last thing you want is to be carrying cash.