Basics - The Rough Guide to Bolivia - page 77

Mobile phones
Mobile phones are widely used in large towns and cities, and coverage is improving in rural
areas. If you want to use one while in Bolivia, the easiest option is to bring your own phone
from home and buy a Bolivian SIM card (“chip”) from one of the several mobile network
operators - such as Viva, Tigo or the ubiquitous ENTEL - which you can then top up with
credit. Annoyingly, foreigners can only - officially at least - buy SIM cards from bigger
branches of the mobile companies, which tend to be in the larger towns or cities; take your
passport. SIMs are often free if you buy credit (from Bs15) at the same time.
Collect calls and charge cards
If your home phone operator has an arrangement with ENTEL, you can phone home collect
using a telephone charge card . This enables you to make calls from most public and private
phones in Bolivia by dialling an international operator. The calls are charged to your own ac-
count back home. It's worth having one of these cards, if only for emergencies. To get a card
and PIN, and to find out rates, contact your domestic operator before you leave.
Photography
The light in Bolivia is very bright, particularly at high altitudes , so use fast (100 ASA) film
and a UV polarizing filter. In the highlands, the best times to take photos are early in the
morning and late in the afternoon, when the sunlight is not too harsh. Under the forest can-
opy in the lowlands, on the other hand, light is poor, so you need to use slow film. Taking
photos of people without permission can offend, particularly in rural areas. It's best to ask
politely (“ Puedo sacar una fotito? ” - “Can I take a little photo?”); most people react favour-
ably to this approach, though some may refuse outright or ask for a small fee.
Time
Bolivia is four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, an hour ahead of US Eastern Standard
Time.
Tourist information
Bolivia has no national tourist offices. Although you can sometimes get limited tourist in-
formation from some of the country's embassies, you'll probably find that tour companies
who run trips to Bolivia are a better bet. The internet is another good source of information,
and a growing number of websites offer everything on the country from hard facts to trivia
and travellers' tales.
Most major Bolivian cities have a regional tourism office , either run by the city municip-
ality or by the departmental prefecture. Some are fairly helpful, handing out free leaflets and
doing their best to answer questions (though rarely in English). Others offer a much more
limited service, though you should at least be able to get a plan of the city from them. Local