They're the bane of long-term vagabonders: those irritating fees for foreign currencies and doing transactions while abroad. Hitting up an ATM or paying with a credit card can trigger charges you may not have expected. This can smear the memory of a great trip. The New York Times Bucks blog had a post about 3...

The NY Times Practical Traveler blog had an interesting article called For Americans, Plastic Buys Less Abroad . It brings back a lot of memories of having trouble paying for stuff abroad that we've all had: broken ATMs, credit cards that didn't work, etc. The readers' comments are well worth a read for the anecdotes...