Hello, I'm Mike Prasad.

Welcome aboard geeks! :) RT @davemcclure: wheels up SFO. #GOAP on way to Shanghai, by way of Korea. China here we come! #FTWless than a minute ago via web
Asiana Airlines

After a very, very, very long flight via @AsianaAirlines into Incheon Airport, Korea, us geeks are getting a much needed interwebs and power fix at the Asiana Business Lounge before we catch our flight to Shanghai. On a side note, service on Asiana was REALLY good, once we took off, EVERY passenger was personally greeted and tier assigned steward/stweardess introduced themselves (and this is economy folks, not business class).

Anyway, so far, its been fun, I got to sit next to the always fun @DaveMcclure on the flight in, and even setup an ad hoc wifi network for a little inter-plane chatting I sort of hacked together.. but more on that later (here’s a teaser by @DanielGruneberg).. for now here are some pics so far (after the jump)!

(Also, you can live vicariously through the #GOAP Twitter List, kindly setup by @Edaz)

BIG THANK YOU TO @ASIANAAIRLINES FOR THE LOUNGE ACCESS!!

Just off the plane!

The Geek Army headed to Asiana Lounge

Mr. @DanielGruneberg

Dave McClure’s personal VIP line.

Which way to go?

Dave and (I’m damn jealous of) his personal videographer.

Us geeks getting our fix.

If you don’t know already, I’m embarking on what will be an awesome trip today with some fellow geeks to Asia for the Geeks On A Plane trip. I’m actually writing this from SFO, awaiting my flight out. Anyway, whenever I travel internationally, I usually call my credit card companies to let them know so they don’t decline my random transactions from wherever I am. It’s not always necessary but I find it does help. A funny thing happened when I called Wells Fargo though.. (and for the record, I like Wells Fargo). The conversation went something like this:

ME: Hi, I’ll be traveling internationally and I’d like to let you know so I’ll have full use of my cards.

REP: Thank you for calling. Which cards will you be traveling with?

ME: <redacted>

REP: Thank you, and where will you be traveling to?

ME: Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo.

REP: Very good, I will notate on your account that you will be traveling to the Middle East..

ME: …

REP: <typing>

ME: Um, technically, that would all be travel to Asia..

REP: Oh! ok.

Now I don’t claim to be an expert in Geography, but really? I guess now I can’t say anything when one of my more snarky international friends quip about how “Some Americans don’t know their place in the world, even when they are given a map.”

I’m heading to Asia on Geeks on a Plane in a few days and have been trying to figure out a cheap way to receive calls while abroad (I can call out via Skype over Wifi on my iPhone). My goal was to find a solution with the following caveats:

• Be as transparent as possible a.k.a. not have to give out a new number.
• Be as cheap as possible.
• Be able to get voicemails without calling my U.S. phone (an iPhone with unlimited minutes).
• Be able to use local prepaid SIM cards/change to a local phone in each country I visit.
• Be as elegant as possible a.k.a minimize the number of handoffs/services needed.

According to most of my fellow traveling geeks, getting a local SIM card in each city I travel to is the best (read: cheapest) way to go. Some countries, like Japan, even have free incoming calls. As my main phone is an iPhone, and I didn’t want to unlock it (and needed an Android phone for app testing), I picked up a Google Nexus One (see my unboxing pics here). The Nexus One supports all the GSM bands I’ll need and should take a local SIM wherever I go. Now I had to figure out how to get my calls routed to the Nexus One (with a country-local number), but still receive voicemails when I was between countries. I figured something like a VOIP service would work. Here are the services I checked out:

• Google Voice - Great service within the U.S. but can’t forward to international numbers. Transcripted voicemails to email is a plus though…
• Google Voice + Gizmo5 - Gizmo5 is integrated into Google Voice and allows forwarding to international numbers at pennies a minute, BUT the almighty Google bought Gizmo5 late last year, and for now, no one can sign up for a new account.
• Google Voice + LocalPhone - Could theoretically work but never used Local Phone and wasn’t as elegant (simple) of a solution.
• Google Voice + Skype - Could work, but Google Voice is an extra unneeded step.
• Skype - Has the right services, can forward to any number, seemed like the way to go.

After playing around on Skype’s website Here’s what I’ve set up:

1. A Skype Online Number - A U.S. number that anyone can call that goes to my Skype account.
2. Skype Voicemail -  So if I miss the call I can still get voicemails by logging into Skype on my laptop (I think?) my iPhone App.
3. $25 of Skype Credit - For calls forwarded out at low Skype rates.

And here’s what I do when I’m traveling:

1. At home, I setup my Skype Voicemail and turn OFF Skype Forwarding.
2. Before I board my plane, I forward my regular U.S. mobile number (that everyone knows) to my U.S. Skype Online Number. 
3. When I land in a country abroad, I grab a local prepaid SIM card, and when I get online at the hotel I login and turn Skype Forwarding ON to the local prepaid number.
4. Before I fly out I turn OFF Skype Forwarding then when I land, repeat step 3.
5. When I get back home, I stop forwarding my regular U.S. number to my Skype Online Number.

So as complex at it seems, it should work pretty simply. Here’s how calls to my regular U.S. mobile number should automatically route:

1. Calls to my regular number automatically go to my Skype number, no one needs to know a different number.
2. If I’m on a plane or have no country specific phone/SIM, the call goes to Skype Voicemail (not AT&T voicemail), which I can access anywhere when I get online.
3. If I have a local phone/SIM, I receive the call at local rates + SkypeOut rates for forwarding (usually a few cents a minute).
4. That’s it.

Total cost is $49 spent on Skype + local SIM costs, and I don’t miss any calls or voicemails, all while avoiding AT&T’s $1+ a minute international calling rates.

As far as I can tell, it should work. I’ll let you know how it goes.. and if you try it out, let me know! Now for the packing.. oye!