We need to buy Thai SIM cards in Khao Lak (we are going directly there--so please do not advise BKK stores)... I keep hearing there is a cellphone store in Khao Lak, but no one seems to know the name of it.

I hear it is north of the Nang Thong Supermarket on the main highway (4). I need to know the name, so I can tell the shuttle van driver to go there directly from the HKT airport.

Thanks!

If Khao Lak is anything like most places in Thailand then there will be a 7-11.

Buy a SIM card from there rather than run around town trying to find one particular cell phone shop.

Actually Khao Lak is not like the rest of Thailand, they do not sell SIM cards at 7-11s, they sell calling cards, which we don't want... but my hotel concierge has kindly offered to personally drive us to the cell phone store upon our arrival to buy a Thai SIM card from a specific company that will work w/ our 1800mgz phones... as the largest SIM card company is Thailand is for 900mgz phones... we need to buy chargers also, as Nokia has warned us not to use their chargers w/ a 220v to 110v converter & plug adapter... whereas Samsung says their chargers w/ a plug adapter are fine w/ either current... so we need a cellphone store as we need SIM card & Nokia charger.

I bought a SIM card at BKK. There are two cell phone shops. I bought the one from Happy company, which worked great. I have a Nokia phone from the US and used it (got it unlocked from T-Mobile before I left) without problems with the Nokia charger from home. Most places we stayed in didn't even require a plug converter because the outlets were for both types of plugs at the hotels.

Cookie,
We are not going to BKK until the end of our trip. We are flying directly to HKT then drive up to Khao Lak, so BKK stores & hotels are irrelevant, as we will not go to BKK for 2 weeks, as after we depart KL we go to Siem Reap.

I am ready to cancel our T-Mobile, as they have been unable to unlock our Nokia for two months. They gave us a new phone (we paid the shipping) & then sent us an email that they only give us ONE unlock code per 90 days... so it took 4 phone calls to get them to understand that a replacement phone requires a DIFFERENT unlock code.

They have been unable to tell me why the first Nokia phone did not unlock, even though the phone's screen verified it was unlocked after I put in the unlock codes. But, when we put in an ATT SIM card, it asked for a 'security code'... our Samsung phone w/ T-Mobile didn't have this problem. We tried another ATT SIM card, but it also would not work w/ the 'unlocked' Nokia... so they replaced the phone & I am now awaiting another unlock code for the new phone.

Thanks for info on using Nokia charger in 220 v outlets in BKK, as I called Nokia & they told me not to use it w/ an adapter plug or even a converter, obviously they are wrong. Now, if we could just unlock the phone... or should I say get the 'unlocked' phone to work w/ an ATT SIM card.

Nokia also told me that it is T-Mobile that locks the phone & that they have nothing to do with it.

AskOksana: We charged our Nokia phones in Khao Lak (all over Thailand) with no problem. Did not need a converter or special plug as the outlets and voltage were the same as in the US.

We got our SIM card in BKK at the ATT store. It didn't want to work at first and the guy said "your phone's not unlocked", but I knew it was as I had unlocked it myself and seen the screen confirmation. So he tried a couple more times and sure enough it did work. I don't know what he did, but I do know that it sometimes takes some fiddling with codes etc. and a little time lag between inserting the SIM and making a call for it all to work.

It seems to me that you might be able to find a SIM card at the airport shops. Look around there.

You have to change the setting after putting in a new SIM card in order for it to recognize it. The cell phone person at the shop at BKK did it for me. All I had to do before I left was enter the T-Mobile-provided code as you mentioned and I got a confirmation on the screen. I didn't test it with AT&T SIM card, and looks like it was probably a good thing. Have you tried stopping by a non-T-Mobile cell phone shop? They usually know a lot more about unlocking phones and getting various SIM cards to work on them.

Many cell phone shops advertize unlocking phones on Craigslist for $5 or so, at least in LA. May be worth looking around.

If you are driving from Phuket to Khao Lak, you will most definitely pass a 7-11 that sells sim cards.

Every 7-11 I go in usually has a bundle of leaflets on the counter advertising the True Move SIM's they sell (GSM 1800 @99 baht). Don't know what the coverage would be like around Khao Lak so perhaps Dtac would be better.

Could always save yourself worrying about unlocking phones and buy a brand new basic unlocked Nokia for about 1300 baht (Nokia 1100) charger included.