LycaMobile LycaDrugDeal:

O2, Virgin, Orange, The Dragon; the mobile phone company list goes on and on here. Mind you, not a single one I've heard of. And the customer service in the stores is beyond bad.

Here's a sample conversation with a bloke at one of the stores:

me: Can you tell me about your mobile phone plans? What's the difference between monthly and pay as you go? Advantages to each?

him: Oi.

me: Huh? Did you just grunt?

him: Oi. Shrimp on the barbie. Oi.

me: Thanks. You've been a big help.

Ok, so it didn't go exactly that way and the guy wasn't a bad stereotype of an Aussie, but he was useless and I can't type a fake British accent yet, but give me time.

We finally figured out that to get a phone you need a bank account, and to get a bank account you need a legal address, and to prove your legal address you need to have a utility bill in your name. How do you call the utilities without a phone?

Yesterday was my first day in London, and I have none of this. Crap.

Then we met a guy who informed us that if I take my current US phone to this other guy who hangs out by a news stand around the corner, he could zap my phone and make it work in the UK with a local SIM card. Huh? All I would have to do is fork over 10 Pounds Sterling, give a man I've never met my phone and come back between 5 and 7 hours from now to the same spot. He'd be there. Right.

Keep in mind that I won't be able to prove that I live where I live short of bringing the banker to m flat for another 2 weeks. That's the quickest any of the utilities can get me a letter to prove my address. Sadly in this day and age, 2 weeks without a phone in a new city just won't cut it.

So, I hand the guy who hangs out front of a news stand 10 Pounds Sterling, my phone and I was handed a receipt and was told to come back in 5 hours. Let me repeat, I was handed a receipt from a guy who hans out in front of a news stand.

We continued about our day which consisted of walking around the neighborhood going from bank to bank to hear all about there accounts which all sounded very much the same. 5 hours later we walked back to the corner with the news stand and the guy was there. He handed me my phone and informed me it would now work in the UK on any network with a new SIM card. Where do I get a SIM card? He didn't open his jacket to reveal shiny new SIM cards, but it felt as shady. 5 Pounds later I had my phone and a new SIM card from a mobile company called LycaMobile. Never heard of it.

I popped the card into the phone and hoped it would actually work. And you know what? It did. I just have to Top Up. I'll figure that out tomorrow.

Still can't help feeling that my dealings with the LycaMobile man on the corner was a lot like a drug deal. Welcome to London.