Indonesian Phone Service

Well, I officially have 2 phones here in Indonesia (Which is so typically Indonesian. Talk about emersion…), both with a separate phone card (i.e., phone provider). My first (and favorite) is my Blackberry that utilizes a phone card from the Telkomsel provider. I always said that I would not be caught dead with a Blackberry, but my Nokia was not making me happy, so I upgraded. As it turns out, I am currently obsessed with my Blackberry, and feel pretty ridiculous to admit that. The ‘fun’ thing about this phone and its provider is that if you call someone for an extended duration of time (say your girlfriend that lives on a completely different island for example); they begin to cut your phone conversations short. At first, they give you maybe 15-30 minutes after the first time they cut your phone call. Then, they being to cut all phone calls with shorter increments every time you call, until you are in some instances unable even call for but a few seconds. My second hand phone is a pretty bottom of the barrel Nokia that utilizes a phone card from the XL provider. I purchased this phone card, because of the problem just discussed with Telkomsel. The positive is that it is far cheaper to call with XL; however, interestingly the phone will periodically turn Noni’s voice into an echoing robot. These robot voice echo sessions can actually last a few minutes sometimes, and are incredibly annoying. So to recap, I have one phone that lets me call then continuously cuts me off from talking to Noni, or won’t let me call at all after a while, and then I have another phone that lets me call, then turns her voice into an inaudible echoing robot. Lets for good measure make a note that these are two of the best phone providers in Indonesia. With all that said, Noni and I are really working diligently on our patience…