Taiwan 2019 Part 1

My mom's requesting an out of the country trip for her 60th birthday and somehow we ended up in booking a trip to Taiwan! 

+ Pre-flight jitters +

I haven't traveled out of the country without the bf so I'm so anxious in doing this trip. There's the navigation which is a huge problem for me because it was always Reagan who reads the maps and train stops / transfers. There's also the issue with immigration: both my sisters are unemployed/no travel histories and my mom's already a senior and have a passport previously issued by another country due to being an OFW. We're all females as well! We can be easily profiled as someone who might seek illegal work there. I had some bank certs printed, I've prepared more credit cards, brought all IDs I could, I even have a staggering cash budget for four JUST in case we're put aside for a separate interview. I even rented a place near the airport so we could be there 4 hours early (our flight is 7 AM, so....) in case my nightmares do come true. 

+ AIRBNB: 81 Newport +

I was off to a bad start, the Grab I booked got frustrated, dropped me anywhere he "believe" was 81 Newport and left me with two luggage on tow. I found it finally no thanks to him and I still got lost inside the building because it's ridiculously huge. The booking we got is self -service, we only need to present a photocopy of any of our IDs for confirmation and we're in. My sisters got there first and as I was told it was self check-in.

Living in a small condo for years now, I'm kinda jealous of how big their kitchen is compared to mine. I liked that it's much more spacious and it has it's own nook.

The unit was outfitted with a kitchen so we were able to cook some rice and fry eggs and nuggets for dinner/breakfast. It was clean, everything works and really spacious for 4 adults. There was a small issue with drinking water but was found to be a miscommunication later on so that's fine. Best of all it's truly near the airport. Earlier that morning we just had to cross the road (which I hope would have brighter lights for pedestrians in the future) and we're right in front of the airport.

+ This is not a drill, we're actually in! +

As stated we really got in early and was lucky to be able to pass the check in counter quick. We even got ourselves different IOs who were very nice, the one assigned to my mom even greeted her. I was able to breathe easy once we all passed that I was able to eat a proper breakfast at Kenny's as we wait. 

Our flight was late (but not too much) but I hated that they didn't announce where to wait until it's almost last minute. We were actually waiting further from the gate they originally printed and not until we asked more personnel were we able to know that they moved it.

We arrived at Taiwan earlier than expected and the weather looks nice from inside. I wasn't able to research what Taiwan airport looks like and was surprised it to be small compared to the ones we've been in the past. It's not a bad thing though, I liked it when everything is within reach!

We both got our train cards and Wifi from Klook so we had to claim it after the arrival area, which is easily found (if only I know how to learn the map that came with the voucher). Anyways, I'll remember it in the future for sure. 7/11 is also downstairs for reloading of the MRT card before we catch the train to the Main Station. 

It seems like it's trial on fire. I love that we were able to navigate from the airport to Main Station to Ximen to our hotel with no fuss. I was particularly worried of getting lost as we've landed because I know it's going to be extremely hard going back and forth with luggage on tow. I instantly fell in love with how idiot friendly their terminals are that we didn't have any issues this day and the rest of the trip. Everything is clearly labeled, there's often signs in English and Google maps don't get confused on it's recommended routes.