Like true Singaporeans, most of us are capable of getting irritated by everything, even in situations where we are supposed to feel carefree -- like being on holiday.

And one thing that gets us hot and bothered when we’re overseas is inconvenient access to internet.

Trivial enough to not dominate our conversations, it’s nevertheless something we’ve all experienced. And these “problems” can pile up to become a big pain in the butt.

Hunting for a SIM card

There are two places you can get the foreign SIM card from -- the airport and... not the airport.

The former might be relatively reliable and convenient, but it usually comes with a high price tag (depending on the country) and long queues (in any country, hur) because… all the other tourists. And if your flight lands at an ungodly hour, the shops might be closed.

You could go through the trouble of hunting for a more affordable one at suburban areas, but that might be a hassle.

What follows is a long internal battle, one that often results in you getting a SIM card as late as three days into the trip.

Might still get scammed even after looking high and low

Even if we go through the hassle of finding a small-town place to get a local SIM card, we might still get scammed and end up paying more for it.

The seller might tell us the card costs $x, but fail to mention that there’s zero data in it, causing us to pay way more just to activate the card.

And don’t forget… you’d still need to top it up when your prepaid SIM credits run out.

The risk of losing your SG SIM card

Alright, so you managed to get a SIM card at an ~okay~ price. There’s still the small issue of storing your Singapore SIM card in a safe place.

Kiap it between your phone and the phone cover? Might drop out. Put it inside your wallet? Might still fall out, or your coins could scratch the card. Stick it onto a card with scotch tape? Scotch tape might come off.

And the cost of losing your Singapore SIM card? Priceless.

Missing out on important alerts in Singapore

With a local prepaid SIM card, the government/hospital/bank from Singapore will have trouble contacting you via call or SMS. With your Singapore number disabled, you might miss out on important alerts like say, a stranger trying to hack into your bank account, while you’re away.

The trouble of switching back to your SG SIM card on the plane

Because it’s absolutely necessary to have internet at all times, most of us often carry out the SIM card switcheroo on the plane back to our homeland.

This means bringing the ejector pin needle around, and also running the risk of having the tiny SIM card slip out of our hands… into the gaps of the plane seat.

The bulky WiFi device

Of course, there’s always the option of portable WiFi devices for people who cannot deal with the surgical-like procedure of inserting and reinserting their SIM card.

But if you’re sharing the WiFi device with a few others, chances are that no one wants to be carrying it. This is the typical friendship-ruining issue people face when overseas.

It’s especially difficult on a night out, because that’s when the I-want-to-carry-as-little-things-as-possible attitude is the strongest. Not only is it unsafe to fit it into your pocket, you’d have to fork out hefty penalty fees if you lose it (which you probably will).

Besides carrying it, there’s also the matter of having to stick together with the person carrying the WiFi device, which makes roaming by yourself tricky.

Plus, the WiFi device’s battery might not last the full day, especially if several heavy users connect to it, which means you’d need a powerbank.

Which means you’d have to charge your powerbank. Which leads us to the next point.

Having to charge many things before going out

Travelling with portable WiFi means one more thing to charge. This means having to remember to charge your phone + portable charger + WiFi device every night before you sleep.

And if you have another camera or video camera with rechargeable batteries, good luck cramming them all into the power socket.

Roaming

Let me present the ideal circumstance to you: Imagine going on a holiday and not having to go through the hassle of finding local SIM cards, or carry an external device around to get internet.

As in.. you get to use the internet like you would in Singapore on your phone, the moment you disembark the plane. With Singtel ReadyRoam, you’d be able to get internet on a 4G network just like in Singapore, which means no more worrying about changing numbers, losing your SIM card, or lugging a WiFi device around.

It’s so easy, all you have to do is:

• Activate ReadyRoam on My Singtel app
• Go overseas
• Have fun and ‘gram to your heart’s content
• Come back

That’s it.

Find out more about Singtel ReadyRoam here.

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Singtel Readyroam is the widest multi-destination plan available in the market now. There are three different plans to choose from, across 56 destinations. You can even visit multiple countries in the 30 day validity period without having to buy SIM cards from each country.

What’s more, Singtel partners with tier 1 operators in each country, so you can enjoy reliable connection and wide coverage on the 4G network you are connected to. ReadyRoam also comes with ReadyRoam Network Lock, which keeps you connected to preferred networks so there are no unintended pay-per-use data roaming charges.

This sponsored post in collaboration with Singtel makes Mothership.sg’s writers happy that they don’t have to worry about losing their SIM card again.