hi, i am going to bkk next week (from ireland)

i will be bringing my standard dell laptop with me, what is the story regarding the power supply etc. what di i neeed to bring.

the answer is probably somewhere on this site, but i couldn't find it.

apologies if it seems a dumb question to some

regards

antojik

power here is 220V, so if Ireland is the same as England [240V] you won't have a problem. Most laptop power supplies are universal anyway - my IBM thinkpad will run on anything above 90V.

If you've got a standard built in modem you can plug in to a normal phone line here - you can buy prepaid internet access from Loxinfo and others. Or at some net cafes you can plug into their lan for faster access. Costs more though. Not all net cafes let you plug in - you'll have to keep asking till you find one. I found one on beach road near the Starbucks.

Starbucks is supposed to have wireless access for customers, but I don't know anyone who's actually tried it yet. I know that in the USA and also in Singapore it's free at Starbucks, but in Thailand you have to buy prepaid cards. I don't know how much, sorry.

I have a Dell Latitude CPxJ650GT - a bit old now, over 3 1/2 years, but still works fine. The power supply works fine - you'll need to get an adaptor just to change the physical connection, but electrics are OK.

I had to change my modem property (in Control Panel, Phone and Modem Options) to NOT wait for dial tone before dialling - my Psion Gold Card 56K modem doesn't seem to recognise Thai dial tone down here in Phuket, but it was OK in Bangkok.

Not sure if it's an option for you but my last stay I got a room near Nana and Cowboy at the Presidente Solitare. They offer high-speed and wireless access for free in every room. I think the rate was about $50 a night and the room had a 50" plasma television, full size fridge, etc.

I would check around at other hotels and see if you can't find a hotel with free high-speed access.

The President Solitare is a very fancy hotel.

At $50/night you had a very very good deal.

I looked there when shopping for a place on a

monthly basis. They wanted 65000B for a beautiful

studio but dropped it to 50000B/month if staying

for 3 months or more.

JFYI ......

Check the transformer (the black box on the power cable) on your laptop. It will tell you the input and output. Generally, unless you have a really old laptop, the input will be a range something like 110-220volts 50-60Hz.

I have a new Dell laptop from Oz and use it (with a physical adaptor) in Samui no problems. It can get hot if you don't have airconditoning, and if staying in a hotel I would advise using one of those locks that fasten it to a desk just in case the temptation is too much for a poorly paid cleaner.

Check the transformer (the black box on the power cable) on your laptop. It will tell you the input and output. Generally, unless you have a really old laptop, the input will be a range something like 110-220volts 50-60Hz.

Mine says 100-240v AC, 50-60Hz.