taiwan visa-exempt entry and my cebu pacific experience

koryn and i booked our ticket to taipei without knowing that we would need visas to enter the country. we've always thought that we could travel there visa-free. 

so the minute i found out that we would need visas, i did my research right away, so i could start collecting the requirements for the visa application. 

as it turns out, i was lucky enough to be qualified for visa-exempt entry to taiwan. the country offers visa-exempt entry for holders of passports issued in india, indonesia, the philippines, thailand, and vietnam, provided you have a valid visa for travel to australia, canada, japan, new zealand, the schengen countries, the united kingdom, and the united states. remember, it's not enough that you've had a visa from any of these countries; you have to make sure the visa is still valid. 

if you are qualified for visa-exempt entry, you have to print out your own authorization certificate here. you have to key in your passport number, and the number of the valid visa that serves are your ticket to visa-exempt entry. 

now, i did this in november of 2011, to get it out of the way. why do it at the last minute, when i could rest easy knowing i've done the "hard part," and i could concentrate on reading up on taipei and finding out what else we could do there. koryn, on the other hand, had to apply for a taiwanese visa. requirements and application information can be found here.

fast forward to february 2012, the day of our departure. koryn checks us in online using cebu pacific's web check-in facility (very convenient). but even though we already had our boarding passes, we still decided to be at the airport two hours before our flight in case anything should happen. 

that was a very good call on our part, because something did happen. we went up to the check-in counters to drop off our luggage, and the cebu pacific attendant checked our passports. she asked for my authorization certificate, and told me there's a problem with it. 

apparently, the authorization certificate is only valid for one month after you applied for it/printed it out, which means mine was considered invalid since december 8, 2011. i felt like such an idiot for not checking if the document had a validity period. it was a big fail on my part.

while my brain was panicking, i was still able to ask the cebu pacific attendant if there was anything i could do to re-apply for it. thankfully, they had a computer available that has the link to the application bookmarked (i'm assuming i'm not the only idiot this has happened to). they let me in behind the counters and i quickly keyed in my details again. they even allowed me to print out the certificate. i offered to pay for the print out, since i knew i had inconvenienced them and even used up their resources, but they refused (nicely, of course). i went on my merry way and was able to enter taipei without a problem.

i am very thankful to the cebu pacific staff who were behind the counter that day. it was very nice to know that they were competent and conscientious enough to spot my stupid mistake. and they handled the whole thing very well--i wasn't spoken to rudely, the attendant actually broke it to me gently. 

it's very refreshing to be saying something nice about this airline, since, like most people who travel around the philippines, i have experienced delays and bad customer service from cebu pacific. and i really wanted to highlight this particular incident, because we shouldn't just make a big deal out of the bad stuff we get; we should also try and recognize the things that they're doing right, even above and beyond their job descriptions. it's always nice to know that these occurrences of niceness still happen. :)

taiwanese visa application links and information:

check if you qualify for visa-exempt entry

apply for visa-exempt entry to taiwan

list of visa application requirements

visa fees:

Php 2,400 for single entry visas

Php 4,800 for multiple entry visas

processing time: 3 days

baguio eats

late last year, i had this crazy idea of celebrating my last weekend as twenty-something up in chilly baguio. i think i made the right call on this one, because taking friends up to the city of pines was pretty cool. literally. heh.

aside from the company, what made the weekend stand out for me was the food. and since i can't share the laughs and moments that happened up in tower condominium (you had to be there), then i'm just going to share with you the things that we devoured that trip:

Pumpkin Soup, Bliss Cafe
All of us ordered a bowl of this, and it was the perfect start to a wonderful meal.
It was light and tasty. :)

Pansit Bliss
Bliss Cafe's version of the well-known merienda.
It didn't taste different from any of the pansits I've had before.

Bliss Crepe
We all shared one for dessert, and it was SO good.
We lucked out that it was strawberry season. :)
The chocnut was a great complement to the fruits.

Surf and Turf Lunch
For my birthday lunch, Adrian grilled the enormous prawns from their farm in Bicol.
Kage cooked onions with young corn (over there on the upper left of the photo).
Susie grilled pork ribs, not in photo, sorry. But they were good!

Beef and Truffle
Before we left, we stopped by Cantinetta in Camp John Hay.
I ordered their Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Truffle Sauce.
Cooked medium rare. Very good.

i find it outrageous that i wasn't able to take a photo of our midnight "snack" friday night: Adrian's special lamb sukiyaki. it has ruined sukiyaki for us. having sukiyaki at midnight in chilly Baguio was one of the highlights of the trip.

in between these meals, we would drink hot chocolate, eat strawberries, or have some instant knorr soup. steady, good vibes, cool weather, great friends, and wonderful meals--it was a great way to spend that last weekend before i turned 30. :)

this is looking to be a travel-heavy year

...and yay for that! :)

it's not like i haven't traveled much the past year, but the way trips are getting booked so early, it's looking like i'll be on the road a lot. this excites me. a lot.

next month, i'm off to taipei for the first time, with a friend who's just as much of a vagabond as i am. it's going to be our first trip together, and we thought discovering a new destination together would be exciting. we're getting all riled up just reading about taiwan's capital, and it doesn't help that the city offers plenty of shopping. my wallet is going to take a beating, that's for sure.

and since i promised to hit the beach more this year, i have two beach trips lined up already: guimaras for holy week and bohol for labor day weekend. i miss being by the sea, i used to go every month. i really hope there will be more beach trips in the months to come.

the big trip planned for the year is for the US, with the mister. it's going to be my first time there, too, and i'm hoping i can snag tickets for the comic-con in san diego to see the cast of community (i'm a huge fan, to say the least). of course, since i'm already there, i plan to stay for a month and drop by los angeles and san francisco as well. then over to the east coast for chicago and new york. crossing my fingers that things go according to plan and that fares drop soon.

how about you? where are you going this year? :)

2012 is here!

and it made me realize what a slacker i was last year. i wonder if i can live up to my goal of writing and sharing more things and trips. i no longer want to make any promises, but i really want this blog to be more active this year.

wishing all of you plenty of amazing adventures! enjoy every minute on the road!

well, i gotta go!

the singapore airlines experience

i have been in london now for a good six hours, but haven't gone out for a romp yet. so while i'm relaxing, i'll share my first-ever flight with singapore airlines.

everyone keeps saying that singapore air is one of the best, and while i never really doubted it, i didn't realize what the difference really was until i got the SQ treatment. it wasn't anything mind-blowing, but i sure felt that i was taken care of. very thoughtful service characterized by touches of hospitality.

boarding from NAIA terminal 1 was surprising orderly; no people rushing to the front of the line or trying to board even though their row numbers haven't been called yet. boarding procedure was the same in changi. i've been on other carriers before, and while boarding wasn't chaotic, there was still a sense of being rushed that i didn't feel this time with singapore airlines.

the overhead bins also didn't get filled. i remember worrying about not having space to stow my carry-on luggage, because i've seen happen before. with SQ, it looks like i didn't have to worry about that. i initially thought it was just because the MNL-SIN flight wasn't full, but our SIN-LHR leg was, and the bins still weren't jam-packed.

passengers are given warm towels while waiting for take-off, and before meals. so far, the meals i've had were great, but my friend kate hasn't been so lucky. i do like that they give a lot of meal options as well as an extensive drinks list (that i didn't take advantage of).

in-flight entertainment quality was good, though i was disappointed about the absence of "community," when the SQ website indicated there was going to be at least one episode. nonetheless, i spent a good part of the flight being entertained by the pritchetts of modern family and leslie knope & co. of parks & rec.

all seats were equipped with a socket where you can charge your electronics, and the entertainment system even allows you to connect your PC or a USB flash drive to the screen so you can view your photos or files.

pillows and blankets were provided to all passengers as well, and both made the flight very comfortable. passengers were also given a small comfort kit with socks, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. this may not come as a surprise for some, but i didn't get this when i flew economy with KLM and air france.

the airbus a380 for the SIN-LHR leg had a pretty spacious lavatory, and in there, they provided mouthwash, dental kits (in case you lost yours from the kit they provided), shaving kits, and even sanitary napkins. that's a lot for an airplane lavatory.

since we only paid for standard seats, we got the usual legroom and comfort. for the MNL-SIN flight, we got seats that had one inch more pitch than the most standard seats on the flight, but for the SIN-LHR leg, it was just ordinary.

the staff was always very efficient and accommodating, and even when there was a bawling child in the cabin with us, they didn't lose their cool, and even assisted the mother in setting up a baby cot. a lot of the passengers also requested seat changes, and they were all handled quietly and effciently. even last-minute meal requests were handled well. no fuss at all.

so will i fly singapore airlines again? oh, you bet! but only if i can get it for the same price that i did for this trip. kate and i were very lucky to have gotten our fares for just USD 1130, and if i'm ever this lucky again, i'd go for SQ in a heartbeat. another plus for SQ is that flight connections usually take place in changi, a very well-planned, efficient airport.

next time you have a long-haul flight tp book, try checking out SQ fares, you never know when they're having some sort of promo.

europe, once more

i'm hitting the road again tomorrow, and i'm hoping it will give me the push i need to breathe new life into this blog.

i've been in a very dark kind of funk the whole year--i snap and get stressed so easily, and i've discovered a baul-ful of things that frustrate me. it drove me into a cave, and i have to admit, while i was unproductive, i did enjoy staying indoors whenever i could.

but travel has always helped me gain perspective and balance, and i hope that they come to me now, when i need them most.

of course, aside from such a serious, soul-searching purpose, i know i will have fun on this trip. and i'm crossing my fingers that i can share that part of the trip with you while i'm on the road.

so if you still haven't grown weary of my empty promises to fill this blog with stories of my supposed adventures, then please, check back and stay tuned. :)

see you tomorrow, singapore

tomorrow, i fly to SG to see one of my oldest friends get married. it doesn't hurt that the trip doubles as a vacation as well. susie and i didn't get to enjoy singapore the last time we were there, so we're hell-bent on doing that this time.

this is where we'll be staying:

Loading hotel video : :Berjaya Hotel - Singapore