Basics - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 43

claim. Always make a note of the policy details and
leave them with someone at home in case you lose
the original.

them immediately. It's sensible not to rely on plastic
alone; you may want to consider travellers'
cheques in US dollars, UK pounds sterling, euros or
the local currency. Hold on to the receipt (or proof
of purchase), as some exchange places require
seeing it before cashing your cheques. Most inter-
national airports have exchange counters, which
is useful, as you can't always buy Southeast Asian
currencies before leaving home. Tourist centres also
have convenient exchange counters where rates
can compare favourably with those offered by the
banks, but always establish any commission first -
the places that display promising rates may charge
a hefty fee, and be careful of some common scams,
including miscalculating amounts (especially when
there are lots of zeros involved), using a rigged
calculator, folding over notes to make the amount
look twice as great and removing a pile of notes
after the money's been counted.

Internet

Internet access is widespread in Southeast Asia.
Wi-fi is often offered for free, and can be found in
establishments ranging from coffee houses and
backpacker lodges to some of the smallest airports
and big city malls.

Laundry

There are few coin-operated laundries in Southeast
Asia, but most guesthouses and hotels will wash
your clothes for a reasonable price.

Left luggage

Wiring money
Wiring money through a specialist agent is fast but
expensive. The money wired should be available
for collection, usually in local currency, from the
company's local agent within twenty minutes of
being sent via Western Union or MoneyGram; both
charge on a sliding scale, so sending larger amounts
of cash is better value.
American Express MoneyGram UK and Ireland T 0800 8971
8971, US & Canada T 1 800 666 3947, Australia & New Zealand
should visit their local agent; W moneygram.com.
Western Union UK T 0800 731 1815, Ireland T 1800 395 395,
US & Canada T 1 800 325 6000, Australia T 1800 173 833, New
Zealand T 0800 085 253; W westernunion.com.

Most guesthouses and hotels will store luggage for
you, though sometimes only if you make a reserva-
tion for your anticipated return; major train stations
and airports also have left-luggage facilities.

Mail
Travellers can receive mail in any country in Southeast
Asia via poste restante . The system is universally fairly
e cient, but tends only to be available at the main
post o ce in cities and popular tourist destinations.
Most post o ces hold letters for a maximum of one
month, though some hold them for up to three, and
others seem to hold them forever. Mail should be
addressed: Name (family name underlined or capital-
ized), Poste Restante, GPO, Town or City, Country. It
will be filed by family name, though it's always wise to
check under your first initial as well. To collect mail,
you'll need to show your passport and may have to
pay a small fee.

Phones
You can phone home from any city or large town in
Southeast Asia. One of the most convenient ways of
doing so is over the internet, with a provider such as
Skype ( W skype.com), enabling you to make internet
calls at the price of a local call, and free computer to
computer calls. An expensive alternative is to take a
telephone charge card from your phone company
back home, to charge calls to your account.
In most places national telecommunications
o ces or post o ces tend to charge less than
private telephone o ces and guesthouses for inter-
national calls. In phone centres where there's no
facility for reverse-charge calls, you can almost
always get a “ call-back ”. Ask the operator for a
minimum (one-minute) call abroad and get the
phone number of the place you're calling from; you
can then be called back directly at the phone centre.

Money
The easiest way to carry your money is in the form
of plastic; ATMs are fairly widespread, except in the
smallest towns and most rural areas. Banks charge a
handling fee of about 1.5 percent per transaction
when you use your debit card at overseas ATMs.
Some hotels and a growing number of restau-
rants, shops and travel agents accept American
Express, Visa, MasterCard and Diners Club credit
cards. However, surcharging of up to five percent is
rife, and theft and forgery are major industries -
always demand the carbon copies and destroy