So you're travelling to Taipei. You probably have already prepared your itinerary and is pretty much all set. I'm not here to suggest on what to do or which place do you need to visit. But I'm here to provide extra information that might help you for your trip. Nothing too serious but these were helpful when I was preparing for my trip to Taipei. I've been to Taipei twice already and the city is really a nice place to visit and get lost to.
Now, extra information. Here we go:
1. Plugs and Sockets
They are using Type A sockets. You may or may not bring adapters or extension cords depending on what you're using. Also, they aren't really stingy in terms of socket holes. The last two airbnb's that I booked had plenty that I didn't really need to bring extension cords. Best if you inquire with your hotels / airbnb.
2. Water Dispenser
Their airports, train stations, and shopping malls have this free water dispenser. You just need to bring a tumbler or just buy a small bottle and just refill it everytime you pass by the train stations. Those money saved from buying mineral waters at 711/family marts can be transferred to your shopping budget instead. It even shows the water temparature incase you prefer more colder (or hotter) water.
3. Train Cards (Taipei EasyCard)
Use Train Cards. You can get them at the airport train station when you arrive. It really saves time when you dont have to lineup to buy ticket everytime you want to use the train. This costs NTD$100. EasyCard can also be used in convenience stores, city busses, bicycle rentail, and Taipei Zoo admission. Unused amount can be refunded at the airport train station (Free of NTD$50). Please note that only the unused amount will be refunded. This doesn't include the NTD$100 that you paid when you purchased the card. Personally, I'd rather empty the card via convenience stores instead of having it refunded.
4. Mobile Data
Depending on where you are from, getting a local sim card for mobile data might be cheaper than using roaming sim cards. Personally, I'd recomment Chunghwa Telecom in terms of mobile data sim cards. for NTD$300, you can get unlimited data for 3 days and NTD$100 worth of free voice. I don't really care of the free voice since the data is the more important one for me. (I use viber/line when making calls abroad). Picture below shows their rates based on the length of days that you want to get. They have a branch at the Taoyuan Airport which opens at 7AM up to 12AM (midnight)
I travel using budget airlines so I usually wait for 7AM just to buy this sim card before leaving the airport.
And speaking of the Budget Airlines and Airports...
5. Budget Airlines
Budget airlines, specifically from the Philippines, (Cebu Pacific / AirAsia PH) arrives very early in the morning. Between 12AM (midnight) and 3AM. Airport MRT opens at 6AM so you might have to prepare yourself for the wait/camping in the aiport. Convenience stores are open 24/7 so you have some source of food. They also have several lounges with charging stations that you can use to rest/sleep and charge your gadgets. Some banks are also open 24/7 for your forex needs.
If you have the money, you can coordinate with your hotel / airbnb for airport pickup. But for budget travellers like me, hello sleeping at the airport lounge. heh
(If you're reading this and your from a different country (not PH), please let me know if your budget airlines also arrive very early in the morning)
6. Convenience Stores
Like Japan, 711 and Family Marts in Taipei have a lot of delicious meals. You probably have stumbled to several blogs/vlogs of other people telling you this. If you're a picky eater. Or if you're too scared to order from a random chinese foodstall, or if you are in a budget, convenience stores are your best friend.
PS: If you like ramen, please... please... PLEASE... don't forget to try this one. It's so gooood. I actually brought home 6 of these during my last trip. :D (Costs rought NTD$60 each)
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| Photo credits: here |
7. City Bikes
You can rent city bikes that will help you roam around the city. I don't know how to ride a bicycle so I can't add more information about this one. You can check their website here. You can use Taipei EasyCard for rent payment.
Going back to the...
8. Taoyuan International Airport
If you're at the Taoyuan International Airport and you are travelling out via budget airlines, chances are your check-in will be at the Terminal 1 (T1). If you are planning on eating / waiting at the airport, I would suggest going to Terminal 2 (T2) first and just go back to T1 when you are about to check-in.
T2 have better food stalls than T1. I guess this is given since the more high-end airlines are using T2. Go eat here instead of T1. (But if you want to eat at Burger King, its on T1). There are also more souvenir shops at T2.
T2 also has Sunny Hills. Sunny Hills, in my opinion, is one of the best pineapple cakes of Taiwan. Try to get some before leaving Taipei.
If you're travelling via airport trains, you can get off directly at T2. But if you are in T1 and want to go to T2, they have skytrains that you can use 24/7.
... I don't have details for their other aiport, Songshan Airport. Sorry
9. Starbucks Cards
Not for all, but if you are collecting Starbucks Cards like me, you can purchase their cards on its own for about NTD$100-$150 depending on the design. (Unlike here in PH where the card is free but you have a minimum top up amount to fulfill in order to get the card design). If you want to use the card, you will have to top up a separate amount together with the card cost. For me, I just bought the card and just used my cash to buy coffee.
10. Recommended Apps
While in Taipei, I was only using two main apps that helped me navigate through the city. The first one was Google Maps.
Google maps was accurate in this city. It can show you what Bus to ride or which station do you need to go to in order to reach your destination. If you're used to commuting while travelling, i'm pretty sure you already have this in your phone.
The last one is TP Metro (Taipei Metro). I use this app to guide me how to get to my destination station from the station where I boarded. The only problem I encountered was it doesn't show the commuter train that goes to the airport in the app. But if you're just roaming the city and not headed to the airport, this app should be very helpful to you.
That's it for now. I'll try to add some more when I visit Taipei again.
Thank you for reading. :)
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