Data roaming beats WiFi dongles + overseas SIM cards. Fight me.

Let's rumble.

Sponsored | December 15, 2018, 06:47 PM

Ok, I’m a peace-loving guy, fighting is not my strong suit.

But I’m pretty keen to put this argument to bed. Let’s step outside, shall we?

You cannot travel light

If travelling is the light, then packing your bags is the freaking tunnel that absolutely never ends.

Here’s a typical checklist:

Camera + lenses + SD cards + batteries + charger

Laptop + charger

iPad + charger

Handphone + power bank + charger

Travel adaptor

You get the picture.

Throw in the WiFi dongle and you are ready to set up your own electronics shop. Lugging along so many gadgets also means...

You cannot relax until you find the charging points

Sure the WiFi dongle is cool and easy to use, but having an additional gadget means one thing: you have one more item to charge.

Which ultimately means you not only have to lug along said dongle but also its charger and a high capacity power bank.

Share with other people (oh we will get there) and you will, instead of looking for cafes with free WiFi, hunt for cafes with charging points.

You cannot be alone throughout the trip

Yes, it’s fun with friends but consider these scenarios:

Standing outside the toilet like a tool while the other person answers the call of nature with phone in hand, editing and subsequently, sharing with everyone (135 followers) the smashed avocado toast photo.

Spending inordinate amount of time inside a luxury handbag shop while the other person does an IG live asking the followers (the same 135) which bag to buy.

Yeah you can share the cost, but sharing the dongle means sticking together for most parts of the trip.

Makes you wish you stayed at home alone instead.

You cannot receive important texts

So you think SMSes are useless? Here’s a non-exhaustive list of important texts you will miss if don’t use data roaming:

Texts from your parents who don’t have a data plan.

Alerts when you, or worse someone else, use your credit cards overseas.

One-time Passwords if you didn’t bring the ibanking token (happened to me, total nightmare).

Texts from your thirsty ex.

You cannot enjoy a hassle-free experience

Travelling should be as hassle-free as possible. Switching SIM cards can be a drag if you misplace your original sim card (yes, there are dual-sim phones but some cannot use two lines simultaneously. Please check properly).

Fact: When you minimise the number of equipment, you minimise the chances of Murphy’s Law.

Also, you can just subscribe to data roaming with an app.

But you can subscribe to this service

Yes, it’s simple. Just sign up via My Singtel App before the trip.

Singtel ReadyRoam is available in single-destination and multi-destination plans – Malaysia, 9, 18 and 56 destinations.

The cool thing about this is that there’s the flexibility of using the 1GB for frequent visits to Malaysia or multiple destinations at no additional cost.

Sure, it costs at least $5 but having a hassle-free experience?

Priceless.

This sponsored article allows this writer to roam freely around the world.