Exploring Paradise: Tours and Travel with BlackBerry in Bali 2011

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When I first arrived in Bali, I didn't expect to have much luck getting my Blackberry hooked up with a local cell phone carrier, as I had experienced difficulty doing so in Kalimantan. Despite Indonesia being one of the largest users of Blackberry smartphones, the technical process of getting BB plans registered can be tricky.

Upon arriving at the hotel near Jl Poppies 1, we went to the phone shop to get a new local SIM card. We were able to purchase an AXIS starter pack for Rp50,000, which had a retail price of Rp2,000.

Getting a prepaid SIM card in Bali is relatively straightforward, but the reliability of the service is not always up to par. We found that the 3G service was often disconnected every 10 minutes or so.

Overall, getting a prepaid SIM card in Bali was a pleasant experience, especially considering the potential for tourists to be taken advantage of. The call service and internet rate are also fairly cheap.

It's important to remember that your BlackBerry device must be unlocked in order to use any of the Indonesian prepaid SIM cards. There are options from Telkomsel, XL Axiata, Indosat, AXIS and 3 (Three). All of them offer prepaid SIM cards for mobile internet. Most Indonesian telcos still have BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) or BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) on prepaid mobile. The settings and activation can be done via text code or operator call.

Despite the mobile network being somewhat unreliable, we were still glad to have our phone connected with a local carrier. This allowed us to stay connected, as well as access valuable travel information about the island - a priceless experience.

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Photos

'Bapak-bapak' on the street of Bali
wearing traditional batik painting