tamara1kt has indicated that this thread is about International Telephone Calls
Hello, Tamara
I warmly welcome you to India and SE Asia.
Being connected with someone whom you trust is recommended, someone to call for help, it boosts our confidence levels and relieves travel anxiety. A basic phone will do the work. I also recommend taking a smartphone along with a dumb phone. Smartphones have become a part of Travelers essential itinerary and a good guide too.
Don't take out the Smartphone unless you need it. Use it only for things like Maps, planning, browsing about local places, etc. The fear of losing a phone is common. And we can't blame our feelings. It tends to lose (anything) when we don't pay attention to our environment and our belongings. It doesn't normally happen, but it happens.
In India, Airtel/Vodafone rules the market. But BSNL is the best when it comes to Pan India coverage. You get 3G in most of the places where even Airtel and Vodafone fail to connect. In remote villages, you only get 2G reception. Buy a phone in India, a dumb phone of your choice, but look for 900 and 1800 Mhz Band Frequency, same as the UK and European Bands. It works throughout the Asia, Africa, and Europe. For 3G, 2100 Mhz.
There are many dual SIM variant phones in the market, popular brands like Nokia(MS), Samsung, LG, etc. Price starting from Rs.1200 ( GBP 12) to Rs.2500. You can also get local brand phones like MicroMax, Karbonn, Spice.
Why dual SIM? Obviously, you know the reason. You can use your Home country SIM and Local country SIM at the same time. Both remain online at the same time. Simple!
I recommend pay as you go, we call it as Prepaid. Prepaid SIMs are very popular in Asia. The top-up shops are around the corners of all towns. As a traveler, I recommend you to keep the phone balance above Rs.200. You may not know when you need it badly. Especially, when going to remote villages, you can't expect recharge shops in all the villages.
Using the right discount pack (booster pack/Rate cutters) will give you discounts like 60-80% of the call rates. No pack for International SMS, the Standard Rate of Rs.5 per 160 character is applicable. Signing up for Postpaid number is a hassle, unnecessary responsibilities that come with the service. Don't get into one.
With the right pack, you can reduce local calls to Rs 0.30 per minute, STD calls (interstate) Rs.0.50, Roaming in other states of India would be Rs.1.00 for both incoming and outgoing calls, there is a pack for that too. Calls to the UK can be reduced as low as Rs.3/Minute. 3GB of 3G data for a month would be Rs.400-500.
For SIMs, you have to buy each one in the respective countries. You can use India SIM in other countries. But I recommend it because of the cost and fluctuation in the reception from area to area in a foreign land.
For any other details, feel free to ask. I would be happy to help you in anyway I can.
Have a wonderful time in India and SE Asia.
Regards,
Pravin
[ 05-Jul-2015, at 08:51 by Vorion ]
If I were you I wouldn't buy many celphones, it's just a waste of money and I would keep my current one and just buy a new SIM card that I can recharge in each country
Being connected with someone whom you trust is recommended, someone to call for help, it boosts our confidence levels and relieves travel anxiety. A basic phone will do the work. I also recommend taking a smartphone along with a dumb phone. Smartphones have become a part of Travelers essential itinerary and a good guide too.
Don't take out the Smartphone unless you need it. Use it only for things like Maps, planning, browsing about local places, etc. The fear of losing a phone is common. And we can't blame our feelings. It tends to lose (anything) when we don't pay attention to our environment and our belongings. It doesn't normally happen, but it happens.
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Pravin - thanks so much, your reply is really helpful! I will definitely take note of all of your advice. Thank you for taking the time
You are most welcome, Tamara.
All the best.
Pravin
Hey Tamara, thanks for starting this thread. I 'm planning to go visit SE Asia later this year and this information helps.
Cheers
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