They call it Egg. I don’t know why, but – that’s what they call it. I have this insatiable need to be online all the time whenever I am out of the country. I know it’s odd, but that’s how I feel. I rely on it heavily when it comes to directions and communication. And so every country that I go to, I try and look for a pocket wifi rental or how to buy a tourist/local simcard.
While searching for one in Seoul, I kept on seeing the word *Egg*, I was honestly confused because, what the hell does an egg have to do with a pocket wifi? After much reading, I realized they called it an egg because the device is mostly white in color and if I am not mistaken, it used to be an oval shape? I am not sure, I know I’ve read that somewhere, but please don’t take my word for it. Haha!! So the search was on. I asked a couple of people on their recommendation and they gave different opinions. Our Airbnb host discouraged it as *there’s wifi everywhere in Korea*. A friend told me that she bought a local sim card. Two friends recommended the KT Olleh pocket wifi. I decided on the KT Olleh because of CM and Trixie. Hihi.. So I googled. This is the site where I rented my KT Olleh pocket wifi – Korea Telecom. I felt that this was the most complete of all those I got to search. They offered sim cards for voice and data and pocket wifi rentals. Unlike in Japan where you rent a pocket wifi with sim, here – you’ll have to pay extra for the pocket wifi unit. But while reading through, if one books online, the rental of the unit is FREE! Yehey! I had one issue though, we were arriving at 6 in the morning! I was worried that their counters would be closed, since – I mean – who was open at 6 freaking in the morning?! Well, well, well – apparently KT Olleh had a counter that is open for 24 hours! BRILLIANT! I was starting to love the efficiency of the Koreans. Cool right? Reserving online is fairly easy. You’ll need to fill out the forms and then submit them. After a few hours, you’ll receive a reply from them with a payment form to fill up. After that, you’ll receive a confirmation number, make sure to keep it. An idea would be to take a picture of the confirmation number on your phone. I didn’t need to print out a confirmation letter, as my friend Trixie said that I just needed to show the confirmation number at the counter and give them my passport. I was honestly quite nervous, I mean – I didn’t have any confirmation letter, but I trusted the efficiency of Korea Telecom. I made sure to print out the location of the KT Olleh kiosks, so I won’t get lost. Cost was at KRW5,500.00/day. Roughly that’s about PHP275.00/day, that’s definitely cheaper than the data roaming rates of Globe and Smart (which are at Php600+ a day). And since it’s a pocket wifi – you can have 5 gadgets connected at the same time. Good deal, right? I know that there are other options available locally, but I am too paranoid that they won’t work while I’m out of the country, so to be safe – I’d rather go with a certain country’s local telecom company. At the very least, their signal will be efficient and consistent. We arrived in Incheon Airport a little before 6am, I was surprised that the airport was filled with arriving passengers. I guess most flight arrive very early in Incheon. I searched for the KT Olleh booth with my print out (location) map and when I saw it, went to the counter and just presented my cellphone with the pic of the confirmation number. They then asked for my passport and proceeded to hand me a small packet. I was too much in a rush to have taken a picture of what was given me. I got this on the site, they pack is exactly what is in the picture:
This egg worked great while we were in Seoul and in Everland. The signal was always high and there wasn’t a single time that I had to reset it (turn it off and on, like what we are always asked to do here in the country – that I really don’t understand). As for the battery, well – we had 2 gadgets connected the whole day, I turned on the pocket wifi from 9:30am until about 10:00pm and it was still okay. There was just one day that I had to connect it to my power bank. So, overall – I was very very happy with my pocket wifi rental. I would recommend this to friends and family renting this out. It’s very convenient, signal is always good PLUS you can connect multiple gadgets at the same time. Another plus point, is that there is no data cap, meaning it’s unlimited, really unlimited!! 🙂 Speed is also fast, at least 5mbps! Returning was quite easy too. There are numerous counters in the Departure Hall for you to return the units. I talk to these pocket wifi units before I return them (to the counters or before I drop them off their mailboxes). I say thank you to them because they have helped me during the trip. I know, it’s odd but I still do it every time. Hahaha! They have served their purpose and they need to be thanked for serving me and my family. I really appreciate these gadgets very much.
