May I know which month you bought the ticket for?
Just checked the fare for Dec 09, it's RM6XX. Guess fare is more expensive because of high season.
Still considering.
I wouldn be surprised if the fare goes up further tomorrow.
Anyone else bought the ticket??

Those RM100+ tickets are more for advertisement, doubt you can get them la. Probably, for the first few who booked.

The last I checked, the 2-way ticket for Dec 09 costs abt RM900 all in.

but not anymore leh... the fares are going up, up and up.

You have to study and interpret the graph yourself lah.
I haven't been to Taiwan myself but I don't think it would be a good idea to go there in summer i.e middle of the year when temperatures are 30 and above and rainfall is the highest. Winter would be chilly (5-10dC) and daylight hours would be shorter but rainfall is the lowest. If I were to choose, it would be spring or autumn where the temperature are about 10-15dC which is cool but not too cold lor.

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Apr 25 2009, 09:57 PM

1. No visa need.
2. Yes

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Dec 5 2009, 10:37 PM

Thought I write a bit on my recent trip to reciprocate the useful information I got from this thread.

Just came back from a trip to Taiwan from 17 - 24 July. Malaysia is cool by comparison! Had expected as much but what to do - this is the only time 'ngam' for the three of us.

It's peak holiday season in Taiwan even though weather was hot (high 30's). The locals are having their summer holidays. Was in Hualien for 3 days. The local tourism office provides free hourly shuttle service to Tarako and a few other places of interest for these 2 months. There are some free concerts in Hualien by local artistes. Hualien is a pleasant change from Taipei, nice and green with the backdrop of hills but just as hot. I find Tarako OK only, not to say spectacular. China has got much better landscape scenery lah.

Missed Yehliu as we spent too much time in Jinguashi and Jiufen. Should have done Yehliu first as it closes quite early.
The variety of food you see at the Miaoko (Keelung) night market is dazzling indeed.

Generally, don't find the food there that great or cheap. The shops and stalls people are really good at display and packaging, which make the things so tempting. RM3.50 for a roti chanai from pasar malam - cheap meh? The thing I love is the grilled and fried sotong at Danshui. And a 24-hour stall in Hualien city selling steamed 'siao loong pau' and 'gao'.
Fruits are also expensive and lack variety. The pineapple and mangoes there are sweet and juicy but lack the frangrance.

Those hugely famous stalls always with long queues-
Ah Tzung Mee Suah - didn't know that it comes with pig intestines, not my cup of tea.
Taiwanese seem to like eating innards (braised).
'Pepper biscuit' at Raohe Night Market at NTD450 - OK ler, similar to the Sitiawan 'kong piang'( http://kookyculinary.com/2007/02/17/food-from-sitiawan ) but I prefer the latter. It's too 'porky' for my liking.

Stayed at Ximending. I recommend Rainbow Hotel which we stayed for 3 nights - great location at the pedestrian mall and a few mins from the metro station. Also stayed at Ground Ground in Ximen, it's OK too. I think it is not really so important that you stay right next to the Main Station for convenience.

Like the rest, I'm impressed with their customer service generally - the people providing services are generally more polite than Bolehland. And the place is safe, no worries about security.

Stimix - Went to Bopi Liao and I like it. Great place for taking pictures.

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Aug 2 2010, 10:57 PM

Yes, the coldest of winter is still mild by western standards. That should be a good time to visit the hotsprings in Beitou and Wulai. You tell me how to go to those places at this time?

Some pictures from my trip:

1. Taiwanese leng lui in Bopi Liao. Yes, it was drizzling on our last day.


2.The 24-hr stall I was talking about in Hualien selling siao loong pau.


3. Siao loong pau, gao ji and Foochow soup


4. View from Swallow Grotto, Taroko Gorge


This post has been edited by tehtmc: Aug 3 2010, 12:42 AM

You don't really need to follow a tour to do Taiwan especially Taipei. Public transport is so convenient and efficient.
Language is no issue. Just read through this thread and you'll know what to do. Of course you have to do some homework but you'll end up knowing a place better. I'd go on to say that you don't even need to pre-book your hotel.
Granted you can cover more places in a tour but you have to accept that you will not be free to do what you like, subject to morning calls, checking in and out of different hotels almost everyday. I don't mind covering less places in exchange for the freedom you enjoy.

Dont think AA has offered 0 fare to Taipei or to the other AAX destinations. Have they?
To Macau yes - got mine for RM1 which came up about RM200 all in.

Forget about your friends, just pack up and go alone. It's so easy to travel around Taiwan.
Public transport is efficient and convenient. People are friendly and it's very safe.
I heard that the penalty for robbery is death, don't know how far it's true.
4N 3N might be a bit short though. Wait till end of the year, it's still hot season at this time.
RM4K is a very generous budget indeed.

You don't expect Chinese doing business to close that long lah.
It's quite the same as Malaysia apparently:

http://www.welcome2taiwan.net/eng/TravelQ&...e.php?seq_no=85

There are various grades of tour, the difference lies with the standard of the hotels. Find out what type of hotels they are offering. I am sure there are cheaper tours which offer cheaper hotels.

For a 5-day trip, you definitely need to join a tour to cover so many places but I think it's too much of a rush. It's going 1 big round of the island in 5 days(well over 1000km). Don't think it would be enjoyable for old folks.

All the tours from Malaysia include Taipei.
If you take some parts out, you won't get much deduction from the price.
The complete island tour typically takes 8 days, which is still a rush.

Taiwan is one of those places where getting around is so easy. Accomodation is not a problem either.
Tourist offices are very friendly and provide lots of free info.
You can equally well just pack up and go even without prior preparation.

Anything around RM500 for airticket is still very cheap lah.

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Aug 19 2010, 04:35 PM

You only have 2 full days there. Not much you can do.

ADJ

If you do the city tour on Day 2 (Saturday), you might be able to save on the ticket to NP Museum. I read somewhere that admission is free after 5.00 pm on Saturday. The ticket is quite expensive.

What mode of transport are you using? It makes sense to charter a bus to get
around. You'll save a lot of time.

You may have time in the evening to visit Taipei 101 on Day 1.
You can make use of the morning on Day 4 to visit places nearby like Longshan temple as the AA flight is in the afternoon.

Stayed here 2 months ago. Decent hotel in a convenient location (Ximending):
http://www.rainbowhoteltaipei.com.tw/en/intro.php

This one is older but situated in a quieter location in Ximending:
http://goodground.hotel.com.tw/eng/

Jiu Fen and Jinguashi are on the east of Keelung whereas Yehliu is on the north-west. You need to charter a taxi to do all the places within a day. Public transport (bus) would be difficult with change of buses and waiting time involved.