2009 Oct: Taiwan: Day 2: Bird's View from 101

Travel Date: October 20, 2009

I started my morning by going out at around 9am for National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall (9am - 6:30pm), take Exit 5 from the MRT Station.

C.K.S. Memorial Hall Station

Find your way to the main entrance, to take a snapshot of the huge gate. I spent around 2-3 hours to take shots of the National Theater, Memorial Hall, Democracy Boulevard and Concert Hall. If you are lucky, you can also watch the exchange of guards at the Memorial Hall.

National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial (http://www.cksmh.gov.tw/eng/index.php)

Open: 9:00 AM TO 6:30 PM

Address: 21, Zhongshan South Road, Taipei (100)

National Theater

Memorial Hall

I planned to go to NTUniversity in Gongguan Station, but decided not to proceed with that plan. I’d rather spent more time in Taipei 101.

From CKSM Station, I moved to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Station, Exit 2 to look for Mr. J. Restaurant. This is owned by Jay Chou where the theme is inspired by his movie The Secret. There is nothing special in the location, it seems like it is in a street together with residential area. I was not able to see the grand piano, but the walls are full of Jay’s memorabilia. I ordered for vegetable salad and pasta, and it was good.

Mr. J. Restaurant (http://www.mrj-tw.com/)

Address: No.43 Lane 308, Guangfu St., Da-an District, Taipei City 106

Lunch Set (12:00 - 14:00): starts from 150NT

After lunch, it started raining, I forgot to bring my cap so I had to buy one from NET. I walked towards SYS Memorial, and I did not bother going inside the Hall. I’m after taking photos of the actual Hall itself.

Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall

Address: 505, Jen-ai Rd, Sec. 4, TaipeiE-mail: sun@yatsen.yatsen.gov.tw

Hall Attraction: 9am-9pm (Part of exhibition rooms only open from 9:00~17:00)

Then, I find my way to Shifu Rd., I did not expect to see the tent that was often used on “Girls Marching On”, a series broadcasted by ABS in 2000.

From the Taipei City Hall, it is almost 20-30 minutes walk before I reached Taipei 101. If you are looking for the branded stuff, this is the Mall for you.

After roaming at the mall, I looked for the Observatory Ticket Booth located at the 5th floor of the Mall. Thanks to Youth Travel Card, I paid my ticket for 350NT only and got 50NT discount. The elevator will take you then to 89F (indoor observatory). Be sure to use their audio guides, it is very easy to use and it will explain to you every section seen from the observatory.

During my visit, there is an Art Exhibit and I found few entries from the Philippines.

I also sent out postcards from Taipei 101.

A small museum is also found inside, it contains a replica of the famous cabbage found in National Museum. Expensive jars are also for sale on the same floor.

Try to finish the indoor observatory before night fall, they do limit the area to be visited in outdoor obersvatory when it comes to be very windy.

Taipei 101 Observatory: (http://www.taipei-101.com.tw/en/DB/p_01.asp)

Operating Hours: 10am - 10pm (Last ticketing: 9:15pm)

Address 89F No.7, Hsin Yi Rd Sec 5, Taipei 101

Visiting Route: Entry 5F (take elevator -> 89F [indoor observatory] ) -> 91F [outdoor observatory]Exit 88F (take elevator -> 5F)

As I leave the building, I’m nearing the most awaited spot I’ve been wanting to see, the LOVE sculpture. Too bad that it was so windy that I can’t leave my tripod to take a personal shot.

Before crossing the street to see New York New York mall, I was surprised when a loud music started and when I turn around, the water fountain started dancing. I’m so happy that I was able to experience again to watch that kind of water show. (Last was on Wynn, Macau on Feb 2009)

When I reached NYNY, I had sudden flashbacks of DMS and SC’s date, this is the Mc Donald’s used on the last episode of Meteor Garden.

Upon the main entrance, I was welcomed by VZ Yu Min, he is the endorser for Sony Alpha.

You will pass by Viewshow and multiple Shin Kong Mitsukoshi malls before you can reach Taipei City Hall MRT Station.

I dropped off at Taipei Main Station, and called it a day!


Summary of 7 days 6 nights Itinerary on 2009 Taiwan Trip

Day	Places to see	Food and Restaurants	Where to Sleep
Day 1	St. John Bosco Church Miramar (Ferris Wheel)		City Inn Hotel
Day 2	National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial NTUniversity Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall Taipei 101	Lunch @ Mr. J Restaurant	City Inn Hotel
Day 3	Taroko Guided Tour	Dinner @ Modern Toilet	City Inn Hotel
Day 4	Ta Shee Blooming Oasis Tomita Farm		City Inn Hotel
Day 5	Walking on Tianmu Area Fisherman’s Walking Area	P.S. Bu Bu Restaurant	City Inn Hotel
Day 6	National Palace Museum Taipei Story Land	Hello Kitty Restaurant	City Inn Hotel
Day 7	Taipei Fine Arts Museum Taiwan Storyland		City Inn Hotel

2009 Oct: Taiwan: Day 1: Arrival at Taoyuan Airport and City Inn Hotel

Travel Date: October 19, 2009

After 7 months of preparation, my departure date finally came. I’m in NAIA Terminal 3, three hours before my flight schedule. I was the 3rd person who get into the plane (not that excited, huh!)

Have yourself a mask, just in case you wanted to use it because a lot of people are using it too in Taipei in general.

The plane arrived almost 20 minutes before the schedule time. After passing through the Immigration and the GREEN lane for the Customs (since I have nothing to declare), I have found my exit to roam around the airport. Sad, but there is nothing to see in Taiwan Taoyuan Airport Terminal 1 (unlike Terminal 2).

Reference: http://www.taoyuanairport.gov.tw/english/tourist/arrival_e.jsp

Find your way to the Tourist Service Counter (located on your right side as you exit from Customs) to apply for the Youth Travel Card (http://www.youthtravel.tw/ke/ytCard/en/index.html). This is a discount pass open to 15-30 years old tourists. You can use this in Miramar Ferris Wheel, Museums and Restaurants. Just present your passport upon application.

I also exchange few bucks in the airport to be used on buying bus tickets and paying in the hostel upon check-in.

2009 Oct: Taiwan: Planning and Requirements

2016 Update from Cebu Pacific: Good news for Philippine passport holders! There’s no need to apply for a Taiwanese visa if you have: 1) a valid entry visa issued by Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, any of the Schengen countries or the United States; or 2) a Taiwanese visa that has expired less than 10 years prior to your date of arrival in Taiwan. You just need to sign up and print out the Travel Authorization Certificate here. Best of all, it’s absolutely FREE! 

I just got back from my quirky trip in Taipei. And as a thank you to those who helped me, I’m sharing this journey with all of you.

Keep it cheap! Wait for a seat sale, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific now offers cheap flights going to Taiwan.

What are your available flights? At the beginning of my plan (March 2009), CP still offers flights going to Kaohsiung. Then I decided, that I’ll take MNL-KHH-TPE-MNL route. However, came July 2009, they already stop going to KHH. Thus, I have removed it from my plan as well. But if you insist in going to KHH, you can take a High Speed Rail Transit from Taipei for 2 hours at about 1260-1265NT, which depends on the ticket reservation and on the departure time. Just be careful, as some say that crime rate in KHH is high. I can’t say anything on this since I have not visited the place.

Know your purpose! Are you a certified addict of TW Series? If yes, then you must study where is the Car Restaurant that was used in Meteor Garden, the name of the Farm used in Lavender or the Mall in Why Why Love. How to get the featured places in Wish To See You Again like, Taipei 101 or National Museum, just to name a few.

Limit your target! How many days are you planning to spend on our trip? Can you cover all the main tourist spots from North (Taipei), East (Hualien), South (Kaoshiung), West (Sun Moon Lake) and Central (Alishan Mountains) areas?

Are you joining a guided tour? Clarify that you wanted an English guide and not the one speaking a local language. Do not schedule it on the first nor second day after your arrival, you might encounter flight schedule issues that might also affect your schedule with the tour agency.

And the most important, do you have a VISA? This would be my first trip which will require a VISA, and I’m happy cause the Consulate marked mine as APPROVED. Some travelers worked on VISA before buying a ticket. But in my case, I bought a ticket and booked a hostel before applying for a VISA -- yes, it is risky!

Applying for a Visa

Download the Visa Application form from the Bureau of Consulate Affairs (BOCA) site ( http://www.boca.gov.tw/lp.asp?ctNode=92&CtUnit=58&BaseDSD=7&mp=2 ). Fill-in the necessary details.

Prepare the Visitor Visa Requirements listed in Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) site ( http://www.roc-taiwan.org/PH/ct.asp?xItem=54268&ctNode=4712&mp=272 ).

You can apply the NSO copy of your birth certificate online through these links: https://www.ecensus.com.ph/Secure/frmIndex.asp or http://www.citizenservices.com.ph/nso .

When applying for Bank Certificate or Certificate of Employment, prepare the addressee which would be: THE COUNSULAR DIVISION, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines, 41st Floor, Tower 1, RCBC Plaza, 6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City.

When can you apply for a visa? It would be within a month before your departure date. In the morning, it is the application time, try to get in to their office early. I arrived at 8:45am, and I’m already client #66 and the counter is still serving customer #4. I was able to submit my application by 10:30am.

Afternoon is their releasing schedule, I got my single entry VISA after 3 processing days for 2400Php.

Since all is set, you are really flying to Taiwan!

2009 Aug: Angono, Rizal, Philippines: Art Appreciation Tour

Travel Date: August 15, 2009

Our team decided to have an art appreciation tour in Angono, Rizal. We took a bus going to SM Taytay from Ortigas, Pasig. From Taytay we already had a private van courtesy of our teammate.

Our first stop is the Blanco Family Museum. From parents to their kids - all of them are painting.


We had our lunch in Balaw-Balaw restaurant. I was really hoping I could try rose salad, too bad it was not available. Instead, we had adobong uok (larvae of a bettle) and fried frog legs.

Our next destination is Nemiranda Museum. Paintings were made by Neri Miranda (graduated from UST).
Then we had a chance to visit a church.

After a while, we had a long winding trip going to Petroglyphs. From the entrance, we had to walk inside a very long cave. No lights nor tourist guides. After few minutes, we reached the guard station, he is giving brief discussion on the do’s and don’ts on the viewing deck. Too bad they don’t allow SLRs. Hope they do remove this policy - how can we showcase what the place can offer if they don’t allow good cameras to capture the place.
We also had a quick view of the Thunderbird Resort, this is a casino of the East. The place is beautiful, the swimming pool is like an infinity pool over looking the metro.

We had our final stop in a Viewing Deck. It took us about 2 hours to go back to Ortigas, Pasig.


Thanks to Kuya Alfred, Ms. Susan and Kuya John for touring us in Angono.

2009 Feb: Sagada, Philippines: Day 3

2009 Feb: Sagada, Philippines: Day 3

On our 3rd day, we find a place were we can sip hot tea or coffee. I can still remember the song from one of the houses there - Michael Buble’s Coming Back Home. That day was our third and last day in Sagada. Yes, we are going back to Manila.

But before that, we still have a Walking Tour. We saw St. Mary’s Episcopal church.

We reached Calvary Hills, Echo Valley and saw Hanging Coffins.


By 12:00nn, we bid goodbye to Sagada and took an ordinary bus going to Baguio. We passed by La Trinidad Benguet, and took off at Victory Liner Terminal by 6pm.


We quickly visit Baguio Cathedral, bought our pasalubongs and had our dinner in Gecko Restaurant.

By 8pm we left Baguio, and by 2am, we’re here again in the busy streets of Manila.

Thanks to Ced, Reg and the rest of the TF’s for your patience. For the record we were the last pair to arrive both on first day going to Bontoc and last day on going back to Manila. Major Pasaway Tandem. Finally, thanks Kim for inviting me on this trip.

Enjoyed and Conquered Sagada!

2009 Feb: Sagada, Philippines: Day 2

2009 Feb: Sagada, Philippines: Day 2

By 5am, we already reached Kiltepan Viewpoint, to wait for the sunrise. It is still too dark, so we had our mini bonfire.


By around 6.30am, we go back to the guest house to take our breakfast and bath. By 8.30am, were ready to depart for our Cave Adventure. There are 2 caves to visit. One option is to choose the Cave Connection Adventure - which is you will start from Lumiang Cave take the difficult path and you’ll go out in the Sumaging Cave. Travelers normally take 5 hours to complete this.

The second option is to just see the Lumiang Cave Entrance - where the coffins are displayed. Then take a jeepney going to Sumaging Cave. This is an easier path and will take only 3 hours. I think we were too slow as it took us almost 4-5 hours just to complete the easy path.

Wear swimsuit inside as you will pass a chest deep water. Though it was just almost 2 meters walk in a very cold water. For non-swimmers no need to be frightened.

There are 3 stages for the easy path - slippery, rocky and I forgot the other one, hehe! The first is slippery because of the mud on the rocks. Next, is still slippery and rocky, but now with lime stones. There is also a part when you need to remove your slippers or shoes.

The guides have their own lamps, but if you have difficulty on seeing in the dark, you better get yourself a headlamp. I got mine around 300php on Toby’s. The more led light much better, also yellow light is better than white light.

The famous rock formations are located in Sumaging Cave, thus I chose the easy path than the difficult one.

What I love on this challenge, I jump into the water holding a rope with no idea on how deep the water is. Plus, there is a short rappelling without any harness on the travelers. Note, you just need to believe in your guides and totally trust them.

It is expected that you’ll be a total mess, too dirty after caving - but don’t worry, there is a store outside the Sumaging Cave where you can wash your hands and feet for just 10-20php. For some, it is advisable to bring wet tissue for quick clean-up.


We took our late lunch and bath back in the guest house. Then we finally bought our pasalubongs and got to see the stores in Sagada. And for those addicted to net, yes, there are internet shops in Sagada for only 25-30php/hour.

We tried banana yoghurt in Yoghurt House. This is the place when me kuya, I asked for a service water in Tagalog. Then he replied in English - I think it is not safe to drink water from the faucet. My friend and I were stunned with how fluent they speak in English. Yes, English is their second language next to their local dialect. Some of them can’t even speak Filipino, but can converse with you in English.

By 5.30 we left town proper to see Sunset in Lake Danum, too bad were late. So instead, we watched sunset above the jeepney. Then we went to Lake Danum for our late dinner , bonfire and social discussion.

Before 10pm we went back to the guest house, just in time for the Sagada curfew.