Travel: Korea - General

[mathsparks]

hi chief. I did call singtel before leaving. there’s no need to activate for auto-roaming; only need to activate for pay-as-you-roam.


perhaps a thread for roaming and adaptors?

[Way2GO]

mathsparks:

hi way2go, insider,

thanks much. our phones and sim cards are all 3g ones. never encounter prob in other countries we visited except tokyo...cdma network too??

so anyidea is cdma phone dependent? as in only motorola phones or somethg? :?

:

GSM and CDMA are two competing technologies for mobile phones and are not compatible with each other - but that's for another discussion.

I haven't gone back to S. Korea and Japan for many years now and my bad, GSM is more pervasive worldwide and a check shows S. Korea and Japan also have GSM besides CDMA networks.

So a quick check on your situation:

1. Roaming agreements between SINGTEL and Korean carrier(s)? check

2. International roaming service activated? check

3. Correct phone?
Your phones should at least have triband or better yet quadband to enhance using your GSM phones globally since the GSM frequencies used in different countries may differ. A quadband phone will cover all four GSM frequencies used worldwide.

Try turning your phone off and then turn it on. Your phone should capture a selection of available networks. Or if you know which Korean network carries your GSM band, you can also lock onto that network manually. If it still doesn't work, the problem is likely your phone - time to change phones the next time before you go to Korea, Japan or USA. :lol:

[mathsparks]

thanx way2go. my old phone so lau pok, dual band nia…umts and gsm only. it was able to detect 2 sk telecom networks automatically as well as manual. But after i selected either telcos, it refuses to grant me access. anyway, i only travel once a year, so no hurry to change phone yet. And, as expected, singtel has not responded to my feedback.

Hi insider, dragon hill spa is really a wonderful place! Thanx for sharing. We spent almost 4 hours there. Kids and hb swam at the outdoor pool then we tried all the diff saunas; son only went for the ice one plus the hinoki forest room. Lunch there. Then continued with the various baths. Left son in the internet room. Absolutely fantastic place.

[mathsparks]

actually it was rather easy. Train to yongsan station, leave by exit gate no. 1 (we asked at the ktx tourist info counter), down a long flight of steps, turn right walk till you come to a small road. The spa is just across. From train station to spa, about 15mins walk.


And girl and i went ice skating at gwanghwamun square. Our first outdoor experience! Marred by lousy skates.. Can't expect much since we only paid 1k won for an hour. Cheap skates, indeed! :lol: Son was sick so rest in hotel.

[CMF]

On our recent Korea trip, we engaged the services of an English speaking guide. (David Chun ([email protected]). Speaks good English, pleasant and patient. He customises site visits with or without transport included, and is able to also arrange for a Mandarin speaking guide if so required.

[mathsparks]

Pictures of the adaptor that we brought to seoul:

http://www.postimage.org/

http://www.postimage.org/

Electrical outlet found in most hotel:
http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=gxPx0d0

Heard of the saying a square peg in a round hole? Describes precisely what's happened.

[angelyn]

hi mathsparks


understand that voltage in korea is 110w whereas our electrical are all in 220w. can the adaptor pic which be used to charge hp, ds lite, computer, dvd players? Do we need to buy a voltage transformer?

[mathsparks]

hp, ds lite..no problem. din bring lappy/dvds so not sure. but the annoying thing is the squarish adaptor we brought along cant be used in most hotels becoz of that recessed circle thingy in their outlet.


but no worries, dear, just pay a deposit of 1k won n they'll lend it to you.

maybe mckenzy n way2go can help you. you can also readup here.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7542

PS: Dont forget to read above posts on mobile network.

[angelyn]

thank you for your advice.


but voltage is different… so still can charge if use the round pin type? don’t need voltage transformer?

[mathsparks]

i din use leh…not for my camers either.