Thailand GPRS Activated

Thailand GPRS Activated
Bangkok, Thailand Southeast Asia
Andy of HoboTraveler.com

I search my own site in an internet café, found this page about how to travel to the AIS or One Two Call office here in Bangkok.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/2006/05/mobile-office-thailand_14.html

I printed off, took a taxi to the office for 100 Baht, not for about 17 US dollars I have internet access for a month and a pretty Thai girl helped me configure.

Thailand dial number *99***1#
Right Click on My Computer - Hardware - Dunn Modem - Properties - Advanced
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet"
1175 customer service
022996952
Check Balance GPRS *139

500 Baht for 250 Hours of Internet Access.

Slow, steady, and dependable, and works on all the islands and as I travel, not many thing in my world of internet demands high speed. To use skype.com I will not just stop in an internet café.

Thailand GPRS Activated

A Hobo with No Cell Phone Internet in Togo

A Hobo with No Cell Phone Internet in Togo
Lome, Togo West Africa
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Andy of HoboTraveler.com

Togocel in Togo effectively cut off GPRS Cellular Network Internet Access here for me August 1, 2007. The cost is now around 50 US dollars per hour or one dollar per minute.

GPRS is new in Togo and there was an experimental time whereby internet access was free to use. As best I understand and for sure, there is nothing clear, the free period has ended and now people in Togo need to pay. I have been trying to call Togocel to reaffirm what the present rates are; however, the contact person I know does not answer either calls or text messages.

I suppose to actually learn the prices I need to go to the office of Togocel and sit and wait. I am not going to the office of Togocel and wait three hours to learn the cost of Internet is 50 US dollars per hour; this is just not effective use of time.

I have internet access in Lome; I can go to the internet café as they open here in Lome and access the internet for about one dollar per hour. What I do not have is the ability to randomly search for answers to questions on the Wiki Encyclopedia or chat with people, I am now communicating asynchronously as Bill Gates says in his book The Road Ahead.

This may be more relaxing as now have no internet addiction.

A Hobo with No Cell Phone Internet in Togo

CNIA Cellular Network Internet Access

CNIA Cellular Network Internet Access
Lome, Togo West Africa
Monday, June 18, 2007
Andy of HoboTraveler.com

I think this makes sense, take the words:

Cellular Network
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_Network

And

Internet Access
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_access

Equals

CNIA - Cellular Network Internet Access
http://www.hobotraveler.com/cellular-network-internet-access/

I feel there is mass confusion, as I read of many ways to access the internet with the essential conduit being a cell phone. The information is being explained starting with a specific technology, then going to general, and it just does not make sense.

The Cellular Network is the pivotal idea! It is the essential ingredient.
I need the cell phone to access the network, then onto the internet.

The confusion or my clarity on the problem is this, I travel from country to country, I do not have many options or choices, and I must use the internet system that is available. I keep searching for a truly wireless solution that covers the whole country.

I have many readers who recommend something that works for them, when in reality I can only use what works in the place where I am at, what is used where they are located is not applicable. Maybe if I reworded the terms, I could find out what I want.

I do not care or what to know how it works, I just want to use my computer and a Prepaid SIM card and access the internet. I keep searching for more information and it seems like an advertisement on how much we know and not explaining in practical words.

CNIA Cellular Network Internet Access

Tell me what is available using a cell phone, the local cellular network and my computer together to access the internet?

I am not excited to hear, in Belgium there is high speed this, and that, I like them am wanting to help me and others go to Africa, etc.

Ok, I now want to know, how can I access the Internet in Cameroon using the Cellular Network. What options are available under the for Cellular Network Internet Access?
http://www.hobotraveler.com/cellular-network-internet-access/

Types of CNIA - THE USE A CELL PHONE as the CONDUIT!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPRS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Data_Rates_for_GSM_Evolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSDPA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDMA

Confusion...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Data_Service

CNIA, GPRS, Mobile Office, Satellite Internet, Internet, Togo, Cellular Network Internet Access

CNIA Cellular Network Internet Access

Ghana GPRS Internet Too Expensive

Ghana GPRS Internet Too Expensive
Lome Togo West Africa
Thursday, May 31, 2007
by Andy of HoboTraveler.com

Ghana is Not Ok for Mobile Office.

--- Unless you are a NGO with the normal unlimited budget.
--- About one-half months wages for one hour of surfing for the average Ghana person.

I am trying to find countries acceptable for a person who wishes to work by using the internet. I call this my Mobile Office.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/mobileoffice

David from MobileAfrica.net has made a good page outlining the options to use GPRS internet in Ghana and all the other words. This is for people who want use a cell phone and connect to the internet with their laptops.
http://www.mobileafrica.net/a91.htm

I was confused, therefore got some clarification on prices, the minimal cost with the cheapest provider in Ghana is 1 US dollar per meg, this is about maybe a third to a seventh the price of Satellite, therefore Satellite is maybe still a better option for the NGO - ONG pay-too-much people. For a normal tourist writing emails on Yahoo Mail or Gmail.com the cost would be roughly 30 US per hour, or more if you looked at any photos. Yes, a person can do many high tech tricks, however you have to be a whiz kid to use this cheaply.

I am told about the expensive price:
- This is Africa -

I thought, what does that mean, why is Africa so expensive, the average West African person make between 1 and 2 US dollars per day, so expensive no normal person from Ghana can afford to buy this, who is crazy enough to pay this?

Which I am told it means,
- Abnormal things are normal in Africa. -

I call this,
- Almost Africa. -

As normal in Africa, they make something that is Almost OK, but is not OK, good ideas but then refuse to give you good service or good value.

My recommendation for Ghana is to do the Ghana Africa Gouge thing, then when a person has paid in 30 US on a pre-paid card, then all kilobyte transfer afterwards to be free and unlimited. This is how Nepal is doing it; I think the best method of pricing for GPRS pricing, easy and transparent.
http://www.spicenepal.com

Mobile Africa is great page about Africa, sort of a digest of all headlines of GPRS in Africa, the explained and written well, however needs to work on using Euros or Dollars as common currency to understand and be a global community site.

Almost Africa, the electricity just went off here in Lome in the Hotel, the owner is out running around, a Frenchie guy, nobody can turn it on until he returns. Almost Africa, is almost ok, abnormal is normal, the most expensive internet in the countries that can least afford to pay it.

Ghana GPRS Internet Too Expensive

I Want an Internet Addiction

I Want an Internet Addiction
Atakpame, Togo West Africa
Friday, May 11, 2007

Do you think of yourself as an expert on staying connected anywhere in the world? Are you connected when walking around with a cell phone or Blackberry, maybe other methods? Do you continually search for faster and better ways to stay connected anywhere? Does the first thought that goes through your mind before going on vacation happen to be?
- How will I connect my computer to the internet? -

Have you worked 10 hours trying to connect your computer to the internet? Do you have a super good chair in front of the computer, a chair made for comfort, then all sort of small toys, special lights, telephone place strategically. Is the first thing you do when you wake is check your emails. Are you addicted to a 24/7 high speed ripping fast internet connection?

The Monkey is on your back you are addicted to the internet.

I can feel the patterns of addictions, I was addicted to Alcohol, I am a recovering Alcoholic, and as we say,
- An addiction is an addiction, all the same. -
Or,
- It takes and addict to know an addict. -

Strange as it sounds, I am not addicted to the internet. I think I would have severe problems traveling if I was addicted. It is possible I am addicted and the process of breaking the addiction is easy. I would maybe think I am addicted to the computer, however not the internet.

I can see the pattern though, I am having troubles, I can spot an addicted person from 50 feet away, and I think I smell and feel them, you can fool a normal person, but you cannot fool an addict.

Therefore, upon the acceptance you are an addict, how does one continue to get a fix, how to stick the needle in my arm, and connect the juice to my computer and say, ahh, that feels good. I have a connection.

RUSH
The rush is when hear yourself say,
- I am connected. -

Give up, I am not sure you can travel yet, you need to stay home, but maybe soon, very soon, I am have heard some stories of 24/7 internet connections on the planet. I am not talking some stupid WIFI in a bar; I am talking some high-speed connections on top of mountains.

Australia
A friend said he was in Australia and had something maybe called EDVO.

USA
A friend wrote me from some hotel in the USA with a Sprint card that works anywhere, and I think he pays 60 US per month.

The worst connections I presently have on the planet is when I return to the USA. My parents Verizon dial up account, and high speed is not offered in my small town, I continually check, my home connection is terrible. I cannot send emails with my Foxmail email client because it blocks my access to Yahoo Mail, then I share the telephone line.

Here in Togo, the Togocel.tg connection block FTP, I cannot use Cute or WS-ftp to publish photos. I can attach a photo in blogger and upload in this manner, but horrendously slow….

Slow, this is the addiction problem, when an alcoholic needs a drink, the best remedy is a shot of whisky, get that warm rush faster. An addict to the internet needs a fast click, a fast load, a fast, a need for speed, better not travel… hehehe or stay only in 5 Star Hotels.

I have been thinking about my addiction, I want to be addicted to the internet, I want to have that 24/7 fix. I on the other hand do not want to sit in front of the computer; I want to know it is there when I want. I want to protect it, I do not want to use it, and I want to nurture and know, there is a connection. When I return to my room, I dial the GPRS here in Togo and check, the say to myself, yes, I have a connection, and then of course, I download my emails. I have symptoms of addiction.

I would suspect the addiction to the cell phone or making phone calls is 10 times worse than internet. This person returns home from vacation with a 500-1000 dollar cell phone bill… hehehe

I am the sum total of all my dysfuntional behaviors.

Togo Internet, Internet, GPRS, Addictions, Togo,

I Want an Internet Addiction

Togo Cell Phone GPRS Internet

Togo Cell Phone GPRS Internet
Atakpame, Togo West Africa
Friday, May 11, 2007

Rules of connecting in Togo.

6:00 PM Thursday and existing internet connection in Atakpame, stops allowing a connection.

The GPRS connection I have fallen in love with is fickle lover today.

The Togocel.tg pre-paid SIM card connection here in Togo was suddenly working great for about two days, if felt like they did a software upgrade and somehow improved the connecting. Last night around 6:00 PM, the connection breaks and has not returned for 12 hours.

The reasons why this maybe is not working are so numerous; it would be crazy to list them. However, I do know, it is not working. I have developed a very strict protocol on what I have to do connect here in Togo. I have been doing this procedure daily now for about two months and I am good at it.

1. Shut off computer
2. Shut off cell phone
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Insert the Bluetooth chip into USB port.
5. Click on Bluetooth program to activate program.
6. Turn on cell phone.
7. When the Bluetooth connection shows Icon show on the telephone, walk back to computer Bluetooth program.
8. Do the Bluetooth discovery and hope you find the phone.
9. Go back to cell phone and enter PIN or code to connect the cell phone with network.
10. Wait for connection to the Togocel.tg Cell Tower.
11. Check number of Bars, and position phone in a window whereby you have the most amount of bars or best reception.
12. Return to Bluetooth connection program, and click on the proper telephone, maybe other people in the hotel have a cell phone. Mine is Motorola V555
13. This refreshes a connection between the computer and the cell phone. - Note there has to be a pairing existing between the cell phone and the computer, the codes have to match, seem a code should be easy to remember like 99999999999
14. Double Click on small telephone in the Bluetooth program.
15 A internet dialing dialog box should appear.
16. Click on dial
17. It will dial, and hopefully connect,
18. IF it does not connect, shut off both the cell phone and computer, take out the Bluetooth chip and star again to repeat. The connection needs all these procedures, however they may improve and be similar to Thailand in the future. May 2007

I have about 2-3 bars presently and I also think the computer in Lome is not connecting people on GPRS internet. It rained last night, and somehow the rain may have cause many problems. I want to learn how to amplify my cell phone reception and increase the number of bars from 2-3 to 4-5 or how many there are. I believe I can do this with a very simple antenna if I can make one, and learn how. Then I would feel better that the problem is not the reception and is really the connection in Lome, Togo.

It is very frustrating when this happens, I do not know where is the problem, and who do I call? I was in Lome, I went to the office three times and only after the third times of one hour sitting, was there a person who knew some answers. It was this big of problem sitting in the office for one hour, three times at the central headquarters of Togo of Togocel.tg, can you imagine how hard it would be to call and talk in French and wait for an explanation… duh..!

10:11 AM Friday in Atakpame, Togo in the morning, and still no connection, I wrote a text message to the tech in French to Lome and sent about 30 minutes ago, so far, no response.

I think I was connecting under a 4-5 bar situation before, now I am about 1-3 and the 3 is only when perfect. It is possible I take the computer to the roof or somewhere with a better connection and try. It appears the signal from the tower or antennae is weaker than yesterday.

I went onto the roof and it did not work.

1:10 PM, I called the techie in Lome; he gave the number of a person in Atakpame. I had a friend call and talk, which did not work; the Togocel.tg man told her I needed to come the office at 5:30.

I called myself, and spoke in French, then he said the signal had a problem and would be fixed by 5:30, but to try at 6:30 PM, I wonder what time they quit for the day, probably at 7:00 PM. I guess if it does not work tonight, I will leave Atakpame and go to back to Lome.

6:30 PM 24 hour and no connection
9:00 PM and no connection - It is TONIGHT.

4:00 AM, next morning and YES, I now HAVE a connection…
Yippee!

Is it you, or me this is the problem, I can spend endless hours trying to find the problems with me, when it is you. I semi have made a policy, no changes on my side in configurations for 24 hours. This time I even said, no allow them also all night to work on this problem. Then I will try my other Bluetooth chip and maybe that will help.

Optimizing the GPRS signal first is what I need to do, I need to know, I have the highest number of bars and it does not work.

I go around and around with my hosting company of my website, I want them to send me an email notification saying, we are having this problem, then I would know, it is you not me. Searching for the problem with me when there is no problem is dreadful for me. I assume I 100 percent of the time have a problem with me and will continue to first believe the problem is with me, not with you.

I have people believe to use a cell phone and connect, or to use a satellite connection is easy, I would say about the same as learning to talk Chinese.

Togo Cell Phone GPRS Internet

My Love of Traveling with Internet

My Love of Traveling with Internet
Atakpame, Togo West Africa
Monday, May 7, 2007

I want to stay connected.

I have grown to love the GPRS Cell Phone Internet connection offered in Togo and other countries. I see this expanding fast, it will soon cover the planet in less than 2-5 years. The poorer nations need it more, and they often offer at reasonable price before the richer countries.
I am here in Togo, a very slow and primitive culture, however for some quirk of logic and common sense, I have internet in my room, regardless of the hotel, I can choose, where I want to live, and I can communicate with the world. I need a cell phone connection.

My friend Craig now is in the USA, and I have chatted more with him in the last week than in the last year on the internet. I can feel it; he is more connected in the USA and was not connected in the Caribbean, Central, and South America. However, he knows how to stay connected in the USA and it is free or the price of internet is fixed.

Craig has been out for over one year traveling, and has stopped in the USA to visit with friends and family and now leaves for Southeast Asia.
http://www.travelvice.com

He told me on chat, I do not have time for RSS feeds while traveling. Moreover, the truth is he does not have time to chat when traveling. I am in Togo and I have time to Chat, he will leave soon and be disconnected again, I will separate a small distance from my friend, the window will be half-open.

Enlightening to me, how somehow with GPRS, I have opened a window to the world, and I have left the darkness. I have the information of the world at my fingertips. I love to get on wikipedia.org and learn, what is this flower in Togo, what is this food, what ethnic groups live here.

I have traveled in darkness too long, I now can go and visit a culture and not stop learning. Last time I was in Africa, I was introduced to so many cultures it was overwhelming. What do I remember about Africa, from before, I know confusion, I can explain the cultures of Benin, however I know very little of the big picture, I only know the on the ground experience, a person could say the name of the culture I live in for a month of two and I would not know.

For 10 years, I needed to be super-organized, super effective for newsletters, blogging, posting, and learning. I would sit in my room and make a list of what I needed to do, then go to the internet café, and slowly check off the list, this is work, this is not spontaneous fun.

Now, if I wanted to read about Hippos, I just turn on my computer and read.

Thank you GPRS, I have been in the Dark for 10 years, the breeze that is entering my brain is refreshing, I have the world of information, the window is open and it feels great..

What does this mean to me; I do not know if I can give this up. I think my love of GPRS is more than my love of some countries. I think I need to wait for some countries to offer GPRS at REASONABLE and realistic prices, and then I will travel to that country. The great part, I truly believe that 80 percent will offer this in the next year, and the other countries will follow within the next 2-5 years.

Land Travel, there is a fashion, a belief, a travelers creed, keep the feet on the ground. How do I go from one GPRS country to the next GPRS country and keep my feet on the ground?

Which country is next in Africa, which country has GPRS that I have not visited? I have not been to Nigeria, but truth is, I can tell, I do not want to go and listen…blah blah blah.

I need to learn about GPRS, maybe offered in Cameroon, Gabon, Liberia, Senegal, Congo, which country is connected at reasonable prices with GPRS. How much to I have to pay in dollars to keep my window open.

WIFI is annoyingly stupid, good for an offices; true wireless connection is with GPRS or something Cell Phone tower related. Satellite is my dream, just unrealistic on price, size of equipment, and what I need to play.

I like spontaneous living, and less being super organized. I want to keep the window open.

Internet, Satellite Internet, GPRS, Cellphone, Togo Internet,

My Love of Traveling with Internet

Designing Home in Togo

Designing Home in Togo
Atakpame, Togo West Africa
Sunday, April 29, 2007

I am trying to get my mind around some questions that have been annoying me for years, many years.

What type of room is cooler?
I need to test a couple theories.

Now, what a bag of worms that is, this questions, just me saying the question makes me realize there are hundreds maybe thousands of type or roofs on the planet. I think thousands would be difficult to find. The walls and the roofs rather set the standard for coolness of the room, now in my opinion the windows or the doors are the problems, and people really underestimate the value of a tree with shade.

I may have found a test home, or more correctly, I may have found two of maybe four major types of homes to measure for heat.

I can run a very simple test on the four types of homes.
1. HAVE - Home with steel roof and no dead air space.
2. HAVE - Home with steel roof and dead air space.
3. NEED - Room with concrete roof.
4. NEED - Two story home of concrete with room on lower floor.

Controlling the variables is difficult, however to control the people is a more complicated problem. People in the more primitive countries do not like me to be curious or solve problems, there is not a big hypothetical, what if this, and how do we do this type of person that is easy to find. They exist, but I think the see me coming and hide. I call these people now 0 and 1 people.

I have found a few in my travels who can think in what if terms, and was thinking the other day while looking for some mosquito net material I have slowly developed an extremely valuable skill. I am slowly learning to be and expeditor to find sources in other countries. I can find items to buy or sources of information about 100 times faster than when I started to travel 10 years ago. I will blog this separate.

One subject one blog post, the secret to making money on the internet, or one of them…. In addition, a good way to stop getting annoying emails from readers. An adaptation of diary idea, and really is good.

People can be dangerous and annoyingly difficult, to allow me walk into their home and say,
- Can I read the temperature of your room? -

Well, it become a circus of silly and annoying complicated, overwhelmingly difficult to solve culture problems. To walk into a home owned by a Mina person, which is made of clay adobe, and leave a thermometer in the room long enough to read correctly at exactly say 3:00 in the afternoon is a taxing mental cultural frustration for me.

The simple way is to be a bully, but not the polite and I think they say, Gentil way.

Yes, this is the Gentil way in the French language or the kind and nice way of collecting information. This takes the skills of a trained diplomat and a double in negotiations with Colombian Kidnappers Then with the knowledge of a carpenter and research brain push of Thomas Alva Edison

I am thinking of that movie with Russell Crowe here gets that man out of Colombia and almost does the wife.

I am doing some extensive reading on the Scientific Method or maybe … just terms. I am trying to understand and identify the one variable of a solving a problem that is 100 percent needed to solve the problem. The one problem that is the lodestone to solve the complete problem the one specific issue that stops or starts all problems and solutions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristic


Malaria is a killer, I am guessing, but I think it kills more than AIDS or SIDA, and I am hypothesizing that all the geese are flying the wrong direction. I am arrogantly under the suspicion that all the Malaria or Paludisme research has failed to solve the one missing piece to this puzzle, that would stop malaria on the planet or bring to a Tuberculosis level end.

The world has solved MASS problems of Malaria and knows how to treat Malaria, however the remaining residual number of deaths by Malaria remain to be very high, yet difficult to say a big world problem, however maybe bigger than AIDS.

Malaria now does not make world headlines, as it is an old issue; a new issue is what world shattering news becomes. Global Warming, which in my opinion has not killed anyone is news, while Malaria an everyday killer and car traffic deaths, probably the number one killer are ignored. Cars are dangerous, they are killers.

Ok, this is the hypothesis in a non-thought out and lacking in clear explanation.

I believe that people in Tropical climates and where Malaria, Paludisme is most prevalent, in these areas there is a short list of small changes needed to alter in house designs that would solve maybe 50 percent of the now existing deaths from Malaria.

My ideas revolve around one specific idea or problem. I think people do not use Mosquito nets because the are difficult, awkward and too hot. I observe that the average traveler or 99 percent of travelers in Malaria areas do not carry a Mosquito net. There solution is medicine, they believe they will either meditate to avoid or medicate to solve.

There are so many dynamic problems to solve to stop Malaria, so many that the people who contracts malaria just stops trying.

I tried to buy a Mosquito Net yesterday, two hours of work, and no net in my outrageously persistent hands. The one shop wanted 26 US dollars, the only one I found, and the Hospital Store was closed on Saturdays, I now need to check on Monday or Tuesday, maybe again Monday is a holiday. To stop malaria a person in a village, with no electricity and no education one needs to just stop the mosquitoes with very simple methods, I think they do burn and make smoke Amlame, Togo was full of smoke. I am not sure the goal at the Hospital, do they want the poor person on the Danyi Plateau to come here and buy one?

The obstacle involved in using a Mosquito nets are so overwhelming against me using a Mosquito net, that unless I am being bit every 10 seconds, I do not set one up. I on the other hand set up one if there is a way and I get one mosquito bite. However, maybe the truth is when the no-see-ums bite me, I set up the Mosquito net quicker. I truly despise the task of setting up a mosquito net. In a room with hooks, made for a mosquito net, it is very simple, however this room is only about 1 in 100 rooms. I enter of hotel rooms in Tropical Malaria prone areas of the planet daily. I can however, strangely in Africa, find a room with screens on the window in easy in West Africa, easy, however NOT in South, Central America, India or Asia, they do not have screens.

This is a never-ending thread of thoughts to explain.

The most comfortable home for me, would be a home made like a very fully screened in porch, with a roof that does not turn into a green house, every wall a screened in porch. I am not sure, I think the tents in Iraq, have flaps that go up, I am not sure about the mosquito nets or having the sides with screens, but somewhere along these lines, an open air room.

Everyone is so pre-occupied with AC or Climitasation, they forget to design first a house that functions, there is a reason Frank Lloyd Wright was famous… hehehe

Non-Cooked clay bricks are not the best to make a screen porchs, concrete, the new worlds building material is better; a combination of steel re-rod and concrete could maybe work. The solution needs to cost less to build than the normal design and needs to be five times more comfortable than their present design. Then be easier to make, wood is scarce of expensive I think, these homes need to have screened window whereby you can attach screens… Termites? The bigger problem is thieves, home are probably built first for protection and later for comfort.

Connecting a screen to concrete. I discovered yesterday that screen here in Atakpame cost 300 CFA or about 75 Cents US per meter - yard and this is cheap, however still one days pay. This may be cheaper than the mosquito nets… ? Hmm…

I think in the end all is about fashion and trends, people build home to be fashionable or to rent to make money. They will build the absolutely cheapest and easy to build home, and rent it. I know a person now that is renting a room for 12,000 CFA per month or 25 US dollars, then has a room for shower outside and she goes to the hills for a toilet. She don not have the electricity connected because I think she cannot come up with the installation fee. The bottom line though is she does not care, she has many clothes and a cell phone. She doe have lights,(Kerosene Lantern) she may want a fan, she needs a solar power fan… hehehe

The end of this for now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TropicalVerandah.jpg




The world is this, I need to eat dinner, please call me after dinner, I am busy now, and I know 100 percent you know how solve all my problems,

Note when doing research in Africa, the biggest problem is the library is in the USA, and I am in Togo. The GPRS Cell Phone internet connection may be a world changing research device. A person can go to the problem, and still have the library with them. I was told Boy Genius for India that BGAN may start giving unlimited internet access for a set fee, I have yet to get or bleed the details from him.

I was hollering a guy the other day, piss down hill, not up, strange how long it take to learn not to piss into the wind or up hill for the general population of the whole planet and especially including the USA. Without a toilet, they would be helpless.

Edison, Scientific Method, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Heuristic Reasoning, Problem Solving, Paludisme, Malaria, Mosquito Net, Mosquito. Research, GPRS.

Designing Home in Togo

Goal Togo 10 Days No Electricity

Goal Togo 10 Days No Electricity
Atakpame, Togo West Africa
April 2007

I am making a goal and care package list to be sent from the USA to me by my friend Chris.

GOAL
Live up to 10 days with no electricity.

I can buy 12 Volt Motocycle Batteries easy here in Togo, made in China for about 6 US dollars.

A. Use my Sony Camera with AA Batteries,
12 Batteries would easily do this.

B Use my HP Laptop computer for 40 hour or about 4 hours per day.
I think the top off 12 Volt solar energy thing would do this.

C. 100 Hours of 12 Volt Fan Power and a 8 - 12 inch 12 Volt fan or something like that.

NEED TO BUY

1. Adapter that will allow 12 Volt power to be used to power my Hewlett Packard Laptop Compter.

2. Dozen AA Rechargable Batteries.

3. Solar Charger to charge 10 AA Batteries that also works on both 220 and 110.

4. Wind up Cell Phone Battery Charger. I need maybe to connect to 12 Volt system.

5. Small trickle Solar flat panel to keep 12 volts of lead-acid battery storage topped off

6. 12 Volt Fans

7. Indigo Windup light that runs on 220-110 also.
NOTE!!!!! This is semi-NOT needed as lights is not a problem.

8. LED Light that runs on 12 Volts, I think it would be more efficient and easier than the motocycle lights

Solar, Togo, West Africa Electricity, 12 Volt, GPRS, Cellphone, Computer,

Goal Togo 10 Days No Electricity

Danyi Apeyeme Togo

Danyi Apeyeme Togo
Danyi Apeyeme, Togo West Africa
Saturday, April 21, 2007

I am the village maybe a Ville called Danyi Apeyeme in Togo, Africa, it is North of Kpalime, and West of Adeta.

I have electric, GPRS Cell phone connection and a room for 2000 per night, they tell me it is cool here at night and I do not need a fan. According to my map of the cell towers of Togo, there is NOT supposed to a cell tower here. However, I am more or less sure there is a cell here in Danyi Apeyeme, Togo as I seen an Antenna and the signal has all the bars..

Adeta has three small Chambre de Passage, the one on the North part of town for 3000 CFA was probably a good deal, I did not see in the room, but would suspect ok, however, not in the center of the village. I think the other two were for 1500 and 1500 or 2500 with a fan, hard to say through the haze of half-truths and misconceptions.

Adeta has Togocel connection and it may come from here, because I am on the mountain and Adeta is more or less in the valley.

Here is a funny, I am on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, they just told me they cut the electricity from noon until 3:00 pm every day. Everywhere, else I am lucky to have 10 hours of electricity per day and they are apologizing for the cutting of three. Then again, I just arrive and it could just be - Almost Africa. -

I feel pretty confident they have electricity most of the day, as the boy was very specific on times, and the electricity cut at 12;00 exact.

Life is good.
La Vie est Belle

Danyi Apeyeme Togo

Togo Cell Antennas Towers

Togo Cell Antennas Towers
Kpalime, Togo West Africa
Thursday, April 12, 2007

Travel is a map, just when I think I have them all, I find I need another, the maps of life. I want to use my cell phone and connect to the internet. I need to find the big cells of Togocel.tg here in Togo, then try to maneuver my way around the country and jump on tower signals. I think they highly exaggerate the coverage. I have trouble and I am in the center of the city of Kpalime now.

I am thinking, how to find where the tower is, maybe I turn around 360 degrees inside a concrete room here and the number of bars is the direction. It there are a lot of bars, then that is the direction of the cell tower. I will play, I somehow need to deduce, induce, and bribe my way to know when I am going closer or farther away from a tower.

Tomorrow I go towards the Ghana border from Kpalime. The map says I am in like Flin, I suspect I am out of play.



Note, I do not trust the maps and the links to not break from Togocel.tg or Gsmworld.com, then if they do, to then give me a redirect as should happen. This is why… you figure it out.

Région des plâteaux :
Anié, Atakpamé, Zogbégan, Badou, Nangbéto, Langabou, Elavagnon, Kougnohou, Wahala, Tohoun, Kpalimé, Kpele-ele, Glei, Adéta, Danyi, Agou, Pagala-Gare.
http://www.togocel.tg/html/couvert.html
http://www.gsmworld.com/cgi-bin/ni_map.pl?x=4&y=2&z=2&cc=tg&net=to

Now, I need more toys, I need a way to amplify my cell phone signal so I can get the signal and GPRS Internet access in the places where are culturally interesting or communication with the outside world is minimal.

Satellite is interesting option; the only ones I see that have it and use it are the Non Profit companies…. Hehehe, the rest of us still sort of see as too expensive, but this is my money. This is feasible. (I want the military to have.)

I would have satellite now, but I need to buy before I could test, sort of silly way to buy. And perfect for the highly ineffective people of the planet to spend free money. It is feasible maybe, for me, a person with a very large web site who is already ahead and will loose money to militantly look for hotels and have fun playing with expensive toys.

Togo Cell Antennas Towers

Andy the Happy Traveler

Andy the Happy Traveler
Kpalime, Togo West Africa
Monday, April 2, 2007

This is how it works.

I travel to a places, I get curious, I read about it on Encarta, maybe I read a little in the Roughguide Guidebook, or Lonely Planet when I have that one, I am using Roughguide for West Africa, seems to be better than Lonely Planet.

What is making me happy is this, I have the ability to go and look at something new, afterwards I go back to my room curious. I read about what I seen in my Encarta Encyclopedia; it gives me great insight, knowledge, background and great maps. If I am finished, and my curiosity has been quenched, I stop. IF not, I read as much as I can, then I go to the internet to finish my reading. The GPRS in my room allow this, not internet in the internet café, to remember, go to the Internet café is too time consuming to remember. I now can return to my room, and in my room I can research and learn.

This added benefit of GPRS has made my travels more rewarding and I am now spending more time learning, and less time just having questions.

Google Earth does NOT work, take too long to load, is not on the machines in internet cafes, then the maps are good when I do not need a map, such as the USA, and a disappointment when I do need a map. I get angry because I spent all this time, money and work to find a Google earth and download and no map of value.

IF a person is in the Internet Café and they are using Google Earth in the internet café in West Africa, every map you look at will probably cost about 50 cents USA.

Now, I can do this, I go to a wikipedia.org link, I - SAVE AS - to the computer and I have to read offline.

I am happy because Encarta can tell me about Togo, gives me maps, tells me a lot, but cannot go into detail about a small idea. Wiki has these obsessed to collect information people and they do this, they collect, organize, and tell me, I open, save as, and I can read, when the GPRS is bad, or when the I leave the internet Café.

My guess is I could get high-speed internet access about 10 percent of the time on the planet in my room. I can get high speed a lot, if I would pay 100-150 US per night to stay in the 5 Star Hotels, but that is not travel.

I am happy, I read, and read, or someone sends me a link, I sometimes can go and look and see what he or she are talking about. Normally when a person sends me a link, they have to be a great friend, or I do not look, I have to trust them and they for some reason are in tuned or empathizing with what I am interested to do. Sending random, I am in love with pages is nice, but not so helpful.

Planning, I am now planning all my countries around the extraordinarily fast expansion of GPRS. I think I can go to only countries in Africa that have GPRS and wait until the other offer. There is no way I will travel faster then they expand. In addition, Africa has about 52 countries to wait in…

I find I do not like 24/7 High-Speed internet in my room, it like an addiction. With this supers slow GPRS, I can find information, but it is not addictive, I am more than willing to stop, as it is slow. I do not look at videos, that is what a TV is for.

My curiosity about the planet is being quenched better with a spontaneous extra ability to have my questions answered with GPRS internet access. I do not become an addict to the internet.

Andy the Happy Traveler

WIFI Annoys Me

WIFI Annoys Me
Kpalime, Togo West Africa
Thursday, March 29, 2007

WIFI is a way to give a few users access to one internet connection point, serves as a LAN - Local Area Network, another toy and a nice toy in certain instances, but not a tool, not a sledge hammer, a small Childs hammer.

I am sending 25 U.S. Dollars to my friend Craig of Travelvice.com from my paypal.com account.

Hobo pays up.

There was an offer made, and I think technically he won the offer.

FROM Craig’s site:
http://travelvice.com/archive/2007/03/upstream-downgrade.php

WIFI is like Fools Gold to me a Traveler. Looks like Gold, but is not what I need and want, not all that glitters is gold.

Quote from Craig:

Amazon River Wi-Fi
Several weeks ago my buddy Andy left a comment that he'd give me US$25 if I found Wi-Fi access on my boat trip up the Amazon. Well, look what I came across...

Then later Craig says,

Quote from Craig:
- I could connect, but couldn't use the Internet, as the signal required authentication that I didn't possess.-

WIFI she does not give it up! The goal is an internet connection, not WIFI, this is just a a ways to a means.

ME
WIFI is like a big excuse, I will meet you and they do not show up, I will call you and they never call. It is a big promise, which never gives results.

When I do not need a connection, when I am in a location where high speed internet access is everywhere, there I find a WIFI connection. A WIFI is a good Local Area Network a great way to allow a few people to connect to the same internet connection.

This is not the future of Wireless Internet Connection. I think the end will land around a Satellite Connection or a Cell Tower connection, not a router set up.

WIFI is a great suggestion that does not work as a way of providing internet to the whole planet, it is just a fancy way to replace an Ethernet wire, and if you want to give me access in a hotel. PLEASE wire the hotel with Ethernet and do not give me WIFI, unless you are putting the transmitter in MY room.

Annoying and annoying, you never call, you never write, promises, promise and I just sit here waiting, dreams that never come true.

I wish I had never heard your name WIFI.

WIFI Annoys Me

Blogger.com a Need For Speed

Blogger.com a Need For Speed
Kpalime, Togo West Africa

I have a need for speed!. Something from the movie - Top Gun -

I want to log into Blogger.com and post my blog fast, it takes me about 5 minutes now to log in because the Togocel GPRS connection is slow, but great.

Fastest - No I-frame, no foreplay, no zippers.

Medium - The little square box breaks or does not load, need to break the zipper.

Slow - But, I want to READ English - Wearing a girdle.

Normal blogger is easy, just type in www.blogger.com and easy to remember, and takes time to change language, change worlds, change, etc.

I have a need for speed!

Note, blogger.com reads you IP, or knows where you are at, and then tells the control panel, now called dashboad what language they you may be reading. This means, I am supposed to read French here in West Africa. I am using a control panel in French, not English, new words, and new ways.

Click here to stay in English and not have to play, you also can find the link to your language, as most of the world does not speak English as first language.

Note, I am learning how to do the least amount of bandwidth use blogging, so if and when I buy a satellite internet connection, or I have to pay 10 dollars per meg for GPRS cell phone connection to the internet, etc, I can have a need for cheap.

Blogger.com a Need For Speed

Togocel GPRS Problems

Togocel GPRS Problems
Kpalime, Togo West Africa
Tuesday, March 20, 2007

When I visited the internet café in Lome, Togo, I had about a 1 in 5 chance of a problem. The internet would go down, the electricity would go off, the problems were unknown, and more or less, when annoyed, I would leave and come back the next day.

Now, I am on the Togocel GPRS Cell Phone internet connection, the connection here in Kpalime, seems to be more difficult to access than in Lome.

I am not an expert, I do not like to study some issues of computers, I may rely on my instincts, as when, why or what works the best, and allows the least amount of annoyance and frustration. I keep thinking about the up-time reports of internet pages, not really important. I more or less want to know, when to expect the highest chance they will be down, so I can optimize my chance of being up.

I do not know Togocel, I sort of know GPRS in countries around the planet, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and now Togo. This is not a good list, only Nepal, and Thailand work good, Thailand very good, Nepal is OK, and Togo is a maybe. The Philippines did not offer, and Indonesia was extremely expensive and I did not buy.

I have been trying to access the Togocel network from 3:30 am to now about 6:20 am, and it has not worked. I over-ride any idea, that maybe it is me, maybe it my computer. I more or less induce, it worked yesterday, I have not changed anything, it should work today.

Nonetheless, it is not working now, my guess is this, nobody is working, it is early or night, and nobody is manning the watch. My guess is around 8:00 am, and for sure around 10:00 am, it will be working. The nature of workers, not the nature of technology. I also worry that somebody in the Togocel system, decided to use all the bandwidth by downloading music during the night, when nobody would know. In internet cafés I will often disconnect downloads as I am paying to use the computer, and the workers are playing, not working.

Whatever the case, the anticipation of something is worst than the using of something, the acceptance of something not working is easier when I have alternatives. Sometimes going to the internet café feels better, and less stressful than the idea of, maybe this GPRS is working. I do not like to fiddle around, I just want to get on, and get off the internet, and continue with my day.

Solution: I finally at 8:59 connected in Kpalime.

I am not positive why, I think maybe because I completed pulled the Bluetooth chip out of the computer. Turned back on the computer, plugged in the chip. Shut my phone off, turned it back on, and discovered as normal.

Turn off both computer, do not restart. Turn off, then turn off the phone, I think it resets something, it works now. (Note, it is now the next morning and I did this and it works at 4:00 am in the morning.)

Togocel GPRS Problems

Togo GPRS

Togo GPRS
Lome, Togo, West Africa
March 8, 2007

Togocel
http://www.togocel.tg/

I have established a GPRS connection in Togo, it should allow me to blog my way through Togo for the most part, and maybe just across the border into Benin. There is a promotion until June whereby the internet is a free connection, afterwords it is 10 US per meg.

I will outline how I did this and explain further soon.
Yippee!

La vie est belle.
Andre en Togo
Merci

Togo GPRS

Types of Internet Connections

Types of Internet Connections
Pokjara Nepal Asia
February 6, 2007

There are many ways to connect the the Internet and work when in Africa, Nepal, or some country.

EASY

- Walk into Internet cafe, pull the Ethernet wire from the back of the computer and connect it to you computer, maybe it connect automatically or you need to have the Internet cafe worker configure for you. If they do not know how to do, go to another cafe.

EXTREMELY DIFFICULT - Finding a telephone line to use is difficult.

- Find a land line, plug the telephone line into the the back of you computer, then buy a connection from a local Internet provider, then connect.

- Find a land line, then dial a long distance telephone call to an Internet provider in your home country and connect. (I do not know if works, never done this.)

WIFI - DIFFICULT - Because not available - Really just a replacement for the Ethernet wire system that is easy to do in an Internet cafe.

- Mostly just a toy and nice to have sometimes, but to be in the back concrete room of a hotel, it is not going to work.

GPRS CELL PHONE- DIFFICULT
- A truly wireless connection the Internet.

- A connection using a cell phone with a cell phone company that has GPRS.
Computer to Bluetooth to Cell Phone to Cell Phone company.
(The problem is most cell phone countries in Africa do not offer the GPRS connection, although as of February 2007, they are expanding rapidly, I expect within about 5 year most will offer.

Sometime the cost is nuts, a good fee is about 1 dollar per day, only two countries I know so far that work I have confirmed work are Thailand and Nepal.

- A person should take a taxi to the cell phone headquarters in the city and have them connect the computer, the cell phone and the SIM card together and explain the cost. The cost in Indonesia where there are many Internet cafes was 3 dollars per meg, outrageously expensive.

DIAL UP CELL PHONE CONNECTION TO INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER

I thought this would be very easy, I did just this 10 years ago, however I think the whole planet is anal. I try to say, I am going to dial up a telephone number of an Internet service provider, that is NOT my cell phone company, nothing to do with my cell phone company. How doe the cell phone work as a modem?

Blue tooth is just a wireless connection between my cell phone and a computer, it is not an Internet connection. GPRS is part of the cell phone company services. IF they company does not offer GPRS, than it is not going to work on the cell phone.

SATELLITE - Extremely difficult
- Need to pay about 8 dollars USA per meg of transfer.
- Need to have contract for one year
- Need to pay about 2000 US for the device
- I do not know, my GPS hand held reference marker does not work unless I am top of a building, I think I would need to be on top of a building.
- I was ready to purchase this, for true worldwide wireless connection, the company wants me to buy before before they demo.

BOAT RADIO
- I do not know how this works, but seems to be a good option.

I want to use a cell phone connection, that does NOT offer GPRS to connect. I want to use my cell phone and somehow have a modem to connect the computer to the Internet by way of cell phone.

The only website that even comes close to trying to explain these differences is:

About.com

People dial home all the time with their cell phone.

I want my computer to dial home and connect, I am frustrated, I do not see why this is so hard, I am wondering if the problem is I need to always dial an ISP from a local telephone number, somehow the computer knows.

Types of Internet Connections

Skype Not on Machines

Skype Not on Machines
Pokhara, Nepal Asia
February 4, 2007

I am trying to chat, not telephone with my friend in Brazil. I am on an Internet connection in Nepal that goes through my cell phone. It is not strong enough to call, but I can chat. Skype is not on the machines or downloaded onto machines, I would say about 90 percent of the time when I wish to chat with him.

Yahoo Messenger seems to be the best system to chat, or even call with presently in the world, the calling is free from yahoo to yahoo. Now, if I could get my friend in Boston to log in...

And DUMP that crazy, ridiculous and troublesome, and pay to have email Verizon.net account, He must like to change emails every year or two.

Yahoo Mail and Gmail.com are the two best Emails presently, in my opinion.

They techies all understand how to do anything, I am wondering if the world will ever figure a way to allow the non-technical minded person how to do the same. I think 85 percent of the population will come into the fold if they can every get a voice command operated computer to function easy.

I see the Internet only being truly available to 10-15 percent of the modern world presently. I would say less than 1-3 percent of the planet actually can function and use the Internet.

I wonder why or if Skype.com has email, it would be a natural progression.

Skype Not on Machines

Cell Phone Battery Problem with GPRS

Cell Phone Battery Problem with GPRS
Kathmandu Nepal
Saturday, January 27, 2007

The drain on the battery is more than the charge.

I have a Motorola V555 quad band cell phone. I plug it into the charger and connect to the internet with Mero Mobile prepaid service here in Katmandu, Nepal. I have noticed over time, and am quite sure when connected it is slowly using more electricity from the phone then what is being charged into the phone. This means that the battery is slowly being drained, and eventually it disconnects from the internet and I must wait for the battery to recharge.

A second battery is needed, yet the problem is I can only charge the battery while in the phone. I personally do not like to remove the battery or the SIM card as the cover seems like it is not going to stay one good.

Cell Phone Battery Problem with GPRS

Workwherever.com

Workwherever.com
Kathmandu, Nepal Asia - Working for sure wherever...
January 25, 2007

I received this letter from someone, I think and hope a real letter.

THE PERSON WROTE - Note: (...) Three dashes means I edited the text

Hi Andy,

I wanted to send this note to you for consideration on your blog. It's not hard news per se, but I thought it might appeal to your readers as it relates to travel and mobility. Microsoft was looking for something fun and different to promote and publicize Windows Mobile for business users. What we came up with was http://www.workwherever.com/ : it's a tongue-in-cheek look at how Windows Mobile makes it possible to work wherever, no matter what.

And while the web site is our main area of focus, here are some video clips about the site that have been circulating throughout the Net:

http://soapbox.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=c46c41e3-71bf-4007-9536-8efc4bc64db3
http://soapbox.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=a6ce10f3-9bb0-4f98-8d49-8763686fc37f

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFBKUbYMuPc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7bi8EbD99Q

Please let me know your thoughts on this. If you have any questions or if it's of interest to you, I can send additional links.

Thanks and Best,
Kathryn (...)

-----------------------------------------------------------
REMOVED OR EDITED... I removed the address of who wrote me.
I am not sure who is writing me, maybe Microsoft, maybe someone else. I get tons of spoofers, when working wherever, it become more complicated to discover the person I am dealing with. Since this is the URL Workwherever.com they are promoting, I would assume that is the representation of who wrote.

ANSWER:

I am lying here in my bed in a Kathmandu, Nepal Hotel, my legs are propped up to hold my laptop computer. I have a GPRS connection which allows me to have a connection in my room, and work on my computer, or maybe here I am playing.

Shakira says, whenever, wherever

I am tempted to make a lot of jokes and as the Brits say, take the P...

I am working wherever, and want to Workwherever.com. This is a grand goal, and for sure I do work wherever, and am striving to work anywhere on the planet.

I was chatting on Yahoo Messenger with my techie in India yesterday, we received an invitation to - AdSense video distribution and sponsorship pilot - (Note, I cannot use quote more WHEREVER because the Asian computers change them.)

Ok... as I work wherever. We was chatting, require lower resources on Yahoo than on Gmail, and Skype is problem, no way to talk on GPRS connection.

Both me and Andrew from India are every moment of every day aware of the wall. There is this invisible wall we hit, it the wall of bandwidth. I do not have good enough speed to look at the videos sent, and the other wanted wanted me to subscribe. I did so, but it did not send me an acceptance.
( I sort of seen them.... )

Now, with GPRS, I am willing to play, and look around at these interesting videos, or better said, try to look. I am not able to download correctly, so I have seen half of most of them.

The goal is worthy, I do wish for them to continue.
Maybe someone with a good connection, who is not wherever can look at the videos and suss out what this is about.

Ok, we received this invitation to participate in a video project from Google.com.

I carried a Camera in South America, then purchased a second to travel to Iraq. Both times the idea of filming a location and publishing to the Internet crashed and burned. Then we took a film of the Tsunami of Koh Phi Phi and put on the net. 25 Megs or more of publishing is difficult to publish in an Internet cafe. CRASH

Andrew, my techie said or commented about the Videos being not being related to the site, or at first reading seems more towards the MTV world and entertainment, and less towards the National Geographic world and culture of HoboTraveler.com.

I could say,
- Walk the walk, and talk the talk. -

Meaning, ok guys, this does not work wherever, I am there, and it would not work.

But, to borrow some terms.
- Fake it until you make it. -

I will listen and continue to listen, and encourage them to tell me I can work wherever. It is a worthy goal, and for many person in the USA, or Europe, this is true.

I chatted to Andrew and said, we need to study, learn, understand, keep researching because one day on HoboTraveler.com, I will be blogging films from every location. I am going to Africa and there are not many bloggers there, a great place to show the world the real truth, not the media invented truths.

I think... hmm with a real wherever connection by Satellite.
sat1usa.com

The cost to view one of them videos sent to me would be about 70 US dollars, or to publish a video from the jungle of Africa. CNN does pay a lot of money to be live.

I have now calculated, maybe I can lose money and blog from Africa for about 30-6o US dollars per day.

We need to learn, Hobo needs to learn. This is the future. The computer, cell phone, TV, stereo will merge into one appliance of device. --- hehehe Whenever...

I do not know, maybe Bill Gates should go to Africa and install Edge or some high speed cell phone connections. I will then buy the products.

I really want a computer laptop size phone, that can be seen in direct sunlight. I cannot be bothered to do work on a keyboard so small I cannot see unless I am 20 years old with perfect eyes.

My ending thought, keep is up, go for it, go to the edge, I hope somebody buys, so you can bring this to the world. As for me, send me a toy for free, I will play. Nigeria has GPRS and it may work there. Ghana and Tigo seem to be coming online, maybe it will work.

I am debating, Satellite or GPRS, many person got very frustrated with me when I blogged from Africa for three months. I was trying to blog wherever, first try, crash and burn. I am trying to go to Africa again in one month. This time, I hope I will blog daily.

Hmmm. pay for the bandwidth, and I will publish videos.

This is the future, and I am curious whenever wherever, and the invitation to Shakira to come and travel with me is still open. (Bring bathing suit.)

Thanks for the letter, I do appreciate them.

Workwherever.com

Travel by Jumping from GPRS to GPRS

Travel by Jumping from GPRS to GPRS
Kathmandu, Nepal Asia
Sunday January 21, 2007

I made a GPRS travel jump from Thailand to Katmandu, it was not planned, however, I was able to access the Internet with my cell phone in Thailand, now I can in Nepal.

I will not pay more than about one dollar USA per day for Internet access, as I am cheap, I be Hobo. The GPRS in these two countries gives me unlimited access for about one dollar per day.

This is with the idea that I stay about one month in each country.

I want to go to Africa now, I am trying to find GPRS connections in the various countries of Africa. An annoying process as nobody states the price.

There are many reasons for me to have an Internet connection by GPRS on an unlimited basis in my room. The biggest goal is to be able to blog daily.

I am fighting with small rules of travelers. There is this unwritten rule of the traveler culture.
GO BY LAND

I need to travel by land, I want to travel by land. I do not need to travel by land, yet I feel like I am letting down the traveler culture if I fly from one country to the next. The cost of planes has often, with a good plan made flying cheaper than the bus, and for sure trains in Europe.

Africa is not the same as Europe, or Southeast Asia and the flights are more expensive, however to achieve my goal of blogging daily. I either need to buy a satellite connection or fly from GPRS enabled country to GPRS country. JUMP

Flying is cheaper than buying a satellite connection, so jumping from GPRS to GPRS country would be cheaper. Yet, still remains the - Go by Land - rule of being a traveler. I suppose I can skip....

I think in terms of Jump, Hops and Skips.
Jumps are big
Hops are small
Skips are longer, yet fast

I can do two day by land trips across countries, sort of skip across them, but not avoiding the country. Then another traveler rule comes into affect...

Aagh
How long do you have to be in a country to count it as country you visited?

I personally like to say I need 10 days to say I visited, if you want me to start to have an opinion I need a minimum of one month. The size of the country also is important. To have an opinion of any value for India you need to probably have at least three months, but really to even learn a little about India you need a year.

Brazil must be about one year.

IF you really counted the time, you would see I have spent about one month in any country I have visited. Therefore to go to three countries, I need three months of planned time in country. Many visas make the decision for me, I would think about 30 days is an average time allotted by visas to enter a country.

Nigeria is causing a big Africa Visa problem, as they want me to apply for a Visa in the USA only, it is possible that I dollar-my-way-through. Hope if I pay or stay the course longer in Benin, I can talk the Nigerian embassy into giving me a visa to travel in or across Nigeria. I cannot just go to Niger and into Chad to avoid. I can fly around Nigeria.

Africa does not have good backpacker paths established. They just do not make it easy to go overland without tons of research. I am American, the rules change for each country, a German, a Brit, and get even more complicated. If you was Israeli, then life has little land mines.

GPRS for me should cost less than 2 dollars per day.
SATELLITE needs to cost less than 30 dollars per day.

Paying 30 dollars per day to blog, that is paying a lot to blog. On the other hand, Africa is not the same as South America or Southeast Asia where every Tom, Dick and Harry goes and blogs. It does get closer to being an adventure. Plus someone has to forge a path.

I call it an adventure when I could get killed. I do not see Africa as a big adventure, but a lot closer than South America, Southeast Asia is tourist grade all the way, hard to find an adventure.

Rambling and rambling, the cathartic value of blogging, trying to find clarity where none exist.

Travel by Jumping from GPRS to GPRS

GPRS Internet Access Needs Price

GPRS Internet Access Needs Price
Katmandu, Nepal Asia
January 14, 20007

I sometimes am just disgusted with the Internet, it is like asking a girl out for a date and she keeps saying call me.

Buried Information

I have found a couple of good pages on the GPRS networks of the planet. This translated means the countries where I can connect my computer to the Internet.

I then find the cell phone company, I search for the price, I was laughing at the