Posts Tagged ‘travel’
Sunday, December 14th, 2014
A dual-SIM phone allows you to stay contactable to your regular contacts yet enables you to take advantage of more affordable local data/voice rates to avoid expensive overseas roaming charges – without having to carry two separate mobile phones.
The Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation) is one of the increasing number of smartphones that support a dual-SIM capability.
Nowadays, it is increasingly easy to get a local SIM card when one travels overseas for work or leisure.
The local SIM allows you to make/receive calls at affordable local rates and more significantly, to stay connected via mobile broadband – without chalking out a huge bill.
You can read
over here all about the benefits of getting a pre-paid local SIM card whenever you travel overseas.
But most mobile phones allow only one SIM card to be installed – so if you put in the local SIM card, you’ll have to remove your regular SIM card and become uncontactable to those who call you on your regular number, unless you forward those calls to your local number.
Otherwise, you’d carry a second single-SIM card phone, which is a hassle.
Not too long ago …
I remember in the early days of smartphones, people were selling dual-SIM card adaptors the size of regular sized SIM cards that you could place two micro SIM cards in.
You’d have to cut your regular sized SIM card yourself into micro SIM card size and it was a daunting proposition for most people to risk damaging your SIM card in the process.
These adaptors only worked for certain models of mobile phones, and you need to switch off and on the phone to switch between the SIM cards.
Fortunately, smartphones have evolved and nowadays, you have dual-SIM card phones that enable you use both SIM cards at the same time.
I brought along a Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation) dual-SIM card phone during my short break to Thailand and it was such a blessing.
There are two micro-SIM card slots so I could keep my regular SIM card in one slot and plug in the prepaid local SIM card that I bought at Suvarnabhumi Airport in the other.
The guy at the True Move counter did all the set up for me.
So after five minutes of queueing and five minutes of installation and payment, I was as connected in Thailand as I was at home back in Singapore.
I could receive roaming calls on my regular number from my friends back in Singapore and other parts of the world, while at the same stay connected on email and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via the mobile broadband on the local SIM card.
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Tags:airport, broadband, Lumia, Mi-Fi, Microsoft Devices, mobile, Moto G, Motorola, prepaid, SIM, Suvarnabhumi, Thailand, Thailand 2014, tips, travel, True Move
Posted in Android, Events, Gadgets, gadgets, Holiday, Lumia, Microsoft, Microsoft Devices, Moto, Motorola, Nokia, Phones, smartphones, Thailand 2014, Tips, travel, Windows Phone 8 | No Comments »
Saturday, December 13th, 2014
First thing I did when I exited the gates in the Arrival Hall in Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok was to get myself a pre-paid SIM card that gave me a local number for voice calls and seven days of mobile data broadband at 299 THB.
The truemove shop is one of the first things you come across when you exit the gates at the Arrival Hall at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.
Immediately after exiting the gates in the Arrival Hall, you’ll come upon this telco shop that sells pre-paid SIM cards, as well as other mobile plans.
The 7-day prepaid SIM card offered by True Move is one of a few pre-paid mobile plans available in Thailand. This package bundles 7 days of unlimited data, free call credits of 100 THB and incoming call, your own local number, attractive international call rates – all for 299 THB or approximately S$12.
Here’s where you can grab an affordable and convenient pre-paid SIM card that gives you mobile broad band as well as voice calls, and a local number.
I’m here for seven days, so I was delighted to grab the 7-day SIM card that costs 299 THB, or S$12.
You get seven days of free broadband mobile data as well as 100 THB of free call credits, which gives you 100min of local talk time at 1 THB/minute.
The seven days are calendar days and includes the day you bought the card, ending at 2359hrs on the seventh day.
What I found useful was not only the free call credits but having a local number that you can give out for others to contact you via local calls.
My wife can now call me at local rates, through her autoroam.
Otherwise, she would have to make an overseas call just to get me on my Singapore mobile number – you know sometimes we get separated in crowded places, or we deliberately split up to visit different shops etc.
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Tags:airport, Bangkok, broadband, Changi, Hua Hin, Mi-Fi, mobile, Moto G, Motorola, prepaid, SIM, Suvarnabhumi, Thailand, Thailand 2014, tips, travel, True Move
Posted in Events, Gadgets, Holiday, Howtos, Internet, Network, Phones, Promotions, smartphones, Thailand 2014, Tips, Travel | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 12th, 2014
It’s the year-end school holidays and the family decided to take an impromptu short break to Thailand for a week.
Welcome to the Land of Smiles. Here the welcoming facade of our hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand.
We’d initially thought about going to Krabi but it looked so crowded in photos on the Web that we decided to choose somewhere that’s more “off the beaten track”.
So we settled on Hua Hin, a popular weekend getaway for the local Thais in Bangkok.
Time for relaxation. Laidback sculpture in the gardens of our hotel in Hua Hin.
It’s a two-and-a-half hour drive from Bangkok and four-plus-hour journey by train or bus.
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Tags:Bangkok, Hua Hin, Microsoft, Moto G, Motorola, Olympus, Skype, Suvarnabhumi, Thailand, Thailand 2014, travel
Posted in Cameras, Events, Gadgets, gadgets, Holiday, Lens, Microsoft, MIL, Moto, Motorola, Olympus, OM-D, Photography, Photos, POTD, Skype, Thailand 2014, Tips, Travel, travel, Zuiko | 2 Comments »
Sunday, October 12th, 2014
Photo of the Day: St Peter’s Abbey is a Benedictine monastery next to the Salzurger Dom in Salzburg, Austria. It is one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking world.
The grand interior of St Peter’s Abbey, which was raised to the status of an Archabbey in 1927. This photo was taken at ISO 1250.
* All photos in this article were taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
The elaborate altar of St Peter’s Abbey. Photo taken at ISO 2500.
St Peter’s Abbey was founded in 696 AD by Saint Rupert, at the site of a church from the early days of Christianity.
Until 987, the abbot of the Abbey was also the Archbishop of Salzburg.
The current building was built in the Romanesque period in the 13th century, and completely renovated in the Baroque style in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The monastery also houses the oldest library in Austria, with some 800 manuscripts and 100,000 volumes.
The light within the Abbey was rather dim and I didn’t want to use any flash – so it was a good opportunity to put the reputed low-light prowess of the Sony A7 to the test.
The Salzburg Madonna
We found this beautiful statue of the Holy Mother and Child within St Peter’s Abbey and I looked it up on the Web afterwards.
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Tags:A7, Austria, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, Europe, full-frame, photography, photos, potd, Salzburg, Sony, St Peter’s Abbey, travel
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel, travel | No Comments »
Sunday, October 5th, 2014
Photo of the Day: We were strolling along a path at the side of a hill one evening when we came across a peaceful lawn that the path overlooked into. Inside the lawn were these two metallic sculptures at one corner, right by the hedge.
The two dogs seemed to be frozen in time, and yet looked as if they would come to life anytime and were about to pounce onto something in the lawn. Photo taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
“有一个宁静的傍晚，我在奥地利萨尔茨堡山边小径走着时看到了路边一个私人住宅的小草坪里摆设了两只铁雕小狗狗，栩栩如生；就好似将要向前扑跳，捕猎什么猎物似地。耐人寻味。” – 科技点心（微薄）
We had just finished visiting the Salzburg Fortress and were walking towards the Nonnberg Abbey when we came across these metallic sculptures in a quiet lawn.
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Tags:A7, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, full-frame, photography, photos, potd, Salzburg, Sony, travel
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, cameras, Events, gadgets, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel | No Comments »
Sunday, September 28th, 2014
Photo of the Day: The Salzburger Dom overlooks the Residenzplatz in the centre of Salzburg Altstadt (old town). It contains the baptismal font in which Mozart was baptised.
According to Wikipedia, during the second World War, single bomb crashed through the central dome over the crossing. Repairs and restoration were only completed in 1959.
* All photos in this article were taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
The Salzburg Cathedral – called the Salzburger Dom in German – is dedicated to Saint Rupert and Saint Vergilius.
The interior of the Salzburger Dom.
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Tags:A7, Austria, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, Europe, full-frame, photography, photos, potd, Residenzplatz, Salzburg, Salzburg Cathedral, Salzburger Dom, Sony, travel
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel, travel | 1 Comment »
Sunday, August 24th, 2014
Photo of the Day: Resinzbrunnen is the grand baroque fountain that sits in the middle Residenzplatz – right in the centre of Salzburg Altstadt (old town).
We couldn’t resist splashing the water in the fountain as well when we visited the Residenzbrunnen. Photo taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
It is also the fountain that Maria – in the movie “The Sound of Music” – splashes as she sings “I have confidence in me”, on her way to the von Trapp home.
The Residenzbrunnen is located in the middle of the Residenzplatz, one of the most popular tourist spots in Salzburg. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with 24-70mm lens. Sepia effect added with Adobe Photoshop CC (2014). Photo credit: John Tan.
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Tags:A7, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, fountain, full-frame, Maria, photography, photos, potd, Residenzbrunnen, Residenzplatz, Salzburg, Sony, Sound of Music, travel, von Trapp
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Events, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel | 1 Comment »
Sunday, August 10th, 2014
Last Friday, I brought the two kids to the Alive Museum Singapore at the Suntec City Mall.
* All photos (apart from the first photo) were taken with the Sony A7R full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Full-frame E-mount Prime Lens.
Fun Friday night out at Alive Museum Singapore. Photo taken with Samsung GALAXY S5.
Although the estimated time needed to cover every exhibit was around one-and-a-half hours, we lingered for two-and-a-half and ended up with 250 photos.
More importantly, we had oodles of fun and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
“Can I join the ballerinas in the painting?”
The Alive Museum was opened in 2009 in South Korea and debuted in Singapore on 12 June this year.
Taken from the right perspective, this exhibit gives the illusion that sea water and penguins were flooding out of the painting.
The 3D visual illusion museum aims to serve as a fun and unique treat for the whole family, locals and tourists alike.
It offers a sensory experience that tricks one’s visual, physical and environmental perceptions, bringing fantasy to reality.
Not only can you touch and feel the exhibits, you can also hop into the frame and become a part of the art masterpieces that play on optical illusions.
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Tags:Alive Museum, entertainment, lifestyle, museum, photography, photos, Singapore, travel
Posted in A7, audioVisual, Cameras, Entertainment, Events, events, Lifestyle, MIL, Photography, Photos, Prices, Sony, travel, Visits | 10 Comments »
Thursday, August 7th, 2014
Photo of the Day: Nonnberg Abbey (Stift Nonnberg) is a Benedictine monastery in Salzburg, Austria.
This was the convent where Maria served as a postulant before she was sent to look after the children of Captain von Trapp in the musical and movie “The Sound of Music”.
Graves within the compounds of the Nonnberg Abbey, just outside the Abbey Church. The entrance to the church can be seen in the background.
Maria Augusta Kutschera had joined Nonnberg Abbey as a postulant after graduating from college when she was eighteen.
My family and I took a stroll to Nonnberg Abbey after descending from the Hohensalzburg Fortress in the evening.
We wanted to visit the convent from which Maria came from before joining the von Trapp family.
It was really peaceful and tranquil – and free of other tourists.
As a postulant, she was requesting admission into the Abbey as a nun, which may or may not be granted.
The original plan was for her to look after one of Georg von Trapp’s daughters and return after 10 months to formally enter the nunnery.
She eventually went on to look after all of Georg’s seven children and agreed when the latter proposed to her, asking her to stay with him and become a second mother to his children.
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Tags:A7, Abbey, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, convent, full-frame, Maria, monastery, Nonnberg, nunnery, photography, photos, potd, Salzburg, Sony, Sound of Music, travel, von Trapp
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, travel | 8 Comments »
Sunday, August 3rd, 2014
Photo of the Day: Our first two nights in Austria were at the Villa Trapp, the original mansion of the Von Trapp family, in the suburbs of Salzburg.
The entrance to the Villa Trapp – where the real von Trapp family lived and played.
* All the photos in this article were taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
The back of Villa Trapp with the lawn and facing the mountains. We picnic-ed for lunch here upon arrival on the first day.
I first watched the movie, “The Sound of Music” as a child and loved it – so did my entire family.
Fountain on the wall of one of the sheds on the grounds of Villa Trapp.
So when we decided to visit Austria, we jumped at the idea of staying in Villa Trapp, where the real Von Trapp family actually lived from 1923 to 1938, when they migrated to the US.
This house was not the one seen in the movie, which used two other grander houses for exterior shots and a studio set in Hollywood for the interior scenes.
The stately three-storey building was built in 1863 and has 22 rooms.
Georg Von Trapp had bought and moved to the house in 1923 with his seven children when his wife died of Scarlet fever.
Maria Augusta Kutschera came to the von Trapp family in 1926 to take care of one of the children – also named Maria.
Wedding photo of Georg and Maria von Trapp, on a mantelpiece in the lounge of Villa Trapp.
Although she was to stay for only 10 months, she began looking after the other children as well and married Georg in 1927.
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Tags:A7, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, full-frame, hotels, photography, photos, potd, Salzburg, Sony, Sound of Music, travel, villa, Villa Trapp, von Trapp
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel | 6 Comments »
