Oroaming in Bangkok

Some phones have it, some don’t. I was lucky to find out that mine does—it’s a software feature called Oroaming.

What it does is allow me to purchase a short-term data roaming plan directly from my phone before travelling overseas. No need to buy a local SIM card, and no need to activate international roaming through my Malaysian telco. The plan is activated through the device itself, and payment can be done easily via Touch ’n Go, credit card or other supported methods. It’s meant to be convenient—and I must say, it really was.

I gave it a try during my recent trip to Bangkok. I paid RM10 for a seven-day data plan. The downside was that I only got 1GB of data which, in today’s world, doesn’t go very far. Even surfing the web is notorious for draining data, let along using the mobile apps. But when I compared it to Unifi’s international roaming fee for Thailand—RM9 per day—it was still a clear win. For a five-day trip, that would’ve cost me RM45. Instead, I stretched that RM10 plan across my whole stay while outdoors. In the evenings, I simply switched to the hotel’s complimentary WiFi to conserve my mobile data.

Honestly, if I’d known about this feature earlier, I would’ve used it during my Singapore trip last December. It would’ve saved me both hassle and some money.