Banks and exchange American Express, Manila Branch, 1810 Mabini St, Malate (tel 02/524 8681 or 526 8406); Bank of the Philippine Islands (tel 02/818 5541 for details of all branches); Citibank, 8741 Paseo de Roxas, Makati (tel 02/813 9177); Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corp, Ayala Avenue, Makati (tel 02/635 1000); Solidbank, 777 Paseo De Roxas, Makati (tel 02/894 8866); Standard Chartered Bank, 6756 Ayala Ave, Makati (tel 02/892 0961). Most major bank branches have 24-hour ATMs for Visa and Mastercard cash advances.

Embassies and consulates Australia, Dona Salustiana Building, 104 Paseo de Roxas, Makati (tel 02/750 2850); Brunei, 11th Floor, BPI Building, 104 Paseo de Roxas, Makati (tel 02/816 2836); Canada, 9-11th Floor, Allied Bank Center, 6754 Ayala Ave, Makati (tel 02/867 0001); France, Pacific Star Building, Makati Avenue, Makati (tel 02/810 1981); Germany, Solid Bank Building, 777 Paseo de Roxas, Makati (tel 02/892 4906); Indonesia, Xanland Center, 152 Amorsolo St, Legaspi Village, Makati (tel 02/817 2373); Ireland, Third Floor, 70 Jupiter St, Bel-Air 1, Makati (tel 02/896 4668); Laos, 34 Lapu-Lapu St, Magallanes, Makati (tel 02/833 5759); Malaysia, 107 Tordesillas St, Salcedo Village, Makati (tel 02/817 4581); Myanmar, 4th Floor, Basic Petroleum Condominium, 104 Carlos Palanca Jr St, Legaspi Village, Makati (tel 02/817 2373); Netherlands, 9th Floor, King's Court Building, 2129 Pasong Tamo, Makati (tel 02/812 5981); New Zealand, 23rd Floor, Far East Bank Center, Sen Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati (tel 02/891 5358); Singapore, 6th Floor, ODC International Plaza, 219 Salcedo St, Legaspi Village, Makati (tel 02/816 1764); Sweden, PCI Bank Tower II, Makati Avenue cor. Dela Rosa Street, Makati (tel 02/819 1951); Switzerland, Solid Bank Building, 777 Paseo de Roxas, Makati (tel 02/819 0202); Thailand, Royal Thai Embassy Building, 107 Rada St, Legaspi Village, Makati (tel 02/815 4219); UK, 15th-17th Floor, LV Locsin Building 6752 Ayala Ave cor. Makati Avenue, Makati (tel 02/816 7116); US, 1201 Roxas Blvd (tel 02/523 1001); Vietnam, 554 Vito Cruz St, Malate (tel 02/524 0354).

Emergencies The Department of Tourism has two assistance lines (tel 02/524 1703 or 524 2384) and two Tourist Hotlines (tel 02/524 1728 or 524 1660).

Hospitals and clinics Makati Medical Center, 2 Amorsolo St, Makati (tel 02/815 9911), is the largest and one of the most modern hospitals in Manila. It has an emergency department and dozens of specialist clinics. You can't make an appointment for the clinics - you just have to turn up and join the queue. Opening times are 10am-noon and 2-4pm. An initial consultation costs around P350. The HCS Medical Care Center, also in Makati at 3rd Floor, Equitable Bank Building, Senator Gil Puyat Avenue (tel 02/897 9111 to 9120), has a rotating team of doctors who deal with ambulant cases. It's a good place to go for basic care and prescriptions, but there are no emergency facilities. A consultation costs P350. In the Manila Bay area, Manila Doctor's Hospital (tel 02/524 3011) is at 667 United Nations Ave, and the Medical Center Manila (tel 02/523 8131) is at 1122 General Luna St, Ermita.

Immigration Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, Magellanes Drive, Intramuros (tel 02/527 3257 or 527 3280). Open 8am-noon & 1-5pm. There is a new Immigration Office in Makati where queues are said to be shorter. It's at 4th Floor, Gotiaco Building, MC Briones Street, opposite Makati City Hall.

Internet access Internet access is increasingly available in Manila and Makati. Global CafA© (tel 02/536 8023) is at 3rd Floor, Pedro Gil Wing, Robinson's Place, Ermita. In Makati, the Filipinas Heritage Library in Makati Avenue (tel 02/892 1801) charges P100 an hour. Mailstation at 30-A Park Square 1, Ayala Center, Makati (tel 02/817 8134 or 817 3135) charges P30 an hour, as do a number of email stations nearby, in the area opposite the Dusit Hotel Nikko.

Pharmacies You are never far from a Mercury Drug outlet in Metro Manila. At the last count there were two hundred of them. In Ermita, there's one at 444 TM Kalaw St and another at the Robinson's Place Complex in M Adriatico. In Makati there's a big branch in Glorietta on the ground floor near Tower Records.

Police Tourist Police, Room 112, Department of Tourism Building, Teodoro Valencia Circle, TM Kalaw Street, Ermita; Western District Police, United Nations Avenue, Ermita.

Post office The closest post office to the Manila Bay area is at Liwasang Bonifacio, Intramuros, near MacArthur Bridge on the Pasig River. The closest LRT station is Central. In Makati, there is a post office at the junction of Senator Gil Puyat and Ayala Avenues, next to Makati Fire Station. Look out also for the numerous Mailstation outlets where you can post letters, make telephone calls and often find email services.

Telephone services Pre-paid PLDT Fonkards are available from 7-11 stores and allow you to make local or international (IDD) calls from PLDT cardphones.