Prepaid Cellphone?

[Guest]

I am wondering if it is possible to buy a cellphone in Pattaya and just get prepaid mins. for it like they have in the states. I don't want to pay monthly as I'm not in Thailand that often but I would like to be able to maybe buy minutes for the phone whenever I'm there. If it is possible where in Pattaya could I get a phone to do this.

Thanks--Rip

[gummigut]

ANY telephone shop. Any large department store. Most small department stores. Can even buy them at road stalls. Not kidding. They are all over the place and you can't miss them. Largest two are DTAC and AIS. Both have prepay systems. Basically you don't get minutes, you get baht. So you buy 500 baht credit and it's like 4 baht or 5 baht a minute for a call. Receiving a call doesn't cost you a dime. The credit does expire in 3 months or so, but if you just buy another 500 baht card, it will extend the life of the exhisting credit. Shop around and compare. Oh, when you orignially buy the phone, it generally comes with 1500 or 2000 baht of phone credit.

<<burp>>

[Guest]

So what does a cheap phone cost? Any idea?

[iuytrede]

cheapest one2call (the prepaid system of AIS): Sagem MC 920, 3300 B, including 1800 B airtime

much better: cheapest Dprompt (the prepaid system of DTAC): Motorola Talkabout, 3500 B, including 2000 B airtime

DTAC is useless if you go to remote villages, then you really need AIS. If you stick to Pattaya or Bangkok, DTAC is good enough and generally cheaper.

BTW it would probably be cheaper to buy your mobile in MBK (3rd and 4th floor) in Bangkok, not in Pattaya