Rupee is flexing its muscles against Dollor

If you've been the long drawn fisticuff between the dollar and the rupee you know this already It is six pack season and the rupee is flexing its muscles like SRK in OSO.

In the recently concluded Indian Economic Summit, Gerard Lyons, chief economist & group head (global research), Standard Chartered Bank said, "The rupee we maintain its unrelenting march and possibly climb to Rs 30 to a dollar in the next five years."

But not everyone is swooning. And this bit of news has not come easy to the foreign tourists who prefer paying in dollars.
A couple from Texas, Beth and Tim Warner went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and were surprised when they were asked to pay in rupees, as they knew they can pay in dollars. Until now, foreign tourists to sites like the Taj Mahal have had the option of paying in dollars or rupees.

They had to pay Rs 250 per head to enter the mausoleum. "The ruling is aimed at safeguarding tourism revenues, following the recent fall in the dollar," a Ministry of Tourism official informed the couple. The ruling is to be implemented in nearly 120 sites of interest run by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). "

These rates have been fixed in tune with international practices, and also in order to take care of the fluctuation in the dollar rates," a registered guide at the Taj Mahal told the Warner couple.

Mary Meyssan, a French fashion stylist was another Taj lover who had to pay in rupees to enter the monument. She groans, "I had heard from my friends that one can pay in foreign currency but the ticket booth guy insisted on rupees. I was carrying a limited amount of Indian currency - to pay the cab guy and for some local shopping - hence was in a fix. Fortunately I found money exchangers nearby and was able to buy tickets for 10 of us." So, next time you're planning to visit this 'wonder' of the world, just remember to carry some desi maal (Indian rupees).