Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Assistance S ervices, I nc.
(
&
800/777-
8710;
www.worldwideassistance.com) is
the agent for E
291
If y ou need emergency cash o ver the
weekend when all banks and American
Express offices ar e closed, y ou can hav e
money wir ed to y ou via
Western Union
(
&
800/325-6000;
www .westernunion.
com).
MAIL
At pr ess time, domestic postage
rates were 27¢ for a postcar d and 42¢ for
a letter. For international mail, a first-class
letter of up to 1 ounce costs 94¢ (72¢ to
Canada and M exico). For more informa-
tion go to
www.usps.com
and click on
“Calculate Postage.”
MAPS
The best city map I' ve seen and
used is the
San Francisco Transit Rider
Map and G uide,
published b y G reat
Pacific Recreation and Travel Maps (www.
greatpacificmaps.com). Order a copy from
the company's w ebsite or buy one at the
Visitors Information Center. You can also
find it for $6 at many Walgreen's stor es.
AAA is an excellent source of maps, free to
members.
MEASUREMENTS
See the chart on the
inside front cover of this topic for details
on conv erting metric measur ements to
U.S. equivalents.
NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES
The
major papers ar e the morning
San F ran-
cisco Chr onicle
and the afternoon
San
Francisco E xaminer.
They ar e distributed
from sidewalk kiosks and bo xes. The free
weekly
San Francisco Bay Guardian
is the
best source of ev ents listings. Find a copy
in cafes and in side walk newspaper boxes
around the city .
San F rancisco
and
7×7
magazines are the monthly city glossies at
newsstands everywhere.
PASSPORTS
For Residents of Austra-
lia:
You can pick up an application fr om
your local post office or any branch of
Passports Australia, but you must schedule
an interview at the passport office to pres-
ent y our application materials. Call the
Australian Passport Information Service
at
&
131-232,
or visit the go vernment
website at www.passports.gov.au.
urop Assistance in the
United States.
Though lack of health insurance may
prevent y ou fr om being admitted to a
hospital in non-emergencies, don 't worr y
about being left on a str eet corner to die:
The American way is to fix y ou now and
bill the living daylights out of y ou later.
LEGAL AID
If you are “pulled over” for a
minor infraction (such as speeding), nev er
attempt to pay the fine dir ectly to a police
officer; this could be construed as attempted
bribery, a much mor e serious crime. P ay
fines by mail, or dir ectly into the hands of
the clerk of the cour t. If accused of a mor e
serious offense, say and do nothing befor e
consulting a lawyer. Here the burden is on
the state to pr ove a person's guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt, and ev eryone has the
right to remain silent, whether he or she is
suspected of a crime or actually arr ested.
Once arrested, a person can make one tele-
phone call to a par ty of his or her choice.
International visitors should call y
our
embassy or consulate.
LOST & FOUND
Be sur e to tell all of
your cr edit car d companies the minute
you discover your wallet has been lost or
stolen and file a report at the nearest police
precinct. Your cr edit car d company or
insurer may r equire a police r eport num-
ber or record of the loss. M ost credit card
companies hav e an emergency toll-fr ee
number to call if your card is lost or stolen;
they may be able to wir e y ou a cash
advance immediately or deliv er an emer-
gency cr edit car d in a day or two . Visa's
U.S. emergency number is
&
800/847-
2911
or 410/581-9994. American Express
cardholders and trav eler's check holders
should call
&
800/221-7282.
M aster-
Card holders should call
&
800/307-
7309
or 636/722-7111. F or other cr edit
cards, call the toll-free number directory at
&
800/555-1212.
