Coin-operated telephones are available in most public places. Whenever you are dialling a number outside the telephone region of the call box you are using, you have to prefix the number with 1; this puts you through to the operator, who will tell you how much money you need to get connected. The operator asks for an amount (about $2.50) to cover the initial time period, which even within a province is fairly brief.

Fax machines are found at hotels, city post offices and at photocopy shops, Internet cafés and similar establishments in main city centres. Charges are generally $1 a page.

Most major cities and small towns now have cybercafés, where you can email . They tend to charge around $2-5 an hour for use of their computers, and you can generally sup on cappuccinos and snack on sandwiches. You can also access email at most large, corporate hotels, public libraries and potentially a host of other establishments. If you don't already have an account you can access while abroad, just sign on for one of the many free options, like www.hotmail.com , www.juno.com , and so on; a quick Internet search will reveal many others.

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