sms me?

Indonesians seem to be just as dependent on cell phones (or "hand phones" as they call them) as Americans are. We see them being used all the time, by kids and adults alike. It's not uncommon to see people checking their messages in traffic. 

The preferred method of communication here seems to be sms (short message service) vs speaking voice to voice. When someone wants to communicate further on something, they just say "sms me" (where Americans use the word "text"). 

school girls using hand phones

pulsa scratch off cards

Cellular phone systems in Indonesia are operated by 8 different private companies, all of whom are partially owned by the government phone company. We use Telkom and they constantly  send us "junk" sms messages in bahasa Indonesia (of course) which I promptly delete without trying to figure out. I hope they haven't told me I've won thousands of dollars which I've failed to collect!

checking messages on back of motor

In the states, one typically chooses a service provider, purchases a phone and then selects a plan that allows a certain number of minutes per month for a fixed amount. Here, it's not so simple. There are no shortage of places to buy phones, but one does not have to be loyal to any particular provider. Rather than purchase a plan with a fixed number of minutes, one only needs to purchase pulsa. Almost everyone sells pulsa! It's a way to make a little money on the side of whatever else they're doing. For instance, if you are riding in a cab and realize you need pulsa, you can ask your cab driver to sell you some!

To me this is a major nuisance, because it's easy to forget to check it and run out, only to find that your phone is incapacitated and worthless at the moment. There's also the sim (subscriber identity module) cards that have to be purchased, depending on where you plan to use your phone. These contain all your data so they are interchangeable between phones.

adding pulsa

pulsa for sale

young people love their hand phones!

and older folks as well