Visa-Free Taiwan for Filipinos: Cebu Pacific Flight + Taipei Main Station
For this part, I'll write about the things you should do if you'll also take the midnight Cebu Pacific fight. Alam kong madaming concerns regarding sa accommodations at kung saan pwede mag-iwan ng maleta kapag alanganin oras ng flights.
I am not sure if this 2:05 AM was the time we landed in Taiwan or was the time when we went through the immigration counter. Nonetheless, we still had a time to spare since the first bus ride to Taipei Main Station was at around 5 AM.
It was chilly during our trip in Taiwan but that morning, it was way colder than what we expected.
Things we did at the airport while waiting:
1. Changed PHP to NTD. (we researched on this and from what we found out, it was better to change PHP directly to NTD instead of changing PHP to USD to NTD. Also, the money changer in the airport offers good exchange rate)
1. Changed PHP to NTD. (we researched on this and from what we found out, it was better to change PHP directly to NTD instead of changing PHP to USD to NTD. Also, the money changer in the airport offers good exchange rate)
2. Bought a transport card (at the convenience store)
3. Ate (at the convenience store)
4. Slept at the nearest available couch. :))
4. Slept at the nearest available couch. :))
Sleeping at airport couches didn't seem weird at all since other people were doing it too. Above is where I took a nap for around 2 hours. We woke up and the bus to Taipei was already running. According to the signs, there's a shower area there so we changed clothes first to get ready for a long day ahead... punas, hilamos, toothbrush lang ganern kasi hindi naman namin nakita 'yung shower area. Walang choice eh. Travel isn't always comfortable, 'di ba? haha!
After an hour of bus ride, we arrived at Taipei Main Station.
So concerns are:
1. Paano sa umaga habang wala pang kwarto, san pwede maglagay ng gamit?
1. Paano sa umaga habang wala pang kwarto, san pwede maglagay ng gamit?
2. Paano sa pag-uwi kapag wala ng kwarto, san pwede maglagay ng gamit?
Well, well, well, Taipei Main Station is there to rescue us. :))
Well, well, well, Taipei Main Station is there to rescue us. :))
Kung sa hotel kayo matutulog, pwede siguro kayo makilagay ng gamit o mag early check-in pero hindi namin option 'yon kasi 'yun nakuha naming kwarto e kwarto lang talaga na may gumagamit pa nung mga oras na 'yan kaya wala kaming choice kundi maghintay na lang.
Nung pauwi naman kami, gusto namin na may balikan pang kwarto kahit hindi na naman magagamit the whole night kaya nakacheck-in kami mga hanggang 12 midnight. Dapat makaisip sila nung check-in na 12 noon hanggang 12 midnight, noh? Sakto sana sa oras ng flight. ahaha.
Before anything else, we ate first pa rin. :)) There's a Mcdonald's counter in Taipei Main Station since most of the food stores were still closed that time. Ang daming pwedeng kainan pero sarado pa that time ehh.
After eating, we looked for a locker. There are a lot of lockers in Taipei Main Station and are of different sizes so worry not for the security of your things... though syempre, kung may importanteng gamit e wag pa rin iwan.
Take a picture of your locker and the place where it is located since Taipei Main Station can get really confusing especially when the stores are open already. Aalis ka kasing wala pa masyadong tao at tindahan pero babalik kang madami na tapos bukas na rin mga tindahan kaya medyo nakakalito.
Download their MRT and BUS app in your phone so you can navigate easily since it can get confusing as well.
After an exhausting yet fun-filled day, we went back to Taipei Main Station to get our bags and check-in.
Our room was in Ximending but there weren't any signs and we weren't able to contact the room owner for we didn't have internet almost the whole day so thankfully, someone helped us call the owner.
Our room was in Ximending but there weren't any signs and we weren't able to contact the room owner for we didn't have internet almost the whole day so thankfully, someone helped us call the owner.
Hotels in Ximending are, I think, your best choices when it comes to finding accommodations in Taipei. There's a nearby MRT station and it's a tourist attraction by itself.
We hired a cab since we were already tired and the cab driver was so nice that even though he doesn't soeak English, he called someone who understands English so she can help us find which street we were going. At times when traveling takes you to people who wants nothing but to take advantage of you, you'll feel nothing but gratefulness towards people like the people who helped us find our "home" in Taipei. Madami pang mabait sa mundo. May we always be surrounded by them. :))
We hired a cab since we were already tired and the cab driver was so nice that even though he doesn't soeak English, he called someone who understands English so she can help us find which street we were going. At times when traveling takes you to people who wants nothing but to take advantage of you, you'll feel nothing but gratefulness towards people like the people who helped us find our "home" in Taipei. Madami pang mabait sa mundo. May we always be surrounded by them. :))
0 comments