Buy a SIM card in India It is something that will help you a lot on your trip. In the end you will use the phone more than you thought! In addition the national calls are thrown of price, not in vain in the street you will see huge amounts of Indians stuck to their mobile phones for hours and hours (we do not exaggerate!). International calls are also quite cheap, so a call home from time to time is mandatory!
But you want to know how to buy a SIM in India?
Step 1. Find your trusted store
Search several mobile stores and compare prices. A SIM should not cost more than300 or 400 INR, with INR 100 or 200 balance included. There are several companies, including Airtel or Vodafone. We opted for the latter. We ask the difference in the rates but we don't even remember, if it is very cheap.
EYE! Apparently if you are a foreigner they cancel your card after 3 months. It took us a little longer, but being in our last days in Varanasi we died. We went to complain to the Vodafone store and there was no way they would activate it again ... these Vodafone capullines did not behave very well!
Step 2. Documentation
The first step was already taken. Now you have to register as a good citizen so that they control all your calls and be well guarded (total conspiracy theory). What do you need? You have to fill in a form with your data (in the direction of India just put the hotel where you stay), a Photo of meat, the passport photocopy that they themselves do to you and in a few hours you will have the SIM activated.
But I don't have an Indian phone!
Nothing happens! We carry one released from Spain and it is the one we use without problems! If you don't have one, you can buy a shabby shabby here, it won't cost more than 15 or 20 euros.
Important!
India is divided into many regions, which function as different countries by telephone. That is, when you change the region you will receive several messages informing you of the roaming rates within India! It usually costs 1 or 2 rupees more to call and also costs to receive calls. But that said, the rates are quite cheap and will not be an excessive expense.
advice. New Delhi IS NOT RAJASTAN, we took out the SIM in Delhi and then we thought it was better to wait a little and take it out in the first city of Rajasthan, which is the region where we will spend more time. That way we would save something.
What will you use the mobile phone for?
To call your house, to be called from your home, to call the hotel you have booked if they have to pick you up, to call friends you made along the way (you will do many!), To contact a tuctuc driver (it is always good to have someone's contact and earn their trust, then the rates are better)… pufff will be very very useful!
