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TAIPEI AIR STATION |
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LAST UPDATE: 26 January 2011
RETURN TO TAIWAN We currently have 21 folks “tentatively” signed-up, for our Return to Taiwan Tour.
· Arrive in Taipei on Saturday the 5th of November 2011. · Depart Taipei on Saturday the 19th of November 2011.
Our bus has 32 seats. If we exceed our seat limit, we’ll have a standby list. If we have less than 32 come on the trip, we will have to adjust the tour costs.
Airline tickets to and from Taiwan are your responsibility. Check around the internet for the best prices. I have personally found China Airlines to be the least expensive. CHINA AIRLINES HERE.
If you arrive in Taiwan before 5 November, we can arrange a hotel for you. If you’d like to remain in Taiwan after the tour, we can help with hotel arrangements. Please notify us of your early arrival.
We plan to have a hand-out map for the areas surrounding our down-island hotels. We’ll include a copy of each of our hotel’s business cards in Chinese. In case you wander off and get lost down some side street or what ever, just flag down a taxi and show the driver the hotel business card.
The maps, in English, will show streets and locations of restaurants and information about the area. Some of you will want to get out and explore by yourselves. The maps will give you the opportunity to explore the area with confidence; find your way around and back to our hotel.
TOUR PRICES
The cost will cover 13 meals (lunches or dinners) when we are on the road and breakfast at each hotel we are staying at. Our tentative estimated cost for hotels, meals including breakfast at each hotel and 1 additional meal per day while we are “on the road” to be, between $100-$150 US dollars per day, per person. 2 folks sharing the same room will be less.
Your out of pocket expenses will be:
The meals not covered, a tip for our Bus Driver, souvenirs and miscellaneous items you may want to purchase. Any emergency medical or dental care and things such as this.
This is subject to change for various reasons. We will of course, notify you if changes are necessary.
Your Tour Cost will also include:
Tramway fees, MRT (Taipei Metro) tickets, Taipei 101 Observation Tower tickets, National Park fees and Railroad tickets from Taipei to Hualien. How long has it been since you road any train, much less a Taiwan train? It’s been a long time. Don’t worry, Taiwan trains are 1st Class, modern and comfortable.
Here’s our planned daily itinerary: Why not look at our route on Google Earth.
Day 1 Arrive in Taipei on Saturday, 5 Nov 2011 Day 2 Taipei on Sunday, 6 Nov 2011 Day 3 Taipei on Monday, 7 Nov 2011 Day 4 Hualien on Tuesday, 8 Nov 2011 Day 5 Hualien on Wednesday, 8 Nov 2011 Day 6 Jiben on Thursday, 10 Nov 2011 Day 7 Kenting on Friday, 11 Nov 2011 Day 8 Kaohsiung on Saturday, 12 Nov 2011 Day 9 Kaohsiung on Sunday, 13 Nov 2011 Day 10 Tainan on Monday, 14 Nov 2011 Day 11 Sun Moon Lake on Tuesday, 15 Nov 2011 Day 12 Taichung on Wednesday, 16 Nov 2011 Day 13 Taipei on Thursday, 17 Nov 2011 Day 14 Taipei on Friday, 18 Nov 2011 Day 15 Depart Taipei on Saturday, 19 Nov 2011
PASSPORTS
YOU WILL NEED A CURRENT PASSPORT. Be sure that the expiration date on your passport is more than 6 months from the date you will arrive in Taipei. Taiwan Immigration will stamp your passport as you process through the gate at the airport. The entry visa allows you to stay in Taiwan for 30 days. There is no charge for this “Tourist - Visitor” 30 day visa.
US CURRENCY
Some folks will want to have some US Currency. The banks in Taiwan will exchange your US Dollars for NT Dollars at the daily exchange rate. Be aware that if your bring $100.00 bills, they MUST be the SERIES 2006. Do not bring any other series of $100 dollars bills. The Taiwan Bank will not accept the older series of $100 dollars bills….
Day 1 Saturday, 5 November
Arrival and travel to our Headquarters Hotel. Chances are, you’ll be worn out from your long journey and will want to just take it easy for the rest of the day. We’ll be gathering information such as contact phone numbers, address’ etc. to pass along to every tour member. We will have local telephone numbers for you to call if you have problems while in Taiwan. If you have an un-locked cell phone that uses a SIM Card, you can purchase a Taiwan SIM Card for your phone, this would allow you to call around Taiwan in an less expensive way. If you use your US Phone in “Roaming” you should contact your cell phone company and sign-up for a one month less expensive plan for your phone. A neat thing about Taiwan cell phone rules is, all incoming calls to your cell phone are free. You are only charged for calls you dial out. So, your family or friends in the US can call your Taiwan Sim Card. If you are carrying a lap top computer, you can call home via Skype or you can purchase a Magic-Jack at the drug store or Radio Shack and you can talk free to any US number from your lap top while in Taiwan. Lots of ways to save on phone calls back home.
Day 2 Sunday, 6 November
We’ll meet in the hotel dining room for breakfast, our first group meeting. Time for introductions, (we will ask each one to introduce themselves) as we’re eating and having a 2d cup of coffee, a chance to see and talk amongst ourselves. We’ll discuss our day’s activities, get everyone’s questions answered and solve any problems hanging.
It will be time to take a deep breath and smell the roses of Taipei. It’s finally time to begin an unforgettable 2 weeks of fun and enjoyment in Taiwan.
After things settle down, we’ll board our tour bus and head-out to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall for a look around. We’ll walk over to Taipei 101 and ride the express elevator up to the observation floor for a spectacular view of Taipei. After Taipei 101, we’ll move on to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial. As the afternoon comes to an end, we’ll finish our day in Ximending, (Shem Men Ding) walk around the old area and eat supper. Then back to our hotel. This will be a full day and you’ll be tired….
Day 3 Monday, 7 November
We’ll meet for breakfast in the hotel dining room and discuss the day’s activities. Onto our bus, we’re heading out for a trip around the north end of the island, driving past HSA to Grass Mountain, seeing the old BOT American Housing area along the way. Then on to Jian Shan, Camp McCauley area, Yeliu which has the Sandstone Head, Keelung Harbor and Keelung park. Then back to our hotel in Taipei. In the late afternoon we’ll take the MRT (Taipei Metro) to Danshuei or Danshui or Tamsui as some called it, for supper and a walk through the night market which skirts the Danshui River. Then ride the Metro back to our hotel. We spend our 3rd night in Taipei.
Day 4 Tuesday, 8 November
Our bus will head-out in the early morning hours (long before we’re awake,) taking most of our suit-cases in the bus (we will bring them down to the hotel lobby on Monday night,) driving the highway route to Hualien.
We’ll have our breakfast, catch-up with what’s going on. We’ll pick-up any small bags that you didn’t send on the bus, jump on the Taipei Metro to the Taipei Railroad Main Station, where we’ll board the train for our trip to Hualien, where, our bus, which left earlier this morning, will be waiting for us, with our suit-cases we loaded into the bus last night.
Last year, one area along the highway to Hualien, was totally destroyed. Twenty-five people were killed, when mudslides, caused by Typhoon Megi came crashing down on two tour buses and two minivans. We are bypassing this road by taking the train.
After boarding our bus, we’ll have lunch in the Hualien area and check into our hotel. The rest of the day will be spent around Hualien.
Day 5 Wednesday, 9 November
Breakfast, talk together and prepare for another full day of sights and fun. We visit Taroko Gorge, which lays 15 kilometers North of Hualien along Highway 8 heading west. We’ll spend some time in the morning visiting the National Park Headquarters and then drive upward into Toroko Gorge. We will make stops at Bu Luo Wan, Eternal Shrine and the Tunnel of Nine Turns. We’ll have lunch at Tienhsiang. We’ll return to Hualien with a stop at a Marble Factory and drive along Chihsingtan beach (Taiwanese call the beach, 7 Star Lake) before returning to our hotel in Hualien. The hotel is within a short walk of a Night Market and an assortment of restaurants.
Day 6 Thursday, 10 November
Breakfast, talk together and prepare for another full day of sights and fun. We drive south down the East Rift River Valley stopping at Li Yu Tan Lake, Hualien Wood Forest, Guang Fu Sugar Factory (for an Ice Cream), have lunch at an Aboriginal restaurant, then on to the Tropic of Cancer marker. Then, on to Jhihben, a resort area with natural hot Springs (Southwest of Taitung.) The hotel has natural hot spring out-door pools and hot springs water in piped into each of our bathrooms. We plan to have a buffet supper in the evening in Jhihben
Day 7 Friday, 11 November
We will drive toward the south along Coast Highway 9, turning southwest and drive up to the She Hai Taoyuan Mountain lockout area Later we head back to the highway and toward the west coast. We’re driving south on Freeway 3 to Hengchun for Lunch. After lunch on to Oluanpi (The South Most Point in Taiwan) visiting the lighthouse, coral reefs, and a village. Then back to Kenting National Park, for a visit. After the park we drive to Kenting and our hotel. The hotel is a 5 minute walk from the ocean and beaches and also a 5 minute walk to a half-mile long evening night market. We’ll have our supper in either a Dinner Restaurant or at the Night Market. If the weather holds today, this may be one of the most enjoyable days on our trip.
Day 8 Saturday, 12 November
Drive north to Kaohsiung, visiting Chin Ching Hou Lake. In the afternoon we visit the harbor, the old British Consulate, and one of over 26 of Chiang Kai-shek’s homes at the National Sun Yat-sen University. We’ll ride the ferry across the harbor to visit an old fort and light house at the harbor entrance. We’ll have supper on the island, before taking the ferry back to our bus and back to our hotel in Kaohsiung. A Night Market is within walking distance of our hotel
Day 9 Sunday, 13 November
We drive north on Highway 1 to the Air Force Academy located at Kang Shan Air Base, we’ll see an array of aircraft used by the ROCAF and aircraft that defected from China to Taiwan. We’ll visit the Air Force Museum. We’ll have the famous Beef Noodle Soup for lunch in Kaohsiung. The afternoon is free. A Night Market is within walking distance of the hotel. This will be our 2d night in Kaohsiung.
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