Friday, March 28, 2014

[Taiwan Trip] Footnotes

In my impression, Taiwan is generally a clean, orderly, safe country with lots of great food and stunning sceneries. I don't usually gain weight during holidays but in the past one week I put on 1 kg :p

The most challenging thing during the trip was communication, as most people do not speak English. Of course the probability to find someone who can speak English in Taipei is higher than in smaller cities.

Most of the restaurants that we went to accept cash payment only. This was quite troublesome but then there's always ATM machines in the city.

In general the prices there were cheaper than Singapore, albeit only slightly. As an example, a cup of normal bubble tea (milk tea with pearls) in Singapore costs SGD 2.80 while in Taiwan it costs NT50 (about SGD 2.10).

Toilets are generally clean there, and free.

Taiwan visa is not difficult to apply. You do not need to come in person; the documents requested and the fee (SGD 65) are reasonable. Located in PSA building, the office is easily accessible too. Citizens of a few Asian countries, including Indonesia, only need to apply online for certificate of authorization if they are holding valid Australia/New Zealand/Japan/UK/US/Canada/Schengen visa.

Places of interest in Taiwan usually have a small section where various unique stamps and ink pads are provided. I brought along a small notebook to put the stamps on as souvenirs.

Free wifi in Taiwan is very good. Generally hotels, restaurants and public places offer free unlimited wifi, with good speed. Two thumbs up!

Granted that there are a lot more to be seen in Taiwan as we covered only a small part of it, but we left the country impressed.

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