When sending parcels out of Vietnam take everything to the post office unwrapped and keep it small: after inspection, and a good deal of form-filling, the parcel will be wrapped for you. Some parcel counters are only open in the morning and note that you'll need your passport. Surface mail takes between one and four months. Receiving parcels is not such a good idea. Some parcels simply go astray; those that do make it are subject to thorough customs inspections and import duty.

International calls are best made from the post office; they cost $3-5 per minute, with cheaper rates from Mon-Sat 11pm-7am, all day Sunday and on public holidays. To call abroad from Vietnam, dial 00 + country code + area code minus first 0 + number. There's no facility for reversed-charge calls but you can almost always get a " call-back " to the post office you're calling from, for the price of a one-minute call.

In theory you can dial abroad direct from a public telephone, but they're usually unbearably noisy. Calling direct from hotel rooms costs at least an extra ten percent and there's a minimum charge even if the call goes unanswered. At a few luxury hotels, and at major post offices, it's now possible to use chargecards , such as AT&T Direct, billed to your home account at less extortionate rates, though at present only the USA, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Korea are signed up.

Long-distance domestic calls are best made from the post office; cheap rates apply between 10pm and 5am. There's a three-minute minimum charge for local calls made from a post office or phone box, but in theory they're free from private phones (including hotels and restaurants). The better hotels should have up-to-date directories; otherwise, try asking in the post office, or calling general enquiries number (tel 108 or 116). Public phones (all card phones) are only found in the main cities. Phone cards (international, $15 or $30; domestic, $3-5) can be purchased at the post office.

International and domestic fax is available at many hotels, but cheaper at post offices, which charge per page. Both hotels and post offices charge for receiving faxes on your behalf ($0.50-1 per page); post offices will deliver them to your hotel (if specified on the fax) for no extra charge.

In Vietnam you can connect to the Internet - and your Hotmail account or equivalent - from a growing number of travellers' cafes in major tourist destinations.