Why didn’t I visit Taiwan first since it is one of the closest neighbor of the Philippines, my home country, probably next to Hong Kong?Flights seem to be faster to Taiwan though than to Hong Kong even if the latter looks closer to my country according to the maps.
I have visited Hong Kong three times already, whereas, Taiwan was not in my urgent list, though of course, I badly wanted to visit the small country. But why only this time, after more than 10 years of traveling?
Well, because of visa. Not that I am afraid to get visa but I just did not prioritize countries requiring visa (additional cost, preparation, and hassle).
Anyway, finally, the time has come for the Taiwan government to conduct an experiment by waiving visas to all Filipinos from November 1, 2017 until July 31, 2018. Then a review will follow.
But wait, while visa was the main reason I delayed my trip to Taiwan before, I still visited the country in September 2017 just before the experiment started in November. Thanks to my existing-until-2020 US visa and less-than-5-year-old expired Japan visa.
Prior to the experiment period, entry was visa-free provided you have visas from Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, any of Schengen countries, the United Kingdom, or the United States. The visa may be expired but should not be more than 5 years old. I just had to submit a form online to print my travel certificate that I needed to show at the Taiwan immigration upon entry. Easy.
So you still acquired your Japan and US visa, which may even be more demanding or difficult than getting a Taiwan visa, you say? True but I was able to get my US visa through my company in 2010. I also applied my Japan visa when I was working in Vietnam, which was free and I did not have to travel for hours to apply for it. In the Philippines, since I am from Baguio (north of Manila), I had to travel around 6 hours to get to Manila and apply my visa through a travel agency. That is super hassle and costly!
Taiwan is indeed a beautiful, small country that offers great landscapes, rich culture, and a variety of food. This is one of those countries I am willing to visit again.
Go ahead and click on the places below to see what we have explored in Taiwan.
Taroko Gorge
