1. Why Taiwan for Easter - Taiwan was not on my Easter vacation list. I had planned an eight-day trip to Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, spending two days each in Doha, Manama, Kuwait City and Dammam. Flight tickets were jaw droppingly cheap too. The itinerary was finalised and in a couple of countries contacts were also established. My brother raised the first red flag. It was about the Kuwait visa. As I probed more, the less probable it seemed to get a Kuwait visa. To this day I have not been able to fathom why such tourist unfriendly restrictions are in place. Frustration reached a point where the restrictions of getting a visa and the flights to be taken led to dropping the country out of the itinerary all together.
I entrusted the responsibility of booking flights with Rajiv Shah, a dear friend and proprietor of Network Tours and Travels, Surat. He came up with incredibly cheap tickets from Mumbai to Doha and Dammam to Mumbai. It surprised him and he decided to research the reason for such cheap fares. He came up with the reason soon enough - it was the Ramadan month, and it is best to avoid travel to these countries because of the fasting regulations and closure of most attractions. I decided to leave these countries for another day, maybe take the hops from Dubai. Desperate to find an alternative I sought the advice of Rajiv who suggested Taiwan because the fare was reasonable and getting a Travel Authorization for an Indian passport holder with a valid US visa is hassle free. Thus, Taiwan came to be the Easter travel destination.
2. Flights - Cathay Pacific offered the best flight options and fare to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, from Mumbai. The fare from Kandla to Mumbai is extortionist, to be polite. With a small runway and no competition Spicejet has been having a field day for years in Kandla. I researched options to fly to Mumbai and finally settled on an Air India flight from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. Besides the higher baggage allowance, I would not have to change terminal in Mumbai for the flight to Hong Kong, the stopover to Taipei. Cathay Pacific, I understood, began as a one aircraft carrier after the Second WW in 1946, as the passion of two Air Force pilots who envisioned the need for trans-Pacific flights. Betsy, as the first aircraft was christened, was retired to the Hong Kong Museum of Science & Technology in 1983.
3. History - Taiwan was originally known as Formosa, a name that dates back to the early 16th century when it began being mentioned in maps of Portuguese sailors. After the Japanese occupation of the island between 1895 and 1945, as an aftermath of the Chinese Civil War and the ascendancy of Chinese Communist Party in mainland China, the ROC government relocated to Taiwan in 1949. Mao Zedong led the Chinese Communist Party while the Koumintang Party was headed by Chiang Kie Shek. The country ruled by the former came to be known as the People's Republic of China while the government in Formosa came to be called the Republic of China. Since then, the ROC has continued to exercise effective jurisdiction over the main island of Taiwan and a number of outlying islands, leaving Taiwan and China each under the rule of a different government. Taiwan is being claimed by China on an argument that the ROC and PRC are two different factions in the Chinese Civil War, which never legally ended. Therefore, the PRC claims that both factions belong to the same sovereign country.
- Taiwan is mostly mountainous in the east, with gently sloping plains in the west. It is the most mountainous island in the world with the mountains in the east rising over 3000 meters; the Jade Mountain is over 3250 meters. The country is less than 400 kms long and 150 km wide. The shape of the country has been compared to a tobacco leaf and a sweet potato. Approximately 93% of people in Taiwan identify themselves as Buddhists, Taoists, or practitioners of Chinese folk religion.
5. Currency - The official currency of Taiwan is the New Taiwan Dollar or TWD and symbol is NT$. This replaced the old Taiwan dollar in 1949 at a rate of 40,000 old Taiwan dollar to a New Taiwan Dollar. The currency conversion is 1 NTD = 2.61 INR, 31.95 NTD = 1$. The Consumer Price Index is expected to rise 2.16% as compared to the GDP at 3.22%. Taiwan is the 14th richest country in the world amongst 193 based on GDP adjusted for PPP. Taiwan is best known for making cutting-edge semiconductors. But its companies also turn out other crucial components from printed circuit boards to advanced camera lenses and they run huge device assembly operations in China.
6. Travel Authorization - Rajiv sent me the link to apply for a Travel Authorization Certificate, which is applicable for citizens of India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar and Indonesia. Navigating through the translated pages, I filled up the details fairly quickly. I had to give details of my valid US visa too besides other personal information, itinerary and accommodation in Taiwan. What I was not prepared for was the speed of processing the TAC request. Before I could close the browser the TAC was in the inbox! You can call that speed. Moreover, there is neither processing fee nor visa fee.
7. Agoda booking experience - I had three options to book accommodation in Taiwan; booking.com, Agoda and Airbnb. As the last named did not give the exact location of the facility till after the booking, I researched the first two. I had never booked on Agoda prior to this, but found cheaper options there. Hence, I gave booking.com the short shrift, the portal I had been relying on for a decade - ever since the Cochin to London road trip in 2014. I didn't find it difficult to source budget friendly hotels at great locations. As a single traveler, convenience, functionality and budget are the parameters I use to zero in on the accommodation. A clean bed and toilet are all that I seek mostly. I booked accommodation for three nights each in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Closer to the date of travel I didn't have confirmation from the hotel in Kaohsiung despite paying the tariff. I contacted Agoda Customer Service over phone and was informed by a Chinese sounding person that the reservation is still being processed. When I told them that the accommodation had been paid for, they said that the amount would be refunded in 30 days if the confirmation did not come through. That got my goat. Imagine the gall of the company, holding on to the paid tariff for thirty working days. I never had this issue with either Airbnb or booking.com, ever.
- Online arrival card has to be filled up; quite a simple process after which a confirmation email and an Excel file can be downloaded. The TAC and the online arrival card make one eligible for check-in, immigration and on arrival visa stamping in Taiwan.
9. Packing - As I am traveling in Spring, which are the months from March to May, the temperatures are expected to be mild with cherry blossoms in bloom and also see Pingxi sky lanterns rising in the sky. It is considered to be one of the best times to visit Taiwan - downside is that it's the peak season for tourism. When I looked up the weather forecasts for the last week of March I found a few days when precipitation possibility was high. Therefore, an umbrella, quick dry wear and an extra pair of sneakers are what I packed besides the unavoidable medical kit and toiletries.
10. Contacting Keralites in Taiwan - Out of curiosity I took to Internet to find out if there is a Malayali Association in Taiwan. The result came up positive and I was able to get contact details from Facebook of the Taiwanese Malayalee Association. An email to the given address elicited an immediate response from Dr. Sujith, President of TMA. He also gave me two contacts in Taipei and Kaohsiung, to who he had put in a word to assist. I gathered valuable information and suggestions from Darieo and Subin. The former lives in Taipei and the latter in Kaohsiung. I hoped to meet up with them when I visited the two cities.
11. Communication - on a sightseeing trip communication is of paramount importance, the need for data and at times local calls. Information gathered over the next indicated that Chungwah is the most reliable telecom service provider in Taiwan and they have various plans to suit one's plans. I intend to pick up a prepaid sim from a counter at the Taoyuan Airport arrival hall. It is said that most public places in Taipei offer free Wi-Fi hotspots making it easy for visitors to stay connected while exploring the city.
12. Getting Around - Taiwanese cities like Taipei and Kaohsiung are reputed to have excellent public transport, a network of Mass Rapid Transit, Light Rail Transit, buses, ferries and trains. A pre-loaded EasyCard can be used on all modes, save the High-Speed Rail. The MRT Service Counter of the Arrival Hall in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 can be approached for a metro card metro card, which has a 100 TWD non-refundable charge.
13. Water - Taiwan is generally considered to have safe tap water that is suitable for drinking. The tap water in Taiwan is subject to rigorous testing and treatment, and it meets international standards for drinking water quality. Residents and foreigners living in Taiwan commonly drink tap water without issues.
The above rounded up my research and preparation for the Easter vacation in Taiwan.
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