No, I’m not referring to the crazy energy drinks that truck drivers drink like water. Vietnam is wired to the hilt with free, fast internet access. After the digital wasteland that is Cambodia, I’m one happy geek.
There’s really no need to search for an internet cafe here. Most cafes and hotels have fast, free wifi. They don’t even bother to password-protect their nodes, so if the net goes down where you’re sitting, you can usually just pick up a signal from the place next door. To give you an idea of just how good the bandwidth is: I downloaded and installed a 900MB OS patch while enjoying my dinner at a small cafe in Mui Ne.
Buying a Vinaphone SIM (less than $4) for your cell phone will give you access to 3G internet almost anywhere in the country. In Thailand, I only found 3G in Bangkok, but here I can get a signal even while riding around the more remote coastal areas. I had planned on writing a post about how to enable cheap 3G coverage on your iPhone, but Skinny Backpacker beat me to it, so I’d recommend you pop over to his site for more info.
For as little as $.65 a day, you can have unlimited 3G bandwidth and an easily-installed profile will enable tethering for your laptop. For some reason, my Mac dislikes about 30% of the wifi hotspots, refusing to link up. When that happens, I just whip out my iPhone and get back online. Also handy when the power goes out, which is often.
It’s the best of both worlds.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Wes, the more I read about Vietnam (from you and others) the further it climbs up the ladder as the next long-term place to visit. Fast, free WiFi almost seals the deal. Thanks for the great write-ups.
.-= Globetrooper Todd´s last blog ..HOW TO: Actually Get Cheap Flights Using Airline Frequent Flyer Programs – Part 1 =-.
Wow. I had no idea. That’s amazing. When I was there in the 90s, you couldn’t even make a phone call out.
.-= zoe zolbrod´s last blog ..Review Round-Up =-.
Thanks for the mention Wes! To be fair, I was considering a B&W series for Vietnam as well and… :)
.-= Dustin Main – Skinny Backpacker´s last blog ..Photo of the Day – Vietnam Jr World Cup =-.
Ha! We’re even, then ;)
Good to know!! :)
.-= jamie´s last blog ..Brolicdesigns: Giveaway!! =-.
Great to know. I’ve been a little concerned about how the Internet would work while I’m in SE Asia. Looks like I’m well covered! How was Thailand’s coverage?
.-= Eli´s last blog ..Weekend Update: 6/19/2010 =-.
Thailand isn’t as good for 3G — only found that in the largest cities. Wifi is around, but rarely free. Not bad, but not as good as Vietnam. Cambodia was tough, once you get away from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
Of course, the government has a hard-on for censorship, so if you want to use Facebook, Youtube, WordPress etc. you’ll need to mess around with proxies…
.-= Mitch´s last blog ..DAY 67- The Country Of No =-.