So, if you have been following our blog you know of the difficulty I've had in providing backup Internet access while we have been traveling. This is the story of my adventure in obtaining a working data SIM in Laos. Maybe it wouldn't be quite the adventure if I were smarter. Here is the story such as it is (and as I am).
When we arrived in Vientiane, Laos one of the very first things we did after checking in to the hotel was to purchase a SIM card for our mobile hotspot. The kind man at the hotel directed us to a store where they didn't actually sell SIM cards. The kind lady at the store directed us across the street to another shop where they sold me a SIM card for a total of 70,000 kip. Success. We had a SIM with 35,000 kip credit (about $4) and it seemed to connect to the Internet when we plugged it in. We gave each other high fives, did the "happy dance", and were so proud of ourselves for getting this puzzle piece taken care of so quickly and easily. Also, we rated Laos for being almost as easy as Thailand to get the Internet working.
When we got back to the hotel room I tried our new Internet and it didn't work. How do you "give back" an un-deserved high five? Ugggh. Our hotel had Internet access so it wasn't a big deal. I researched and tried to figure out why I didn't have Internet access. Meanwhile it was time to leave Vientiane for Vangvieng.
In Vangvieng I had the idea to plug the SIM into our cheap-o phone and call the customer support number "101". I made the call and played "dumb American" (easiest part of the whole process) until I found an agent who spoke English. He told me that I had to put more than 50,000 kip credit on the SIM before the Internet would start working. Excellent! Another piece of information. We walked down the street to the shop that advertised SIM refills and bought enough to put us over the 50,000 mark. I bought two 10,000 kip refills and activated them which took us to 55,000 kip in credit. I hurried back to the hotel and tried the Internet again, expecting it to magically work. Even with 55,000 kip in credit the Internet didn't work. But again, the hotel Internet worked (kinda) and it was getting close to time to leave for Luang Prabang.
The morning after we arrived in Luang Prabang I was searching for how to activate Internet data on a SIM and found a blog post about how to do it on a provider different from the one we chose. I reasoned that if one provider did it that way maybe my provider did it that way too. A little more searching and I found that my provider did it the same way as the other; the last piece of the puzzle. I had to send a certain code to my provider to apply the 55,000 kip credit towards Internet data on my SIM. Could it really be the answer I've been struggling to find?!? I plugged the SIM back into the phone and sent the code. Immediately I received two text messages back indicating that Internet data had been enabled! I hurriedly plugged the SIM back into the mobile hotspot and tried to connect to the Internet using my laptop. It worked. High fives for everyone.
For the curious that haven't yet fallen asleep, our Internet service is 4G and we got 5GB over 30 days for about $11 and that includes the cost of the SIM card. In the states the same deal would have cost me $50. More high fives.
When we arrived in Vientiane, Laos one of the very first things we did after checking in to the hotel was to purchase a SIM card for our mobile hotspot. The kind man at the hotel directed us to a store where they didn't actually sell SIM cards. The kind lady at the store directed us across the street to another shop where they sold me a SIM card for a total of 70,000 kip. Success. We had a SIM with 35,000 kip credit (about $4) and it seemed to connect to the Internet when we plugged it in. We gave each other high fives, did the "happy dance", and were so proud of ourselves for getting this puzzle piece taken care of so quickly and easily. Also, we rated Laos for being almost as easy as Thailand to get the Internet working.
When we got back to the hotel room I tried our new Internet and it didn't work. How do you "give back" an un-deserved high five? Ugggh. Our hotel had Internet access so it wasn't a big deal. I researched and tried to figure out why I didn't have Internet access. Meanwhile it was time to leave Vientiane for Vangvieng.
In Vangvieng I had the idea to plug the SIM into our cheap-o phone and call the customer support number "101". I made the call and played "dumb American" (easiest part of the whole process) until I found an agent who spoke English. He told me that I had to put more than 50,000 kip credit on the SIM before the Internet would start working. Excellent! Another piece of information. We walked down the street to the shop that advertised SIM refills and bought enough to put us over the 50,000 mark. I bought two 10,000 kip refills and activated them which took us to 55,000 kip in credit. I hurried back to the hotel and tried the Internet again, expecting it to magically work. Even with 55,000 kip in credit the Internet didn't work. But again, the hotel Internet worked (kinda) and it was getting close to time to leave for Luang Prabang.
The morning after we arrived in Luang Prabang I was searching for how to activate Internet data on a SIM and found a blog post about how to do it on a provider different from the one we chose. I reasoned that if one provider did it that way maybe my provider did it that way too. A little more searching and I found that my provider did it the same way as the other; the last piece of the puzzle. I had to send a certain code to my provider to apply the 55,000 kip credit towards Internet data on my SIM. Could it really be the answer I've been struggling to find?!? I plugged the SIM back into the phone and sent the code. Immediately I received two text messages back indicating that Internet data had been enabled! I hurriedly plugged the SIM back into the mobile hotspot and tried to connect to the Internet using my laptop. It worked. High fives for everyone.
For the curious that haven't yet fallen asleep, our Internet service is 4G and we got 5GB over 30 days for about $11 and that includes the cost of the SIM card. In the states the same deal would have cost me $50. More high fives.
I enjoyed your escapades to get internet access, but I have no idea what you were talking about most of the time--except the "high fives". I can understand that. But I sure do enjoy your blogs--all of them. Grandpa Hull
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what you were talking about most of the time. I did understand the "high fives." But I can imagine running around trying different things. Life is interesting when you are a little bit out of your comfort zone. We love your blogs--every one of them!
ReplyDeleteGrandpa Hull