Taiwan Day 1 and 2: The Pilot Episode - Sept. 1 and Sept. 2, 2013

It was a hot Sunday on September 1, 2013. My family was busy packing our things in our house that we were renting in Quezon City.  My parents and siblings were moving to another place while I would soon leave the Philippines for another country.  To Taiwan!  The plan was simple. Transport all our belongings to our new home in Montalban, Rizal and my mother and father would come back to accompany me to Clark Airport Lounge which is located in Trinoma Mall.  My father would just drive his taxi so the doing these tasks were a bit easy.  I was the one paying the house rent.  Since I would be going abroad and no one would pay the bill anymore, my parents just decided to live in Rizal province. 

at Clark Airport Lounge

My main luggage weighed 31 kilos and my father helped me carried my stuff and put it in the compartment at the back of the car.   One of our neighbors saw us and even giggled at a joke. “Uy! Pupuntang Dubai!”.  They taught I was going to work abroad. Haha! In a matter of hours,  my life would change forever.   The Clark Airport Lounge serves as a bus station for people going to the international airport outside Manila.  My parents looked cool when they left me in Trinoma Mall but I know deep inside their hearts that they were sad, because they won't see their eldest son for five years.  My mama and papa were holding back their tears as they leave the place.

The toll gates at the expressway leading to Clark, Pampanga

Mt. Arayat as seen from the bus window

At 3:00 pm the bus going to Clark International Airport started its journey.   I have enjoyed the view of Mt. Arayat as the bus passed through the Pampanga province. At 5:00pm I have reached the airport. It was not my first time in this airport and I even enjoyed watching the television in the departure hall.   At the immigration, the female officer asked me “Ano pong gagawin nyo sa Hong Kong?”. I replied that I would not be going to Hong Kong rather I would be going to Taiwan. A short interview with the immigration officer and I'm ok. Air Asia Philippines flight PQ 7357 lifted off at 8:35 pm and flew over Luzon island and the Bashi Channel. 

walking towards the airplane

Clark International Airport became smaller and smaller as the tiny lights from houses look scattered at the darkness of the night....  Until there was nothing to see outside the window.  At around 10:00 pm,  I saw yellow colored lights.  It was like I was looking at a sea of stars and it was so fascinating. I knew that I was already in Taiwan while still high above the clouds.  "What would happen to me in the future?", I asked myself until an announcement woke up all of the passengers.  It was a Chinese message and I didn't understand what was it all about. But I have a hunch that the message was about telling the people that the airplane already entered the territory of Taiwan.  After a few seconds, the captain spoke to us in English and we are told about how many minutes till we reached Taoyuan International Airport.   

The very first photo that I took in Taiwan

at the Arrival Hall in Taoyuan International Airport

The plane landed at Terminal 2.  Just like what I did at Hong Kong International Airport I just followed the signs to get to the Immigration.  The queue was very long. When I was my turn, the officer asked me, “How long are you going to study here?”.  I replied, “3 to 5 years”. Then I heard the sound of the stamp marking my single resident visa as “Used”.

It was a funny experience when I reached the Arrival Hall. There were a lot of locals waiting for their loved ones and it was a very large crowd. Some have placards with Chinese characters written on it. Others were even carrying flags.  They looked so excited to see their relatives. Oh! They were looking at me!  It was an awkward moment that I tried not to look at their faces to just stop myself from laughing.

at Nangang Exhibition Center

MRT Nangang Exhibition Center Brown Line

at the dorm

I have a spacious table and a comfortable chair.  I never had this in the Philippines.

To get to the student dormitory of the Taiwan International Graduate Program (TIGP),  I boarded the bus going to Nangang Exhibition Center then transferred to a taxi.  It was already 1:00 am when I reached the dorm. I was really hungry at that time but I decided to just sleep and eat in the morning.    I woke up at 3:00 am because my stomach really needed something to digest. I asked the guard if there is any 7-eleven near the dorm and he said that the nearest one is a Family Mart store. So I went outside to buy something.  

I was not wearing any jacket until the cold wind blew.  For the first time, I felt the cool climate of Taiwan.  At Family Mart, I was able to buy an instant noodle and the next thing that I needed was hot water.  Back in the dorm, I pressed the hot water button in the water dispenser but no hot water was coming out of the tube.  I didn't know that I have to press the unlock button to release the boiling liquid.  And after figuring it out, only a small amount of hot water was released.  Sigh! I noticed that the water was being boiled again inside. I don't want to wait anymore since I was already hungry so I just press the cold water button to have sufficient amount of soup for my noodles. The first food that I ate from a convenient store in Taiwan was instant noodles soaked in a bowl of cold water.  Haha!

The campus of Academia Sinica

The following morning,  I wandered around the campus of Academia Sinica.  Taiwan's highest institute of scientific learning, humanities and social research will be my new home as I embarked on a wonderful journey towards obtaining a Ph.D. degree.  The brightest people around the world come here to do world-changing studies.  Were they also excited like me?  I guessed they do.  It was a good start on Taiwan Day 1 and 2: The Pilot Episode.

Sakura Series - Taiwan

2026 Forecast

Taipei 101 first flowers

Tianyuan Palace backyard

Taipei Flower Test Center

Pingjing St. Lane 42

Broadwood Park

Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura

Wuling Farm (武陵農場)

SYS kawazu sakura

Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village

CKS Memorial Hall

Shibafen Yoshino Sakura

Hope River

Dongfang Temple

Tianyuan Palace

Neicou Stream Trail

Orange Garden Cafe

Yangming Park Visitor Information Center

Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop

Huashan Road

Qianshan Park

Zhongshan Hall Entrance

Tenglong Sakura Farm

Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura

Neihu Creek Trail

Shulin Land Office

Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest

Lung Yen Sakura Forest

Yangming Park cherry stream

Yangming Park fountain

CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura

Wugu District Tianyi Road

CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura

Loving Farm

Yong Long Farm

Zhongbaling Sakura Road

Sun Link Sea

Tai'an Police Station

Cherry Hill Slope

Hsinchu Park

Taipei 101

Kāng Gào Kēng Creek

New Garden City

Broadwood Park

Tianyuan Palace backyard

Pingjing St. Lane 42

Alishan Ranger Station

Alishan House

Alishan Police Station

Alishan Forest Railway

Alishan Station

Alishan Entrance

Alishan Gou Hotel

Alishan Magnolia Garden

Wulai tour

Wun Chang Elementary School

Bishanyan

Sanzhi Sansheng Trail

Sakura Series - Taiwan

Nei Cuo Stream

Orange Garden Cafe

Sansheng Trail

Tenglong Sakura Farm

Yangming Park Cherry Stream

Yangming Park Fountain

Flower Test Center

Broadwood Park

New Garden City

Yinghua Park

Pingjing St. Lane 42

Yangmingshan Visitor Center

Taipei 101

Tianyuan Palace backyard

Sakura Series - Japan

Kamonyama Park

Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park

Shinko Park

Minato-mirai 21 area

Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus

Onda River

Tenryuji

Byodoin

Kiyomizudera

Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple

Hōryū-ji Temple

Nara Park attractions

Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus

Sumida River

Tsuruma Park

Gion

Maple Series

Taipei Aowanda

Shimen Dam

Alishan

Aowanda

Shanlinxi

Taoyuan Valley Garden

Fushoushan Farm

Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis

The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)

Always in my heart

MRT birdman

Valentine's Day

Tulips Festival

2018 Taipei Lantern Festival

City of Azaleas

Linji Huguo Temple

Nanjichang Night Market

Gudetama Chef restaurant

Dalongdong Bao'an Temple

Shilin hollyhocks

Ningxia Night Market

Ximending graffiti

Discovery Center of Taipei

Chunghwa Postal Museum

Double-Decker Bus

Shilin Cold Balls

Jingimoo

GomanMango

mud volcanic ice

Fire and Ice Dumpling

Opium Fen-Yuan

Ichiran Ramen

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles

hydrangea flowers

National Palace Museum

Other attractions in Taipei

Taipei on a budget

Japanese buildings

Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles

Presidential Office Building

Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain

CKS and SYS Hall

City tour

Beitou ramen

MRT Monopoly Game

Winter city tour

Zhicheng Park

Shilin Plum Blossom

Art museums

Shopping in Taipei

Summer desserts

Qingtiangang

Qixingshan hiking

2015 Calla lily

2016 Calla lily

Beitou tour

Beitou-Zhuzihu tour

NTU

Confucius Temple

2015 Dadaocheng Festival

Puppet Museum

Fantasy Ice World

2016 Bread Show

Strawberry picking

2015 Rose Garden

Modern Toilet

Shilin Night Market

NASA Exhibit

Raohe Night Market

Longshan Temple

2013 Taipei Zoo

Maokong Gondola

Lupin flowers

Taipei 101 day visit

Taipei 101 night visit

Tiger Mountain

Din Tai Fung

Taipei Story House

2014 Flower Show

Chrysanthemum Show

Miramar Ferris wheel

Miniatures Museum

Archery

1600 Pandas

Wulaoguo hot pot

Upside Down House

2016 101 Fireworks

New Taipei

Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival

Elephant Rock SUP/kayaking

Meteor Garden school

Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel

Shifen Waterfall

2017 Sand Sculpture

Dragon Caves

New Taipei tour

2016 Kite Festival

Pingxi Crags

Bitou Cape

2016 Sand Sculpture

2015 Christmasland

Juming - Jinshan

Houtong - Pingxi

Sandiaoling Waterfall

Jiufen foodtrip

Guanyinshan hike

Yehliu Ocean World

2014 Kite Festival

Pingxi Rail tour

Jinguashi tour

Vigor Kobo Pineapple

British Consulate

Yehliu Geopark

2014 Sand Sculpture

Paragliding

2014 Christmasland

2014 Pingxi Lantern

firefly watching

Yingge Ceramics Street

Jiufen tour