Cheapest Phone in Nepal

Every traveler to Nepal needs a local phone, because inevitably you'll need to call your guide or your driver or arrange for various activities. The cheapest way to do so is to buy a local SIM chip. Here is what you need:

(1) An unlocked cell phone (Buy one before you go or get your old cell phone unlocked with online instructions)
(2) One passport photo
(3) The seller will need to have a copy of your passport and a local address, so either take your passport or have a copy ready. (I used my hotel address, and the seller did not raise any issue)
(4) Go to a local NCell shop, which you can find at just about any street corner in Kathmandu, and buy a SIM chip by filling out an application and pay 100 Rs for it and add, say, 200 Rs of talk time. For as little as 300 Rs ($4 USD--at Feb 2012's exchange rate) you can have a local phone activated right there at the shop by computer, or you can follow the simple instructions that come with the SIM chip to activate it yourself.
(5) You can recharge talk time should you run out. The minimum amount of recharge is 50 Rs. Talk time is very cheap. For example, I made a 4-minute international call to Beijing for about 40 Rs. Local calls are dirt cheap. So is texting.

I brought two unlocked phones to Nepal, an iPhone 3 and an old Samsung. For some reason the SIM did not work on the iPhone but worked on the Samsung. I have no idea why the iPhone did not work, I wish I'd find out why. The iPhone took a China Mobile SIM just fine before my Nepal trip. At any rate, I was happy that I was able to have an inexpensive local phone while I was in Nepal. It proved to be extremely useful.

You can get an India cellphone the same way.


JMTMD
Feb, 2012