I started the day by getting up at dawn and running 5 miles along the beach, then when I returned to the apartment I decided to scout the #18 airport bus which is supposed to stop once an hour a block from the apartment. So I sat on the curb and waited for 25 minutes and then the bus drove by and I saw someone get on and it was easy to spot because it is a new model which says "airport bus", so it looks like I have a way to get to the airport for 50,000d instead of 300,000d.
After the bus went by I decided to explore the neighborhood going away from the beach and I stumbled into a bustling street market filled with seafood and fruit and vegetables, a cornucopia that would satisfy any appetite. As I wandered from stall to stall a female vendor called to me and pointed to whole cut pineapples, I asked her how much and she said 20,000d, which is $.88, a low price for USA standards, so I agreed, however, I was a bit shaky when I realized the smallest bill I had was 200,000d, which I was reluctant to hand over because I am well aware of the short change scam and I do not yet trust my counting abilities in a chaotic environment when dealing with denominations which look similar if one is not accustomed to them. I handed her the 200,000d and she handed me back 80,000, shortchanging me by a 100,000 note, however, even though I tried to count it, what happened was instead of counting I simply looked for large bills, I saw a 50,000 bill and a 100,000, and a few smaller ones, and I guessed it was close enough but when I returned home I realized the 100,000 bill was actually a 10,000 bill and she simply did not give me a 100,000d note - classic short change scenario and there is nothing I could do to stop it due to the chaos of the market and my inexperience with the look of the notes. Oh well, I lasted 93 days without a cash mishap, so I was due to lose some money to fate rather than by choice, at least I made a market lady very happy today.
