General Reports

[QUOTE=Mong1225]For checking voice mail and making some outgoing calls (where caller I d is not important), I think I'll use skype or a calling card.

Skype is good, but the places that have them are not private or quiet.

Can someone please recommend a good place to buy a Thai calling card, good brand, and also a good place to use a public phone that's quiet. Somewhere off Sukhumvit, near Cowboy or Nana, or Soi 11. Good place for money exchange in that area would be appreciated also. I've heard Rainbow Exchange near Koh San Road is great, but that's far.[/QUOTE]


[url]http://www.thaitel.com/[/url]

you might want to look at this web site. I have been happy with the service.

[url]http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/07/01/business/business_30106427.php[/url]

[QUOTE=Mong1225]

Do the rings still sound funky even when the phone is off? That's a dead give-away, if someone's phone savvy.

QUOTE]
in many countries this can be a weak point.....indeed!

[QUOTE=Bionicman][QUOTE=Mong1225]

Do the rings still sound funky even when the phone is off? That's a dead give-away, if someone's phone savvy.

QUOTE]
in many countries this can be a weak point.....indeed![/QUOTE]

No ring should occur if the telephone is off. It should roll to voicemail.

In regards to the Phone situation there is good advice on this forum. I have made 7 trips to BKK over the last year. Durning these visits I did not want anyone to know where I was. Everyone thought that I was in the US.

I currently use AT&T.

Here is my advice from personal experience.

- Turn off your phone when not in use. It goes straight to voice mail, without a ring and you will not be charged.

- Turn off International data roaming. If you do not want to recieve email.

[QUOTE=Mong1225]Why forward all calls to home voice mail if you can just turn the AT&T cell off and then (hopefully) it goes straight to VoiceMail. Are you worried it won't go straight to Voicemail? If not, then you can just check your AT&T voicemail (with calling card or Skype) without dealing with home phone, and without paying for AT&T forwarding.

I'm tempted to go the home-VM-forwarding route (pretty crafty solution), but I'm a little concerned that it would start to look weird if calls are forwarded ALL the time.

Do the rings still sound funky even when the phone is off? That's a dead give-away, if someone's phone savvy.

Thanks again so much for your feedback![/QUOTE]
I started forwarding to my home phone voicemail when I saw the following on the AT&T website..."This Carrier does not support routing unanswered calls to voicemail". They were referring to the Thai cellphone carrier, and even though it works some of the time, it's simply not as dependable as my carrier back in the good old USA.

As far as looking weird if calls are forwarded all the time, I found that even when I left my phone on all the time, some calls never got to me because of the weather, cell traffic, interference, etc.

BTW, there is no AT&T call forwarding charge. When I'm at home I forward all calls at night to my home phone, and there's never a charge. That's one of the reasons I switched from Sprint/Embarq...they have the nerve to charge 10 cents a minute.

Good luck

if you are real paranoid do not turn your USA cellphone ON once you have left the USA,

If your phone / carrier has international agreements when you turn your USA phone on in Thailand it might "ping" the local system to find out where it is, this "might" trigger the Thai system to answer any call to your USA phone and say in Thai that it is not in service at this time,

Probably more of a problem with Euros who use the same GSM frequancies as Thailand.

BK

The person will definately get a funky ring tone. There is no way around that other than turning off your phone and only making out going calls. Sometimes when a person calls you and your phone is on it will go to your voice mail and other times a Thai voice promt message. I wouldn't take that chance.

Re cell phones I found that after I left LOS and with the LOS chip in mine, I was still able to recieve text messages {and phone calls? } while in Canada. Because of this some TGs did not believe I had left the cuntry yet and were sending me text messages stating that they thought I was butterflying!

Actually they all know that I am a NIT NOY {little} butterfly, but they did not believe I had left Thailand, even though I had told them exactly when I was leaving! I assured them that I had and that some cell phone carriers allow text messages on a LOS cell phone chip outside the cuntry of Siam.

BTW a few days after arriving in the civilized world again I changed my chip to the Canuck one, so they could not contact me any more. LOL

Another benefit of forwarding to home voice mail, and being able to keep your phone on, is also being able to use text messages.

AT&T lets you receive text messages for free! , although sending them is 50 cents a pop.

David, any experience with this?

When forwarding calls, Did you ever have people question you about any "pings".? Do the texts (sending and receiving) come through ok and without any indications that they come from Thailand or other agency?

I got nailed last trip. Every message received cost me $. Complain and they will lower bill! They reverted me to Global plan retroactivly!
Next time call *611 before you leave, and ask for global plan $1.29 vs $1.99 a minute, cancel as soon as you are home!
[QUOTE=Sanuk Mak]In regards to the Phone situation there is good advice on this forum. I have made 7 trips to BKK over the last year. Durning these visits I did not want anyone to know where I was. Everyone thought that I was in the US.

I currently use AT&T.

Here is my advice from personal experience.

- Turn off your phone when not in use. It goes straight to voice mail, without a ring and you will not be charged.

- Turn off International data roaming. If you do not want to recieve email.[/QUOTE]

So I just signed up for a ThaiTel calling card. But when I spoke with their customer service, they told me I can't use the calling card on a payphone (and that most calling cards in Thailand can not be used on a payphone).

So where do you guys go to make calls to the US, without spending a fortune?

Last time I was there I remember the internet cafes having Skype with headphones, so I guess I could buy Skype credit and call home that way. But then I have to make calls in a noisy internet cafe and it's not private.

Do hotel rooms give you a phone where you can use a calling card without any charges? How much do they charge just to call a "1544" number (which I think is toll free in Thailand? ). Is there some other place to use a calling card?

Working all this phone stuff out before the trip is a real headache! Would really appreciate the help.

Thanks!

[QUOTE=Mong1225]Another benefit of forwarding to home voice mail, and being able to keep your phone on, is also being able to use text messages.

AT&T lets you receive text messages for free! , although sending them is 50 cents a pop.

David, any experience with this?

When forwarding calls, Did you ever have people question you about any "pings".? Do the texts (sending and receiving) come through ok and without any indications that they come from Thailand or other agency?[/QUOTE]
You're right on point...text messages come through perfectly.

I've never had anyone hear any pings...because the system doesn't know where I am when my phone is forwarded, and doesn't care. It just knows that when someone dials my cell number, it goes automatically to my home voice mail with its attendant familiar ring.

One big caution....to anyone with an iPhone...Read and heed the following caution from the AT&T website....

"AT&T knows that the Mobile Internet is indispensable to you. That's why we want to remind you: Domestic data use on iPhone is unlimited within the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, international roaming rates apply for voice and data usage outside domestic coverage area.

•International data roaming can be expensive. For example, opening an email with a 5 megapixel picture attachment or downloading a 3 minute video on YouTube uses about 2MB of data. The cost would be nearly $40 based on pay-per-use international data rates of $.0195/KB.
•With iPhone's many robust applications, it's natural for users to use more data on their iPhone than they would using other handsets or PDA devices."

You read that right.....$40 for a 5 megapixel picture. So before you leave the country, be sure that you read and follow the following iPhone Tips for International Roamers

[url]http://www.wireless.att.com/answer-center/solutionDisplay.jsp?solutionId=KB84199[/url]

[QUOTE=Mong1225]So I just signed up for a ThaiTel calling card. But when I spoke with their customer service, they told me I can't use the calling card on a payphone (and that most calling cards in Thailand can not be used on a payphone).

So where do you guys go to make calls to the US, without spending a fortune?

Last time I was there I remember the internet cafes having Skype with headphones, so I guess I could buy Skype credit and call home that way. But then I have to make calls in a noisy internet cafe and it's not private.

Do hotel rooms give you a phone where you can use a calling card without any charges? How much do they charge just to call a "1544" number (which I think is toll free in Thailand? ). Is there some other place to use a calling card?

Working all this phone stuff out before the trip is a real headache! Would really appreciate the help.

Thanks![/QUOTE]

Get yourself a sim card from any of the local providers and put it in your cell phone, if you do not have a phone that will work, you can get one for about $40 at numerous places. The sim will cost about $15 and then depending upon which company you use $0.015 to $0.03/ minutes for the thai phone. It is a good idea in case you want to call the love of your life and see if see is available for the evening, and you will have your phone for calls home. Refill cards for the service can be purchased at any 7-11.
I find it a good way to meet some real hotties, I buy my refill card and I walk up with my phone in one hand and the card in the other and ask if she can help me to load the minutes into my phone, as I cannot read Thai and have never refilled the phone ;) It's a great ice breaker if you are looking for a "regular" girl. I think I have used that approach about 10 times and has worked every time but 2.

[QUOTE=Lord Farquard]Get yourself a sim card from any of the local providers and put it in your cell phone, if you do not have a phone that will work, you can get one for about $40 at numerous places. The sim will cost about $15 and then depending upon which company you use $0.015 to $0.03/ minutes for the thai phone. It is a good idea in case you want to call the love of your life and see if see is available for the evening, and you will have your phone for calls home. Refill cards for the service can be purchased at any 7-11.
I find it a good way to meet some real hotties, I buy my refill card and I walk up with my phone in one hand and the card in the other and ask if she can help me to load the minutes into my phone, as I cannot read Thai and have never refilled the phone ;) It's a great ice breaker if you are looking for a "regular" girl. I think I have used that approach about 10 times and has worked every time but 2.[/QUOTE]

Good suggestion LF. I recently used a prepaid phone in Thailand - bought 123 call sim card for 50 baht at 7/11. So I don't think you need to pay $15 for the sim card. The minutes to fill it up are another matter.