It was the date 12.28.10. My flight to Taipei Taiwan, it has been quite some time since I last went to this beloved country. We took the Cebu Pacific flight 5J310, from the new and world class Terminal 3. For those of you who have yet to use terminal 3, well it’s quite nice compared to NAIA terminal 1, which I believe is still undergoing renovation because it is really getting dated and although I know it would be waste to not use it, I would have the place abandoned and demolished because it really is painful to see tourists come to terminal 1 as this is first thing they see.... and should what a painful sight to see indeed, that would always leave a very bad impression on our country.
Now I was very glad to have our flight leave on time at 10:40 P.M., when we arrived in Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 at around 12:30 A.M the next day, another good news is that we arrived earlier than the scheduled time which is around 12:15 A.M. now that’s fast, credit that to the new planes and fine weather.
Now, for those of you who would want to take this flight on your next trip, please note that the last bus service to Taipei leaves terminal 1 at 1:00 A.M., considering the time you go through from the plane gates to immigration (5-10 min.), then waiting for your luggages to come through the conveyer (5-15 min.) then pass through customs (5 min.) then to walk to the bus loading area. There might be a chance that you would be able to catch it though, but it is not always your birthday so what if your flight got delayed or something, the bus will not wait for passengers as it is on a tight time schedule (the driver wants to go home already..haha), so let me offer 4 options for you.
Option No. 1 – Take a Taxi Cab, although it may seem to be the least economical way to get to Taipei, it may be one of the best solutions to go – priced at NT$ 1,100 – NT$ 1,200 for a one-way trip to your hotel, well at least you don’t have to carry your luggage around as the bus service stops at their station and you would have to take another taxi to your hotel. If you at least a group of 3 or 4, you may consider this option.
Option No. 2 – There is another bus to take which is currently on a temporary basis, the airport officials have requested bus companies to make another trip which leaves terminal 1 at 3:10 A.M, this is a special trip thus you must prepare the fare NT$ 120 – 130, (I could not confirm this) and pay it directly to the driver. This would be the best option for people travelling alone, or a couple since this would be more economical, but you would basically wait for 2 hours before after you arrive. At least this is better rather than waiting for the 5:10 first scheduled trip right? ( Actually as I have heard, our OFW’s who take the Cebu Pacific flight take the first bus out since no one will fetch them if they took the 3:10 bus, so there is very big possibility that this 3:10 bus will soon be gone unless they get more passengers to take this.) ** please verify with the airport with this.
Option No. 3 – There is a pick-up airport service that my friends have used and do highly recommend. The service is called E-Go service. Here is their no. +886(02)2796-5668, they speak in English so there should be no problem. You can visit their website http://www.e-go.com.tw/web2010/cht/index.php
The website is in Chinese so if you can read Chinese this should be of no problem to you, sad to say they don’t have an English webpage, but you can call them and look for Ms. Vicky Lin, or email her here aps08@aps.com.tw
Company info:
客服專員 : 林耘竹Vicky Lin
台 灣 租 車 旅 遊 集 團
TAIWAN CAR RENTAL & TRAVEL GROUP
ADD:台北市內湖區新湖3路196號3樓
http://www.e-go.com.tw/
TEL：+886-2-2796-5668 ext:201 for Vicky or Jennifer ext 209
+886-2-2796-5665 語音 ext:201
EMail：aps08@aps.com.tw
FAX:+886-2-2796-5663
Use 8-seater car(VW T5)-->only can take 5 luggages.
Prices for the service is
NT$1,100 per for one way.
If you need Name board pick-up service at plus extra fee NT$ 50~ NT$ 200
Airport Terminal 2 take board add the fare $50
Airport Terminal 1 take board add the fare $200
Total of NT$ 1,300 for a one-way trip to your hotel.
Use 8-seater car(VW CRAFTER)-->only can take 8 luggages.
NTD:$1,400 for one way.
If you need Nameboard pick-up service at plus extra fee NT$ 200
Option No. 4 - There is a new hotel nearby Novotel Taoyuan International Airport. You can choose to spend the night here. You can book directly to the hotel HERE. They have a shuttle pick up service at the airport that takes you directly to the hotel in 5 min. After which you still have to take the free shuttle bus back to the airport to take your bus the next day going to Taipei. So basically it is just a sleepover.
Well those are the 4 options which you may choose when you arrive in Taiwan. Well that concludes night 1 of our trip to Taiwan. In case you may be wondering what option I took? Well I took option no. 4, because we had previously booked it and I love spanking new hotels... =) til day 2.