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Photo developing from digital or from film is relatively inexpensive; it costs from $5 per digital file to print, and to develop a roll of 36 exposures and have them printed costs from $55 for size 3R and from $65 for size 4R. Processing and mounting slide film is $50. Most photo shops will take four passport-sized photos of you for around $50. Some of the best photo-processing in town is available at Color Six ( Map; 2526 0123; www.colorsix.com; Ground fl, 28A Stanley St, Central; 8.30am-7pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-4pm Sat). Not only can colour slides be professionally processed in just three hours, but many special types of film, unavailable elsewhere in Hong Kong, are on sale here. Most photography shops are well geared up for printing from digital formats and for copying onto CDs.

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POST

Hong Kong Post ( 2921 2222; www.hongkongpost.com) is generally excellent; local letters are often delivered the same day they are sent and there is Saturday delivery. The staff at most post offices speak English, and the lavender-coloured mail boxes with lime-green posts are clearly marked in English.

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Receiving Mail

If a letter is addressed c/o Poste Restante, GPO Hong Kong, it will go to the GPO on Hong Kong Island. Pick it up at counter No 29 from 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday only. If you want your letters to go to Kowloon, have them addressed as follows: c/o Poste Restante, Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, 10 Middle Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Mail is normally held for two months.

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Sending Mail

On Hong Kong Island, the General Post Office ( Map; 2 Connaught Pl, Central; 8am-6pm Mon-Sat, 9am-2pm Sun) is just west of the Star Ferry pier. In Kowloon, the Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office ( Map; Ground fl, Hermes House, 10 Middle Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 9am-2pm Sun) is just east of the southern end of Nathan Rd. Post office branches elsewhere keep shorter hours and usually don’t open on Sunday.

You should allow five days for delivery of letters, postcards and aerogrammes to the UK, Continental Europe and Australia, and five to six days to the USA.

COURIER SERVICES

Private companies offering courier delivery service include the following:

DHL International ( 2400 3388)

Federal Express ( 2730 3333)

TNT Express Worldwide ( 2331 2663)

UPS ( 2735 3535)

All four companies have pick-up points around the territory. Many MTR stations have DHL outlets, including the MTR Central branch ( 2400 3388) next to exit F, and the MTR Admiralty branch ( 2529 5778) next to exit E.

POSTAL RATES

Local mail is $1.40 for up to 30g. Airmail letters and postcards for the first 20/30g are $2.40/4.50 to Asia (excluding Japan) and $3/5.30 elsewhere, and $75/95 respectively per kilogram. Aerogrammes are a uniform $2.30.

SPEEDPOST

Letters and small parcels sent via Hong Kong Post’s Speedpost ( 2921 2288; www.hongkongpost.com/speedpost) should reach any of 210 destin-ations worldwide within four days and are automatically registered. Speedpost rates vary enormously according to destination; every post office has a schedule of fees and a timetable.

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RADIO

Hong Kong’s most popular English-language radio stations are RTHK Radio 3 (current affairs and talkback; 567AM, 1584AM, 97.9FM and 106.8FM); RTHK Radio 4 (classical music; 97.6-98.9FM); RTHK Radio 6 (BBC World Service relays; 675AM); AM 864 (hit parade; 864AM); and Metro Plus (news; 1044AM). The South China Morning Postpublishes a daily schedule of radio programmes.

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RELOCATING

Several companies offer relocation services in Hong Kong. One of the larger ones is Santa Fe Transport ( 2574 6204; www.santaferelo.com), which operates in cities around Asia and also offers online quotations. For a more comprehensive list of relocation agents, see yp.com.hk.

See also the sections in this book on working in Hong Kong (Click here) and long-term-rental accommodation