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COMMUNICATIONS |
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There has been a massive improvement in communication services in
recent years, with both the telephone network and postal service running
efficient, if unspectacular, services. Internet cafés, however, are
still rare outside the capital
Mail
Post offices ( posta ) are usually open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and
until 1pm on Saturday, although in Budapest you'll find several offices
functioning around the clock, while smaller post offices close at 4pm.
Mail from abroad should be addressed "poste restante, posta" followed by
the name of the town; tell your friends to write your surname first,
Hungarian-style, and underline it; even this may not prevent your mail
being misfiled, so ask them to check under all your names. To collect
mail, show your passport and ask "Van posta a részemre?" If you have an
American Express credit card or travellers cheques, then you can get
mail sent to the American Express office in Budapest at Deák Ferenc utca
10 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-2pm; tel 1/235-4330, travel@amex.hu );
post should be addressed C/O Amex. For express mail or packages, all the
major courier companies, including DHL, Fedex and TNT, have offices in
Budapest (see Budapest "Listings").
It's quicker to buy stamps ( bélyeg ) at tobacconists as post offices
are usually pretty crowded and staff, most of whom don't speak English,
are often not particularly helpful. Note that letters and postcards have
different rates, so don't buy a job lot of stamps - show your letter
first. If you need to send a telegram ( távirat ), your best bet is the
post office. In theory you can dictate them by dialling 192, but the
line is often engaged and it's difficult to make yourself understood.
Telephones
In towns and cities, calls can be made from public phones with 10, 20,
50 and 100 Ft coins (minimum call 20Ft), though cardphones are far more
common and it's worth keeping a phonecard ( telefonkártya ) to hand.
Cards valid for 50 or 120 units (currently 800Ft and 1800Ft respectively)
are available from Matáv (the Hungarian telecommunications company)
shops, post offices, tobacconists and some hotels. Two cards giving
cheaper rates for international calls are the Barangalo card, available
from post offices, or better still, the Budget Phonecard, available from
most Tourinform offices.
To make a direct call outside the area you are in, dial 06 (which gives
a burring tone), followed by the area code and the subscriber's number.
To make international calls , dial 00, wait for the burr, then dial the
country code (UK and Northern Ireland 44, Repubic of Ireland 353, US &
Canada 1, Australia 61, New Zealand 64) and the subscriber's number
minus the first digit. The number for the international operator is 199.
Email
One of the best ways to keep in touch while travelling is to sign up for
a free internet email address that can be accessed from anywhere, for
example YahooMail or Hotmail - accessible through www.yahoo.com and
www.hotmail.com . Once you've set up an account, you can use these sites
to pick up and send mail from any internet café, or hotel with internet
access.
There are now many internet cafés in Budapest, but outside the capital
they are still fairly scarce, even in the larger centres of population.
If you can't locate an internet café, seek out a Matáv shop, as they
usually have at least a couple of terminals. Many of the more upmarket
hotels have an ISDN line. Connections vary, but generally speaking are
pretty slow, although prices are reasonable: expect to pay around 500Ft
for an hour online.
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