Old greenbacks rejected

There are two things I learned from a July-August ’05 trip to Africa.

1) You MUST have the new U.S. dollars in Africa, especially to pay for your visa at the Kenyan border.
We didn’t know this and, had it not been for the gentleman pushing my wheelchair at the Nairobi airport, I doubt we would have gotten in. He argued with the Immigration official for at least 20 minutes to get him to accept our old-style U.S. dollars. They wanted the “big portrait” ones only.

We also saw a sign at one of the lodges during our trip that said that the old bills are no longer considered legal tender.

2) This experience taught me a benefit of having to use a wheelchair between gates in strange cities: you are accompanied by someone who knows where he is going and speaks the language!

JUDITH A. SIESS
Cleveland, OH