Three years ago, I blogged about our trip to Taiwan for 3 months. Since we’re doing a Gap Year Adventure 2016, I thought I’d move these posts over now that I have my own website and backdate them. It’s kind of nice re-reading these posts. I’d forgotten all about our trip already and what I did to prepare and where we went during our stay!
Five more days and I’M NOT READY! I finally sat down and made my packing list yesterday. Have been busy shopping the last few weeks. Trader Joes souvenirs, check; iPad mini for long flight, check; new bank account, new Eagle Creek luggage, new clothes for everyone, school supplies for homeschooling, check check check; madly ripping DVDs for said iPad, not even close to being done, trips to the Taiwan Culture and Economic Center, triple check.
The great thing is that we’re preparing during Thanksgiving so we’ve been able to get good deals. I’ve decided I’m only shopping once a year, during Thanksgiving. It’s amazing the deals if you’re willing to brave the crowd or stay up till 12am shopping on Turkey Day.
Baba says that I’ve been making progress, but I keep feeling like I’m missing something super important. I know we can buy things there but, as I discovered the last time Thumper got sick in Taiwan, sometimes it’s better to pack it than buy locally during an emergency.
Next week is a slew of doctor’s appointments. I’ve got 2 massages planned because my back’s been acting up. Hoping today the kids can be taken out so I can finish packing.
I’ve been reading 4tumbleweeds‘ blog and it’s so fun to read their adventures. We’re flying China Airlines instead of Eva Air because we’ve planned a stop before Taiwan. And our flight will also have a stopover in Tokyo. So I guess we can say the kids will have been to Japan……just like they stepped on Mexico soil during their cruise.
Because we want to apply for residency, it also involved 2-3 trips to the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office. Astroboy had such a blast as he loves Bart. I keep telling him he’ll ride the trains so much in Taiwan he’ll be sick of it. But he’s a bit young to understand that. Had to renew passport for myself, translate a bunch of birth certificates into Chinese, notarize, get our vaccinations caught up, and get it all certified. Muchos money by the end.
I tried using kayak.com as suggested by 4tumbleweeds‘ to book things. But since we’re not doing the hostel route, I ended up using a regular travel agency for the flights and Taiwanese/US websites for the hotel. I think it’s cheaper and you get way more option this way. As long as you have that credit card with no foreign transaction fee…..
Oh, and we also opened up a new checking account with Citibank because they have branches in Taiwan and I could open up another Citibank account there and do global transfers with no fees other than whatever Citibank earns through currency rate conversion. I’ve been wanting a checking account there a long time, and am glad I finally found a bank that’s in both countries. Well, East West Bank and Cathay Bank also have branches there, but they’re not as prevalent here. I’m hoping with this, I will save some money in converting currencies and not need to bring a wad of cash back every time.
