Off to Tainan, again

I had such a good time in Tainan last year so I'm doing it again. I'm again at National Cheng Kung University Chinese Language Institute.

I left the U.S. on the day after Christmas and took the 12 hour direct flight with EVA airways. The ticket cost about $1200 US but that includes a return trip in June. The flight was  about half fulled so sleeping was possible, traveling on off- days(like Christmas) has somethings going for it.

From the Taoyuan airport in Tainan I went to the area signed "Express Bus" there they have all the major bus lines. I went to UBus because I have had good experiences with them in the past. They always take care of this foreigner that all way looks lost. At the UBus counter I bought a 40NT ticket to the ZhongLi station and then a 260NT ticket from ZhongLi to Tainan. I arrived in Taiwan about 6AM and was in Tainan by noon. The rate of exchange is about 30NT to $1 US so the bus rides took about $10 US altogether. (1NT is about 3.33 cents, the New Taiwan Dollar(NT) is appreciating in value and is now at its highest in 13 years). For the rest of this blog let's just it is 30 to 1.

From the UBus station in Tainan I took a taxi to my dormitory the ride was 110NT and did the unforgivable in Taiwan and gave him a 10NT tip. He was so shocked that he kept saying my Chinese was excellent! (Which it is definitely not!)

Below is a picture of my luggage. EVA Airways allows 2 bags of 23Kg each(23Kg is approximately 50 lb). I like one roller bag with a duffel bag that can be strapped onto the roller bag. Both bags were about 40 lb and there are times went they have to be carried because of steps, poor sidewalks, into taxi trunks, ...
About 1/4th of the volume was gifts. Taiwan has almost everything, it's easier buying things in Taiwan, than carrying them from the US.

The Dorm I'm staying at is the same Dorm as last time, again because I felt treated well they won my repeat business. The rate is 180NT per day so that is $6 US per day. For that amount I have my own room, with a shower, toilet and sink. Also included is a small fridge, free internet and cable TV. All for $6 a day! (Electricity is billed monthly.)

Before I left, my family had Christmas holidays in Seattle. We took our own family pictures. Here is the best:(no Cloud Computing necessary):

Well this is a good start, I'll be adding more as I can. This time I will try to answer questions better that what I did in the past. But you can always contact me at:

mike_ess@yahoo.com

I always eventually reply to email. One of these days I'll figure out how to use facebook but for now it's just not a priority.