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!