Wandering Fel

Taiwan Travel: Prepaid 3G SIM card in Taiwan

Before you can go on full throttle to find accommodation for the next few months/ years in Taipei, you will need your mobile phone and a Taiwan phone number. If you arrive in Taoyuan International Airport after 8 AM and before 8 or 9 PM, you can buy the SIM card for your phone in the airport. You can simply visit one of these booths.

There are 3 telecommunication providers in Taiwan but they more or less offer similar packages for prepaid SIM card:

1. Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大)

2. Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信)

3. Far East Tone (遠傳電信)

What if you arrived in Taiwan at late nights or early mornings? I arrived quite late and these booths were already closed. U_U.

If that also happen to you, you need to go to the telecommunication provider's stores in downtown Taipei to buy the SIM card. I went to the one located closest to Shida and it happened to be Taiwan Mobile. I got this one for NTD345. A passport is required to get a number here.

If you are studying Mandarin in Shida, you will spot a lady setting up a booth (actually a table and a chair) just outside room 606 at Bo-Ai Building (which is where Mandarin Training Center is located). You can get a Chunghwa's prepaid 3G sim card from her for free. You just need to bring your passport and your student ID card, which means, the best time to do this is right after your registration. I will post it again when I share about the registration procedure at Shida. You need to buy the recharge voucher to top up the balance though. The recharge voucher for all three telco providers can be bought at convenience stores like 7-11, Hi-Life and Family Mart.

Save up to 25% on your hotel booking in Taipei here!

Mobile internet in Taipei

Today is the era of smartphone but the smartphone is not that "smart" without an internet connection. If you are renting a place in Taipei, the rental fee usually is inclusive of internet access (cable or wifi). If let's say, it doesn't and you really need an internet, what to do?

1. Look for the wi-fi hotspot

The wi-fi coverage in Taipei is actually pretty extensive and it includes public transport such as at MRT stations and inside bus. You have to register online before you can login to use the TPE-Free Wi-Fi. To register and to look for the areas which are covered by the free wi-fi, you can go to this website: http://www.tpe-free.taipei.gov.tw/tpe/index_en.aspx

Another option is to connect to Wifly, which is another wi-fi coverage in the city. It covers the major streets and MRT stations in Taipei. Besides, it also covers Starbucks, all 7-11 convenience stores, Burger King, MOS Burger, etc. The thing is, it does not come free as you need to purchase the wireless internet access card online. For the information on the card and the coverage of Wifly, you can go to this website: http://www.wifly.com.tw/Wifly7/en/

Your language school should have a wifi hotspot as well. NTNU/Shida offers wifi access at NTD 300 for one month.

2. Short term mobile internet

If you are in Taiwan for a short term vacation or business trip, there is a 3G prepaid card broadband short-term plan which is offered by all telecommunication providers. For instance, Chunghwa Telecom is offering one at the following rates:

- 1-Day: NTD100;

- 3-Day: NTD250;

- 7-Day: NTD450.

It doesn't come cheap I know. But the other providers' (i.e. Taiwan Mobile and FarEastTone) rates are more or less the same. For more info on Chunghwa's plan, you can click this link: https://123.cht.com.tw/webecss/PrePaidCard/Introenus.aspx

Happy surfing!

Taiwan Hotel Review: Li Yuan Hotel, Taipei

Unless you have relatives in Taipei, most likely you will have nowhere to stay when you first arrive here. I have relatives in Taipei but I came with my friend and my relatives don't have spare rooms big enough to accommodate both of us. So we booked a hotel room near our school.

If you are studying at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU or Shida) or National Taiwan University (NTU or Taida), you may want to stay at the hotel which we picked, Li-Yuan Hotel.

We booked the room via Tripadvisor and you can find out about the hotel's price here. The bedroom is quite spacious for two persons.

We arrived in Taipei pretty late (around 10 PM-ish), so we did nothing on our first day. After we checked into our room, we practically just threw ourselves on the bed. But we do get excited when we checked the washroom because the toilet bowl looks pretty high-tech. XD

With some fancy buttons. Some of them not working properly though.

If you book the hotel via agoda, the price is inclusive of breakfast (not sure if there is an option to book without paying for breakfast, but the breakfast is quite nice).

Home-made version of braised pork rice (Lǔ ròu fàn滷肉飯).

And certain Chinese vegetables.

And there is a 7-11 nearby the hotel. Which is pretty convenient if you are lazy to walk far to get food.

The complete address of Li Yuan Hotel is:

Li Yuan Hotel
98, Sec. 3, Roosevelt Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan

Nearest MRT station to the hotel is Taipower Building MRT.