About a month ago, I went on another solo trip - this time to explore Taiwan. Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a state in east Asia located north of the Philippines.

In 2017, Taiwan made it easier for Filipinos to enter their country by making it visa-free for a year until July 2018. Then they extended it for another year, which ended in July 2019. Which is why when I saw cheap round trip flights from Manila to Taipei late last year, I immediately booked them. The flight was six months away back then and I figured I had a lot of time to plan everything. 

Fast forward to July of this year, my Taiwan trip finally happened, and in series of blog posts, I will tell you all about my trip and even share with you my itinerary and some travel tips.

From Manila, I had an early morning flight to Taipei which took roughly three hours. I arrived at around 9am in Taoyuan Airport, where I took the Airport MRT going to Taipei Main Station, which is quite close to my hostel. I arrived at Backpackers Inn at around 11am and since the check-in time is 2pm, I had no choice but to waste time away while waiting. I took a quick bite at a local noodle house and got myself some bubble tea and walked around the area.

Because my feet were aching from a foot infection caused by reef cuts in Siargao, I ended up going back to the hostel after about an hour of walking around. It wasn't my check-in time yet but luckily, the hostel staff were nice enough to let me check in early. 
 money changer machine - very convenient
lounge area of Backpackers Inn

I ended up spending the entire day at the hostel, getting some much needed zzzs and giving some time for my foot injuries to heal even for just a bit. Around 6pm, I went to the nearby 711 store to buy some dinner before finally calling it a day.

So my first day in Taiwan was uneventful, but the next day, the touristy stuff begins. Keep posted for that.