Jun 26 2008
To WiFi or Not to WiFi…
I arrived in Yangshuo this morning and I’m pretty knackered. I’ve been out for a little look around and so far so good except for the ridiculous humidity and nearly getting pick pocketed. It’s a beautiful little place and touristy as hell but that’s ok since having a lively traveller scene usually means a lively bar scene and that’s always good as far as I’m concerned.
I’m hear to volunteer myself as a talking head. I speak English with some Chinese students nightly for 2 hours and in return I get free accommodation, lunch and dinner, and Chinese lessons a couple times per week. I also have to throw in a 50 minute speech on a topic of my choice once per week which might be challenging but I’ve never minded public speaking so it’ll be good to get back into practice. Good and kind of scary.
This morning I was taken to a semi-scary room in an apartment block. It was in a nice enough area but the room was really dingy and musty and everything felt sort of damp. I’ve since been moved to a new room because they need that other room for a couple who are arriving. Ah shucks. So now I’m sharing with a nice French girl in a much nicer room that is part of an apartment shared by some permanent teachers and Chinese admin staff. When I was in the scary, musty room I was sure that I would be booking a hostel instead. But now that I’m in a nice room with an interesting roomie I’m a bit less inclined to want to run to a hostel.
The major problem with boths rooms is a lack of wifi. I will be doing the English speaking thing each night at 6:30pm which gives me the days to do what I want. I plan to do some exploring but would also like to get some work done and the no wifi thing is a killer for me.
The net cafe I’m in now is dark which is ok, and quiet which is unlike Asia. The problem is that it’s smokey and they don’t seem to have space for people to work with their own laptops. So I’m still contemplating a move to a hostel and wishing I hadn’t seen the new room because my decision would have been a lot easier otherwise!
Maybe I’ll have a little experiment for the next week or two and see what I can accomplish without constant internet access. I feel like I’ve been in antisocial mode for a bit too long lately anyways so perhaps I should pack the laptop away altogether and see what chaos unfolds both online and in real life.
So if I don’t check in for a few days you know what I’ve decided!
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I've been travelling since January 2008 living off earnings from the web. Follow me as I bum around Asia and beyond, getting up to mischief and working online as I go. 
You can work on your content then just upload it…maybe it will make you more productive….well, it would for me…i have internet ADD…right now i have 6 pages open! lol
btw- Sent you an e-mail…dunno if you got it or not!!! so be on the lookout!
Hi Kirsty,
You can buy a PCMCIA card from China Unicom or China Mobile that slips into your computer and acts like a cell phone to access the internet. It has it’s own SIM card and a little antenna that improves the reception.
With mine, I can access the internet from a taxi, or a park, or really anywhere there is cellular signal.
The cost for China Unicom was about 1000 RMB all in. That included the laptop card, the SIM card, 4 months of free access, an additional 4 months at 1/4 the normal price (25 RMB per month instead of 100 RMB/month), and all activation fees. The normal cost of this service is 100 RMB / month with a max of 60 hours per month (there is a higher per minute fee after that).
The speed is OK but not great. Sort of like dial up. However, the flexibility and the independence it gives you are well worth it.
You can still use your laptop’s WiFi or a wired connection, but this just gives you one more (independent) option.
Good Luck.
Internet ADD! haha I think that’s what I have too. My little laptop always has way too many windows open.
Thanks for the tip Erik. If I end up going to deepest, darkest Sichuan I will look into that. As it is, I have internet in Beijing and only getting that for a month probably isn’t worth it. Wish I would have known about that before I arrived because I had a similar thing in Bangladesh and it was great.
I am looking at a similar thing as Eric has suggested for Bali. I have to admit that I find it very hard to work now unless I am online as well.
Internet ADD is a SICKNESS!!!
Ever since my laptop broke and I’ve been chained to my desktop I’ve not been nearly as productive as when I used to be able to go ‘away’ from my internet and get my work done.
Besides… if they’re providing a free room you can save some dough over a hostel.