The tech-savvy traveler goes nowhere without a smartphone and a laptop. Throw in an mp3 player plus an e-reader, and you’ll be toting quite a bit of technology. No judging; these days it’s no fun to do without. But taking your gadgets across distances worth eight hours of flying or more isn’t like taking the same across the states border. You don’t want to end up with dead batteries at your destination and no way to recharge, and you certainly don’t want your smartphone to go dumb when you need Google Maps to find that restaurant or book that hotel. So here are a few things to keep in mind.
First, a checklist! Bringing your charger and power cables is a given, but if you are coming to Southeast Asia chances are good the pins won’t quite fit into power sockets in Thailand. Invest in a power adapter or three, or bring an extension. Hotels in Thailand worth their salt will let you borrow one for free, but it’s best to take your own just in case. For good measure, consider extra batteries too: again, there’s no telling whether you will be stranded in an airport due to delayed flights or other mishaps and despite your best efforts, your smartphone, iPad or iPod Touch might still run out of juice mid-flight (though in the case of iPod/iPad you will be a little hard-pressed to swap batteries unless you feel like taking a screwdriver to it, so look into power mats instead or start considering alternative devices).
Once you’re aboard the plane, there are some more things to keep in mind. While the stewards may bother you about shutting down your devices, some airlines aren’t too strict with this (and provide in-flight WiFi to boot). However, if you leave your phone’s radio on—the bit that checks for cellphone towers—the battery will drain to nothing within an hour or two of the plane’s takeoff; nothing sucks down power like a phone looking for a cell tower while being out of range of any. How do you fix this without turning your phone off? Simple: turn on airplane mode. It will shut down all phone signal and Bluetooth radio, but you will still be able to connect to WiFi (if any is available) and you can still use your smartphone for everything else, whether to e-read or play Bejeweled to pass the time.
Prior to touching down at Suvarnabhumi or Chiang Mai International Airport, make sure to research your phone’s specs. Nothing complicated! Just try a search with the keyphrases “[your phone’s model] 900 3g” or “[your phone’s model] 850 3g,” as those are the two bands most conveniently available in Thailand. At the time of writing, 3G in Thailand is can be had through the carriers AIS and TrueMove, which have licenses for the 900MHz and 850 MHz bands respectively. Assuming your phone is unlocked and GSM, meaning it has a SIM slot, when you arrive you can pop in an AIS or TrueMove SIM and you’ll be on your merry way. Don’t forget to make sure it’s a 3G SIM and don’t bother with DTac; they are currently offering data at speeds no higher than Edge and what they do offer is not cheaper than their counterpart packages from AIS and TrueMove.
These should get you started on preparing your gadgets for traveling to Thailand. Never make do without your beloved devices again!
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