Travelling_Victor

Hi everyone,

We are planning to go to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos as independent travellors for a month starting in mid-February 2008. Is it worth bring a small laptop to stay communicated with the folks back and to get the latest travel info about the local areas as we move around?

In addition, is there any advantage of bring an unlocked GSM based phone (that is currently connected to the Rogers network in Canada). It would be used primarily to pick up or send text messages. I beleive the phone will work in Vietnam but I am not too sure if it will be of any use in either Cambodia or Laos.

In summary, will the computer and cell phone be extra dead weight? As an alternative, is it better to use the local internet cafes or internet services in the hotels to communicate with family members back in Canada?

Hanuman

Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos(plus many other countries) uses the GSM network so your phone will work if you have activated the international roaming from Canada. It can get very expensive for voice and text call and many here will opt to buy a local sim card with a local number instead.

Laptop for me is a definite must and I can download photos from my digital camera as well as watch movies(DVD and downloaded movies). Internet access with the laptop is also a big plus so if it's not too troublesome I would bring them all with me.

Elizabeth_S

Hi Victor - watching those Rogers roaming rates - Cambodia for example is $4/minute within the country and $6/minute incoming/outgoing for int'l - Thanks Ted! (Laos was the same last year when I checked and I imagine Vietnam is too).

If you want you could pick up a local SIM card - rates aren't great but better than Rogers roaming! But be sure you can make outbound international calls - that's usually blocked and has to be opened up on a pre paid SIM.

Re computer - we traveled with a small laptop and connectivity was excellent in Cambodia (our hotel - the Angkor Holiday Hotel) had broadband and many of the hotels in LP had it as well. I also do my photo backup so don't leave home without my laptop - but I'm used to carrying it around now.

SirHalberd

You could use one of the many internet shops for emailing back home.

If you stay in cheap hotels they may not have free wifi anyway. If that is the case then you would probably end up in an internet shop anyway paying the same rate.

You could bring a small portable hard drive or several memory cards to record your photos on also.

Just another opinion.

I use a flash drive with portable Firefox on it in internet shops. The Firefox home page is identical to what I have on my home computers. I keep a couple extra memory cards with me in case I go crazy with photos. This way I don't have to worry about my laptop being stolen, don't have to carry it all the time and I also do not worry about dropping it!

Neil_Oz

Victor, unless I'm missing something (wouldn't be the first time), Canadian GSM uses the 850 and 1900 MHz frequency bands, along with the USA. Vietnam uses the international standard 900 & 1800 MHz, or did when I was there. That's telling me you'd need a triband or quadband phone, unlocked if you want to buy SIMs with prepaid credits locally.

I can't really say anything useful about taking a laptop, but I'm guessing that WiFi access would be limited at best, meaning you'd be forced onto hotel phone lines. If it were me, I think I'd leave it at home and use internet cafes and any guest facilities your hotels may provide. Other Fodorites may have more up-to-date and positive advice though.

Hanuman

That's a good point Neil. Victor, please check your phone if it's a triband or quadband as Neil have mentioned.

http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/roa_vnvc.shtml

Travelling_Victor

Thanks everyone for your opinions. Based on the link to GSM world my Rogers GSM phone should be able to be used in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in Raoming mode. My primary reason to take the phone is to be able to receive text messages from my family in Canada in case of emergencies. The pickup of text messages if free for any countries that Rogers partners with. However, the cost of sending a text message or making a call can be quite expensive when roaming and hence I would probably first use the internet and than follow up with a phone call using a calling card or via Canada Direct.

I'll check the hotels that I am staying at to see if they provide free internet contection or service. The idea of lugging a small laptop all around the country may be a problem if it fails to operate during the trip. The idea of backing up the photos onto a portable hardrive or CDs at a internet cafe may be the best solution. I will also bring a small USB 2.0 memory card reader.

Thanks everyone for your tips.

BostonHarbor

If you are taking your laptop with you and have WiFi, just get a cheap headset and download Skype and make calls for $0.02/minute to the US. That's what I'm doing. I have a quad-band phone with a MaxRoam card (160 countries) for emergencies, but will use Skype to call my family from Laos, Vietnam or Cambodia on Christmas and New Years like I did in India. Go to www.skype.com and get 10 euros of "Skype Out" so that you can call land and cell lines anywhere in the world. You can get a compact headset for $10 at Bestbuy.

My Maxroam card is something like $0.60 from Vietnam and Laos and $2.00/min from Cambodia. It is free for anyone calling me as they give you a local US (or other country) number.

I always travel with my tiny Vaio laptop.