ASIAN TRAVELING

     

     In my last post, I said that I contemplated on whether to pursue with my Sun Moon Lake plans or not.  I decided to finally just go for it.  But first things first, I had to find my hostel and leave my luggage.

     It took  me at least 15 minutes on foot to reach the hostel because I was taking my time.  On the way, I passed by a mini-mart (I forgot the name) and a lot of shops.  One of my markers was a police station, and when I saw it, I thought to myself, "Yay!  I'm near!"  But passing by a lot of closed shops, it seemed like a rather long walk.  Good thing that the establishments there are numbered; when I saw No. 132, I almost leapt for joy.  However, I still had to find the keys, enter the hostel, and climb up to the 3rd floor.

     By the time I got into my dorm room (it had one occupant), I immediately got my things out and went to the communal bathroom to take a quick shower.  I didn't even use the bed.  After shower, I hurried downstairs to double check the contents of my bag and all the things I needed for my Sun Moon Lake trip.  Then I headed back to the Taipei Main Station.

      I bought a train ticket going to Taichung via the online ticketing system of the Taiwan Railways Administration.  As to how I did it, I'll discuss it in another post.  I knew that I had to be at the station 30 minutes before my 6:15 am train departs.  By 5:30, I was already at the station to pick-up my ticket but I didn't know where to go.  So I just read the signs, and followed those.  I showed my ticket to the one manning the turnstiles to the platforms and he pointed to the correct way to my platform.  I slipped the ticket into the machine and I got in; went down to the platforms and found an information booth where I was told where I should wait for my train.

     Of course, the wait was so nerve-wracking.  What if I got into the wrong train?  Heehee.  So, when the train came, I showed my ticket to the train staff and I was told to just get in the train.  I picked a seat because there were a lot of empty seats.  I didn't know that the seats had numbers and that my ticket says which seat I should sit on.  Oh, well.  My bad.  No one seemed to mind since the train was near empty anyway.  I was seating somewhere in the 40's, probably on the wrong car, too.  My ticket says my seat number's 14 in car number 6.

     The train looks old outside but the seats are comfortable and can be reclined! And to open the doors, you need to press the buzzer.  Cool.

     Knowing that I would fall asleep, I set the alarm on my cellphone at 30 minutes before arrival in Taichung.  Then, I fell asleep for at least an hour of the two-hour train ride.  I woke up ahead of time probably because I was afraid that I might oversleep and miss my destination.  It was a good thing that I woke up because I was able to see the sights along the way.  There were several windmills, lots of houses along the tracks, fields, provincial life, etc.  As the train drew nearer to Taichung, I kinda felt really, really apprehensive.  I must still locate the shuttle bus stop going to Sun Moon Lake.

     For one reason or the other, the train station at Taichung wasn't the one I was expecting.  The platform was open-air, at street level, and the station exit wasn't like what I've seen from Google Maps.  Also, the station seemed so small, but I clearly read Taichung on the platform and I heard, too, via the train announcement.   I asked the  ticket booth where I could hail the Taiwan Shuttle bus going to Sun Moon Lake and I was told to make a left turn and I'd find it.  But I didn't find it.  By then, I was telling myself that I should have just bought a Taiwan High Speed Railway ticket to Taichung instead of a regular train.  The shuttle bus stop is just within the station but I was trying to save money!  Oh well.  I knew that the shuttle stop was less than 5 minutes on foot from the station exit and I could see it from the other side.  I walked until I reached somewhere near a flyover and turned back to ask directions from the hotel I passed by, the Twin Star Hotel.

     The staff at the hotel were very helpful.  They gave me directions and called me a cab going to the shuttle bus station. Apparently, there are 2 shuttle bus stations close by.  One takes 10 minutes on foot but I have to pass through a railway crossing, plus the directions are not easy to follow; another is 5 minutes away by taxi.  I chose the second.  And thank God for their help, I was able to catch the 9 a.m. bus.  If it weren't for them, I would have just gone for the grand opening of a mall nearby where I saw scores of people lined-up for a sale.

     By the way, the beautiful hotel receptionist asked me if I was going to Sun Moon Lake, alone, and she looked sad for me and impressed at me at the same time.  Again, my eternal gratitude to the staff of Twin Star Hotel in Taichung!

     I was fortunate to snag tickets bound for Taiwan for the Holy Week.  Filipinos have a four-day break during this time of the year and well, it's a peak-season for travelling in and out of the country.  So, I knew that there would be quite a line at the check-in counters so I decided to buy my seats in advance.  I forgot to utilize the web check-in procedure of Cebu Pacific and that would have made my life loads easier since I already have pre-booked seats.  When I arrived at the NAIA Terminal 3, all counters were open, and fully-packed with people.  The web check-in counter, on the other hand, intermittently had one or two passengers lined-up.  So, there, you should all avail of the web check-in counter.  It's faster, and you don't have to be at the airport 3 hours before your flight.

    However, what's the use of a web check-in if the flight is delayed?  I know, I know.  Flights are usually delayed during peak season like Christmas and Holy Week but I was not expecting the delay in our flight.  I mean, come on.  Cebu Pacific only has one flight for that day going to Taiwan, so why would the plane be late?  But the plane was late.  I think they used the plane to another destination god-knows-where before its flight to Taiwan.  Oh yeah, our flight was an hour late.

     The waiting area for our flight was packed with people; I think it was a full flight.  And there were a lot of Chinese-Filipino families, around 70% of the all the passengers.  And when it was announced that our flight was delayed, I think I was the only one who got really flustered.  I would miss the bus!  I wanted to befriend people so I could split the cab fare from Taoyuan Airport to Taipei, but I didn't have the courage to do so.  People around me were calling their respective airport shuttle service, and I had no one to call because I didn't have a shuttle service.  Sadness.

     When we arrived at the Taoyuan Airport, the last bus had already left.  I was so tempted to strike a conversation with anyone in hopes of having someone split the cab fare to Taipei.  But then again, I was shy and I didn't want to bother people.  So, group by group, the passengers on out flight went their own separate ways, riding in their shuttle vans and cars; some had their friends and families picking them up.  Until I was the only one left.

     It was lonely; really. I knew there would be a 3 a.m. Kuo Kuang bus, but I haven't confirmed it.  Through the help of several airport staff, one of whom was a Filipino, I was told there would indeed be a 3 a.m. Kuo Kuang bus.  Thank God!  By the way, the terminal had a facelift; a lot of booths were added at the arrival hall.

     The Filipino airport staff, a cleaning lady, placated my fears; I'd be able to reach Taipei before my 6:15 am train ride to Taichung. So, I waited at the airport bus counters, and 10 minutes before 3 a.m., the Kuo Kuang bus came...I saw it pass by so I rushed outside.  Good thing that I had Taiwanese dollars with me.  The bad thing?  I need exact change to pay for the NTD 125 fare.  The driver was really helpful and he helped me change my NTD 1000 bill.

     I reached Taipei around 4 a.m.  During the bus ride to Taipei, I was contemplating on whether or not to continue with my Sun Moon Lake trip.  I mean, I was tired already and I needed to pick up my train ticket at 5:30 a.m.  I was so unsure.

     Oh well, I was thinking that I'll cross the bridge when I get there.  And when I got there, in Taipei, I had to look for my hostel.  I had a map showing me directions from Taipei Main Station to Star Hostel but hey, I couldn't find a sign saying Civic Boulevard around.  I saw people going towards the main road, up ahead, so I did, too.  But when I got at the corner, it didn't seem like the one on the map because the street name's not Civic Boulevard.  I asked some of the passengers who alighted from the same bus as me, and they told me it's the other way, past the bridge.  Okay, so I went the way they told me but it looked just like a parking lot for motorcycles so I asked a kindly man unloading stuff from his car (he seemed to be a worker somewhere at the Main Station) and he helped me and gave clearer directions.  He told me to go straight and  then cross the road under the bridge (a flyover of some sorts) and then walk along the main road.  Thanks to him, I was able to find the hostel. 

     When I reached the hostel, it was around 4:30 a.m.  So, did I push through with my travel plans to Sun Moon Lake?  Hmm...