Leaving on a jet plane to Taiwan

Any early morning flight on Cebu Pacific means being at the NAIA terminal 3 at least three to four hours before the flight. Yes, even though you have already checked in online and just need to drop off your check in pieces of luggage.

Here's why:

• you have to pay the travel tax fee of 1,620 pesos at a separate counter.
• the queue at the check in counters are quite long.
• the most important reason is the even longer snake like queue at the immigration counters.
• we were in line for one hour and a half for this trip to Taiwan.
• I had all my pertinent and supporting documents + photocopies in a neat folder
• I was merely asked who I was traveling with, what is my job and when is my return flight.
• no, long interrogation by immigration officer, this time.
• another long queue for security check, this time we had to remove our shoes.

Budget airlines means there is no meal on board. We usually have a light snack at the airport or we buy burgers/ biscuits to eat on the plane in case we get hungry. We bought a couple of Wendy's burgers and put it in our bags and waited for final boarding time call at the designated gate. During the 1 hour 45 minutes flight, we both fell asleep because we were up at 2 AM for the 7AM flight. 

Upon landing, we exited the plane and heading towards the arrivals area. Before we reached the immigration counters, there was a security check so we had to put our handbags and hand carry luggage into the carousel to pass through an Xray machine, then they physically inspected our bags because apparently any form of meat (beef, pork, lamb, poultry) was not allowed. So they confiscated our Wendy's burgers and promptly threw them into a trash bin. First time I encountered such a secuirty check even before getting our check in luggage. The female security personnel inspecting my sister's handbag even talked in Filipino. Not sure if she was Taiwanese who knows Tagalog or a kabayan working at the airport. Strange, lang.

A quick photo in front of the Taiwan signage before heading to the immigration counters where they stamped our passports. By the way, Taiwan extended the visa free entry for Filipino passport holders for another year. So until July 31, 2025 we can go to Taiwan and stay for 14 days visa free.

It was time to try our luck at the Taiwan the Lucky Land raffle draw. Don't forget to register online at least 3 days before your arrival date in Taiwan at their website. You will be given a QR code which you will scan at their portal located at all Taiwan airport terminals. I lost but sister dearest won a whooping 5,000 NTD (New Taiwan Dollars) stored in a card.

This iCash card had many benefits like free MRT rides (which are basically quite cheap though) but also limitations because it can only be used in a few stores like 7/11, Starbucks, Mister Donut, CosMed while other stores didn't accept it. We had a very difficult time trying to consume the entire 5,000 NTD worth and mostly used it to buy bottles of mineral water and snacks at 7/11 convenience stores.

We also went to the Klook counter to avail of our 3 days Taiwan Fun Pass. This card allows free rides on buses and MRT as well as free admission tickets to several attractions for 3 whole days. 

It certainly pays to get an early flight because by the time you land until you get to your hotel/accommodation, it takes about 2 to 2.5 hours just to get your essentials (SIM card, Fun Passes, MRT e-card) to enjoy a seamless vacation.

The best part of our first day in Taipei is the hotpot dinner we had at Tripod King restaurant at their Da'an district branch. Just a couple of MRT stops away from our hotel. Since we don't eat spicy food, we ordered the hot pot with pickled cabbage and pork broth. The soup base tasted a bit like sinigang but not that sour naman. The whole hotpot dinner experience is lovely!

Celine Dion at 2024 Paris Olympics

Celine Dion's rendition of my favorite French song gave me goosebumps.

The famous song “Hymne a L’Amour” written and sang by the Edith Piaf is a passionate ode to LOVE. 

So happy to see that Celine Dion has recovered from her debilitating disease.

Kudos to the organizers of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Despite the heavy downpour, it was a spectacular show!

Planning a trip

planes planes planes at NAIA terminal 3

     At the beginning of 2024,  sister dearest and I manifested that it would the year to travel! Last March, she had to attend to some banking matters in Singapore so I accompanied her.

 

Right upon our return from Singapore, we planned to travel again in July. But I had terrible tooth aches and my dentist told me I needed 2 root canal, 2 teeth extraction and placing of crowns on the two molars after the root canal sessions.

It took the whole month of April, May and June just to get the several root canal sessions done. Before the procedure, I needed medical clearances from my endocrinologist and my cardiologist because of my hypertension and hyperthyroidism conditions. This entails fasting for 10 -12 hours for the blood extraction, scheduling an ECQ, xray, urinalysis. etc. My endocrinologist was also on leave for 2 weeks and if you know how difficult it is to schedule a doctor's appointment in this country, you would understand it takes a while just to get all the necessary medical clearance.  Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to plan a vacation as the dental sessions were tiring, and sometimes even painful to bear. 

Early week of June, I said to myself oh what the heck, I deserve a break after spending almost 3 months in a dental clinic every weekend. I told my dentist I would take a break before I proceed with the teeth extraction and placing of the crowns on my two molars.

If truth be told, 3 weeks is a short time to plan a trip. First, we needed to choose a destination, search for cheap(er) airfares and affordable hotel room rates. Sister dearest had already applied for leave from work so it was funny because we didn't have anywhere to go at that point.

I did all the research on the cities we wanted to visit, checked the weather forecast for each city, googled about the attractions to visit, keeping in mind that we learned our lessons from over exerting ourselves in sunny, humid Singapore. After we finally decided on our destination, it was time to plan  how many days/nights we would spend, the convenient flight schedule of different airlines, the location of the hotel, as well as plot an itinerary, compare the rates of the admission tickets, whether to book on Klook, at their official website or buy from the attraction ticket booth itself. Find suitable dining options based on our budget, our cravings and its proximity to our accommodation, study the different MRT stations and bus routes. Thankful for google as everything is now available online. Just need to make an effort to really research, by watching some travel vlogs and visiting official websites. 

Now that we are older we do DIY activities, not relying on package tours because we prefer to take our own time and not be rushed and ferried around like cattle on group tours. I know it is more convenient to join group tours as you merely have to show up at the pick up point and not worry about mobility. 

But sister dearest is adept at 'map' reading, has good directional skills so I mostly rely on her ability to get us to the different landmarks on our itinerary. So far, she is always on point and a very reliable travel partner. Quite patient, with huge stamina to explore but her main goal is mostly to satisfy her cravings and eat eat and eat some more. While I tend to veer towards exploring historical sites and museums especially when it is my first time to visit the place. Both of us are not keen shoppers, we prefer culture based, cuisine infused vacations.

This particular trip made me realise I have limitations now and don't really do well in whole day walking, commuting on public transport and exploring sites. I still try to make an effort to be 'nice' even though my feet  and my lower back hurt, I’m depleted from exhaustion and I seem to lose steam by 7PM onwards and would want to return to the hotel. LOL

In such situations, I am reminded of our dear mother who was in her 80s yet still energetic, very enthusiastic about going around HK during our Yuletide holidays there. She didn't drink any vitamins, nor supplements, never exercised at all, didn't have any skin routine, didn't use any sunscreen, yet had flawless milky skin. She was a force to reckon with, larger than life persona and to this day, three years after she has gone, I still think about her boundless energy, her bubbly personality, her never say die attitude and her stamina during our vacations. I am awed and humbled, and use her as my motivation and inspiration to quit complaining about every little joint aches and pains I experienced when I travel.

Heh, so far I have failed miserably. But there is always a next time, a new destination to explore, more plane rides to take and hotels to stay in so let’s go! 

P.S.

Picture shows a Jetstar plane but that was not our flight, we flew on budget airline Cebu Pacific Air.

Beep beep

 

• Pardon the absence.
• 2 weeks after our trip, still feeling under the weather.
• Overindulging in cold drinks and scoops of ice cream, sheer exhaustion, not being fit (enough), menopausal, having some auto immune disease might be the factors.
• Yet I remain constantly grateful for small, medium and big blessings. 🥰