The B787 landed in Taipei at 4:05 p.m., 15 minutes earlier. It was 13 degrees, shivering. We first arrived at a station that was divided into passing card and no passing card. No idea what it's about, so no passing card. Our hand luggage was searched. No food of any kind may be imported. Oops, I still had a clementine in my bag, it‘s being dumped.
Although we were able to fill out the Arrival Card digitally again, we were not allowed to use the eGates here, citizens only. Since everything was only explained in Chinese, I wasn't sure at first. So get in the mega queue at the counters. As I wait, I realize I left my coat behind in Singapore. Oh man!
After what felt like an hour we stood in the arrivals hall, took some money out of the ATM and waited again, this time in the taxi queue. Luckily, by the way, since taxis can only be paid in cash. Incidentally, it was the same in Singapore. After more than an hour we arrived at the hotel. The trip cost NTW$1,500, about €50, so we could have just as easily taken a car from the hotel. I have already shared the room on Insta and Facebook.
The choice of hotel in Taipei was mainly based on where our in-laws lived. After inquiring with various hotels, we decided on the Parkview in Zhongshan. The hotel is quite nice, but the windows should have been cleaned long ago.
When I unpacked, I discovered that my reading glasses were also gone. 😔 It's not my day. Thinking about it for a moment, it must have fallen off on the plane. I have contacted Singapore Airlines’ Lost and Found and they actually replied to me a day later that they had found my glasses and will send them to me by courier. It's CNY and hardly anyone is working. I love Singapore Airlines!
Our first impression of the area around our hotel was that it was old, like Hong Kong in the 80s. There are also signs in English, but you have to be very attentive to identify them correctly because of the phonetic transcription. Example: the district is called Zhongshan, our MTR line is Songshan and our station is Songjiang-Nanjiang.
At least there was something delicious to eat at the end of the first day: goose and I was reconciled and hope for better days to come.
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