Honestly, Taiwan was never on my top list of countries to go to but after exploring Taipei, I have so much respect to its culture and the country. It was around early November 2016 when my Ate Kath told me she was going to Asia for a business trip and she asked me if I wanted to go meet her in Taiwan. Of course, I didn’t want to miss this chance to spend time with her, luckily, I don’t need to wait and process visa application because I have SK visa already. Since she only has limited time, we had full days to go around Taipei. I arrived in Taipei past midnight of Monday and left early morning of Wednesday. My friend, Geoff, was also in Taipei that time and coincidentally, we have the same flight back to Manila. So Ate Kath, Geoff and I went around Taipei and made good memories together for two days. The people in Taipei are very nice though not all of them understand English, there are times that you have to do sign language to communicate or just figure it out by yourself. VisaAs per October 2016 update from Taiwan embassy, if you have visa (resident/permanent/ entry/e-visa) in Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, any of the Schengen countries, United Kingdom and/or United States, you don’t need to submit visa application, instead, you just need to apply for Visa Exemption Authorization Certificate on this link. They will immediately issue the Certificate upon completion of the online application. You should print it and bring it with the visa (from the countries stated). In addition to the visa, the applicant should have the following:
TOURIST VISA If you don't have visas from the countries mentioned, you can apply for Tourist visa. STEP 1: APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS REMINDERS
VISA REQUIREMENTS
OTHER SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS These were not stated in the website but based from my experience, here are helpful documents to support your visa application.
If you're planning to use your parent's documents:
For additional details and clarifications, you can check the website on this link. STEP 2: SUBMISSION AND RELEASING You can submit the complete documents in TAIPEI ECONOMIC and CULTURAL OFFICE in the Philippines. Here the the details: 41 F, Tower 1, RCBC, Ayala Ave, Makati Contact details: 887-6688 Office hours: M-F, 8:45 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Submission of requirements: M-F, 8:45 - 11:45 a.m. Releasing of Visa: M-F, 1:45 - 4:45 p.m. Processing is 3 working days. There is an additional fee for rush/expedite for 1 day/overnight processing. Here are the fees for the visa application:
For additional info, you may visit: http://www.roc-taiwan.org MoneyThe currency in Taiwan is New Taiwan Dollar (TWD), please bring US Dollars instead of PH Peso. I brought PH Peso and had a hard time exchanging it, the money exchange shops do not accept PH Peso so I had to have it exchanged at Bank of Taiwan (it was such a hassle huhu). You can get a good rate at the money exchange in the airport. Going aroundThe most convenient mode of transportation in Taipei is the MRT; the tourist spots are very accessible via MRT. For our first day, we got the One-Day Pass that costs TWD 150, it is valid for unlimited Taipei Metro rides until the end of service of the date of purchase and on the second day, we bought reloadable card that costs TWD 100 for the card and load worth TWD 100 for one day. You can refund the remaining reload balance but not the card payment. There are also 24hr (TWD 180), 48hr (TWD 230) and 72hr (TWD 380) Taipei Metro Pass; they are for unlimited use starting from the first tap/use. You can buy Metro pass/cards at the MRT station. These Taipei Metro Passes comes with discount coupons for Taipei 101 observatory and pineapple cake. You should download TP Metro app, it's very useful and it will help you in navigating the MRT system in Taipei. Food
ItineraryWithin the two full days, we managed to go to a lot of must-see places in Taiwan. We got to see and visit three major temples in Taipei. My favorite would be Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, I have yet to discover and wander in the nearby provinces of Taiwan. So it means, more reasons to come back right? Looking forward to my next adventure! xoxo, M
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She wonders and wandersMonica writes about her life, what she eats, what she reads and where she goes. This space is where her thoughts, experiences, memories and feelings turn into words. She's glad that she can share with you. Archives
August 2021
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