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First you better make sure you have the right plan. It is the Simple Choice Plan. I keep my T-mo card in my Galaxy S5 to use for internet and texts that I receive from the states. I keep my True Move card in my Galaxy S1 for all calls (only 1 baht/min back to the states) and local texts. Be careful though. If you have visual voicemail and you press the icon you will get charged 1 minute international roaming even though you did not listen to the messages.
Rodwint2:
I think a cell in BKK is a very nice convenience. Do you have T-Mobile in the USA? If so just ask TMo to give you the unlock code and unlock your phone. You can also go to Ebay for an unlock code from a reliable party. When you get to Thailand go to any phone store or 7-11 and spend 50 Baht on a Thai Sim card. You'll have to pay extra to add minutes. At that point your phone will have a local Thai cell number. Calls within Thailand and to the USA will be much cheaper than TMo's roaming rates. You also won't have any surprises when you get home. I have read stories about people getting $400-$600 bills because their phones incurred data roaming charges. Your unlocked phone can also be used in most other countries.
You don't need a second phone. If you have ATT or T-Mobile, your unlocked phone will work in Thailand with a Thai Sim card. If you have Verizon or Sprint, then consider buying a cheap, unlocked phone in Thailand or on Ebay.
[QUOTE=Allover; 1564556]Rodwint2:
I think a cell in BKK is a very nice convenience. .
You don't need a second phone. If you have ATT or T-Mobile, your unlocked phone will work in Thailand with a Thai Sim card. If you have Verizon or Sprint, then consider buying a cheap, unlocked phone in Thailand or on Ebay.[/QUOTE]There is only one problem:
If somebody will call you on your usual phone number he will not be able to contact you and the calls are unanswered.
Roaming charges apply also for incoming calls (on your original SIM card) , as the calls from arborist are charged at home as an international phone call made by you.
Nevertheless if you want people back home to be able to contact you you really need a second phone: one to get calls from home and one to use locally and eventually call home.
Rechargeable SIM cards are subject to an expiry date if not used and recharged regularly.
The one I bought and used in April will not last longer than mid June, unless I recharge it before that date.
But as I will not be able to do so before September, it is "lost". Not much for the 100baht in it, but your number will be gone.
Good and bad at the same time.
[QUOTE=BionicMan;1564569]Rechargeable SIM cards are subject to an expiry date if not used and recharged regularly. The one I bought and used in April will not last longer than mid June, unless I recharge it before that date. But as I will not be able to do so before September, it is "lost". Not much for the 100baht in it, but your number will be gone.[/QUOTE]If you get True Move your number is good for one year from the last day that you recharge it.
[QUOTE=Rodwint2; 1564464]Recently, I noted that carriers like T Mobile have claimed that they have international roaming and 20 cents per minute rates to the US. However, it is not clear if you use a T Mobile phone in Bangkok, how much the charges per minute will be.
Rather than taking a chance with a convoluted contract discussion, is it easier to just by a disposable phone with minutes in Bangkok, just to use there? What costs are we looking at and is it even necessary to have a cell phone in BKK?[/QUOTE]The best card IMHO is True inter also by true move. If you get the original, not the tourist card from 7/11 it is 1bt per minute to europe or the us. You will find it where they sell lots of phones. It is valid for 1 year after the refill.
[QUOTE=Mr Enternational;1564592]If you get True Move your number is good for one year from the last day that you recharge it.[/QUOTE]I stopped in a 7-11 and they said they didn't have a sim, went to terminal 21 shopping mall on asoke and they had several places on the 6th floor. Picked the shortest line and bought a happy sim card. Looks like its good for 120 days. Registered it online and you can refill the card to keep the number for what looks like a minimum of 50 baht. There's also an option to add international service but when I tried doing that it asked me to go back to the shop to switch sim cards for free. Maybe they have to do something for that to work.
[QUOTE=Mr Enternational;1564592]If you get True Move your number is good for one year from the last day that you recharge it.[/QUOTE]Good and useful advice, thanks for this, making a couple of trips per year, with a one year validity allows to keep it as "permanent" number. Useful if you call back girls who could have memorised your Thai number with a name.
[QUOTE=Jgm005; 1564483]To ease your 'convoluted contract discussion' fears I live in Nongbulamphu (Esan) and I am a T Mobile user. I use both my T Mobile Sim over here and 2nd phone using TRUE MOVE. It IS 20 cents a minute if you wish to call back to the States or if you wished to call the person standing next to you to their Thai # it is 20 cents per minute. Text (SMS) messages are not charged which is the use of my T Mobile phone.
As for your 'is it even necessary to have a cell phone in BKK' query? To me absolutely yes.
As for my phones? Nexus 4 with the T-Mobile Sim and Blackberry with the TRUE MOVE Sim.[/QUOTE]As a T Mobile user, I was wondering exactly how it would work in BKK. One question, if someone in the US calls your number, does it ring in Thailand? If the call is answered, what rate are you charged by T Mobile? Is it still 20 cents a minute? Thanks again.
Things getting interesting here now:
A load of oaramilitary yellow shirts around Nana when I arrived yesterday afternoon. Had gone by the evening, but I was woken by a lot of noise in the morning from loudspeakers and people shouting.
A few army trucks in town, and military control points being set up at various positions including Pratunam. Very lively in Lumpini Park, with more yellows than I remember from my last visit. A military field hospital / control point still outside the park.
The red shirts are planning to arrive en masse from tomorrow, so may be a few problems. I'm leaving tomorrow morning so I'll miss the tear gas.
As before, it won't be a problem if you keep to the touristy areas. Have fun and play safe!
[QUOTE=Rodwint2;1564870]As a T Mobile user, I was wondering exactly how it would work in BKK. One question, if someone in the US calls your number, does it ring in Thailand? If the call is answered, what rate are you charged by T Mobile? Is it still 20 cents a minute? Thanks again.[/QUOTE]Your welcome. As Mr. Enternational said make sure you are on a Simple Choice Plan. I believe T-Mobile moved everyone over to same last November but best check if you do not know.
Yes, my Nexus 4 with the T-Mobile SIM does ring. And was 20 cents a minute. I get a lot of junk calls so most of the time I let it roll into VM if I do not recognize the number. And deal with it later via the Thai SIM phone (unlocked BlackBerry from T-Mobile).
An article of interest:
[url]http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/409403/thai-immigration-clamps-down-on-visa-runs[/url]
Does anyone know where I can find a good quality safari or Bush jacket in Bangkok? It would look like the safari jacket that you would see in those movies made in the 1950s. The closest thing that I could find online was this: [url]http://www.travelsmith.com/bush-poplin-safari-jacket/16951[/url] I was hoping that I could find a light weight jacket with no liner and made of tough cotton material like twill or poplin. Thanks.
[QUOTE=Rodwint2; 1566635]Does anyone know where I can find a good quality safari or Bush jacket in Bangkok? It would look like the safari jacket that you would see in those movies made in the 1950s. The closest thing that I could find online was this:
[url]http://www.travelsmith.com/bush-poplin-safari-jacket/16951[/url]
I was hoping that I could find a light weight jacket with no liner and made of tough cotton material like twill or poplin. Thanks.[/QUOTE]Easy enough. Go have a tailor make one for you.
I remember having taken DTAC sim the last time I was in BKK and they had a prefix number "044" (or something like that, not sure) which allowed reduced calling rates to India. Do any of the other providers (AIS and Trumov, I think?) also have this feature. Unless other telecom providers have a similar provision, I am thinking of taking DTAC (with a better data plan).
Can I purchase a DTAC sim for iPhone 5S from an airport counter? Thanks.
[QUOTE=Jgm005; 1564483]To ease your 'convoluted contract discussion' fears I live in Nongbulamphu (Esan) and I am a T Mobile user. I use both my T Mobile Sim over here and 2nd phone using TRUE MOVE. It IS 20 cents a minute if you wish to call back to the States or if you wished to call the person standing next to you to their Thai # it is 20 cents per minute. Text (SMS) messages are not charged which is the use of my T Mobile phone.
As for your 'is it even necessary to have a cell phone in BKK' query? To me absolutely yes.
As for my phones? Nexus 4 with the T-Mobile Sim and Blackberry with the TRUE MOVE Sim.[/QUOTE]The only problem I saw with T-mobile is not knowing what a text from an international text will cost. I think most of the girls would be hesitant making a text to a foreign number. Then there's the whole issue of figuring out how to reach a number. Seems that every country is different. I carry my T-mobile (2nd phone just for travel. Then I get a local sim for the specific country I'm in.