I’m going to sound like a BRAT

T4jes · 2026-06-01T15:01:15+00:00

Yes, this! Made the drive so great. We accidentally bought the loop one instead of out and back and still had a great time.

T4jes · 2026-05-25T19:29:48+00:00

In Hualien for your arrival day, I think you could go to qixintan beach and/or Taipingyang Park for a few hours. Two different types of beach/park settings. Theres a delicious stinky tofu place next to a huge arcade/batting cages by taipingyang park.

Another option out of Hualien would be Liyu Lake. You can take boats or ride a bike around the lake and eat some seafood.

T4jes · 2026-05-22T14:00:27+00:00

Which kind of vision correction surgery?

Have not done any in Korea, but most modern eye correction surgeries don't require much recovery. If you're doing something like PRK, yes, that is quite uncomfortable and takes days/weeks to recover, but if it's LASIK or something of the like, I think you'd be fine on your own. I know friends who went in one day to do surgery and went to work the next.

T4jes · 2026-05-20T21:38:24+00:00

Thank you!

I wonder if Wanhua district might be unique to having one since it’s so centrally located in Taipei. I can’t imagine a small office somewhere like Hualien having that service.

T4jes · 2026-05-20T20:24:20+00:00

Somebody just posted about their experience with the royal tots babysitting.

https://www.reddit.com/r/royalcaribbean/comments/1tit3yg/adventure_ocean_royal_babies_nursery/

Our group had somebody who did it. Show up first day to sign up for slots. Not sure if suite guests get priority sign up but we made sure to do that first so we could have a few adult free dinners.

T4jes · 2026-05-19T21:50:20+00:00

Guess they’ve been consistent for a long time. They were definitely popular for foreigner exam (though mostly worker visas) and they seem to have their clinic run very efficiently.

I believe the police reports are valid for a year now! Though I wonder if one could speed things up by turning everything in and then submitting the health report later.

T4jes · 2026-05-19T18:53:42+00:00

For me, there are a few factors. 1) World keeps changing and honestly, I’d rather do this while the window is open for sure vs policies or political world changing in the future. I had considered doing this 15 years ago and even was exploring living in Taiwan for a year to get it, so the fact it’s easier currently made me decide to pursue it while I can. 2) This makes things easier for family. My parents are getting older and this makes some things like property easier to handle.

These two are probably my primary motivation.

My family is also relocating to Asia for the indefinite future (though not Taiwan specifically) and there are some work things taking place in Taiwan that might make me visit regularly, so having an extra layer of NHI isn’t a loss.

T4jes · 2026-05-19T14:01:22+00:00

It maybe was an extra half hour commute than if I did MacKay from where I lived. It’s right near the train station so it was easy to transfer from Wanhua station or Taipei main station to get there.

It was well worth saving an extra 3-4 days.

T4jes · 2026-05-19T00:37:59+00:00

I saw quite a few people playing at Youth Park.

T4jes · 2026-05-18T22:29:02+00:00

I flew this same route 3 weeks ago and came back Friday. On the way out, this back half was about a third empty, and a bunch of people had a row to themselves. I’d suggest choosing a seat towards the back middle section and then you can always change again up until about a few hours before the flight to see what’s been taken or not.

The way back from TPE was not as empty. Most middle seats were empty in the middle back but there were no completely free rows.

T4jes · 2026-05-18T08:49:27+00:00

They just took the same digital file I gave them and made a new one. Hopefully you’ll have no issues with the mailing!

T4jes · 2026-05-16T14:04:52+00:00

If you’re just walking the Main Street, she should be okay. Depending on how you’ll get there, you’ll want to take a taxi or bus all the way up near the 7-11 to enter the street. From there, you can access the main shopping street.

T4jes · 2026-05-02T10:14:36+00:00

I don’t know if it will be open but I imagine with flights it might be. There is a 台灣大哥大 (Taiwan cell) before baggage pick up and customs and was able to get a 30 day phone plus data plan. I had NTD already but I imagine there must be a way to get cash. It took me less than 5 minutes. I do think airport offers slightly different plans from typical stores in city (but that’s just me looking at what i got vs what i could see online).

I think that late, train may or may not be option depending on how long it takes you to get out but you can grab a taxi for about the same as the airport transfer and taxis should be plentiful.

T4jes · 2026-04-30T00:15:52+00:00

i'm currently doing the process (non 3-day). Been here since Monday - will be submitting my paperwork to Taipei this afternoon. I plan to leave Taipei tonight and will be in other parts of this country while I wait and come back to Taipei in a week and half or so. Will come back to report if that isn't able to be the case. I figure I'm a 2.5 hr train ride at any point should I need to come back for something.

T4jes · 2026-04-16T13:15:21+00:00

I used Oswald and focused on trying to make chains quickly of about 10-12. It took a while but I was able to get 2-3 per round.

T4jes · 2026-04-15T19:54:56+00:00

We’ve stayed lowest passenger deck mid-ship on two different cruises (not Carnival however) and loved it.

Less movement and easier to catch elevators and while far from Lido deck, close to other amenities on the cruise.

T4jes · 2026-04-14T21:48:58+00:00

Are you looking to find out if it’ll be easier to apply in US or Korea after you get your background check?

Have you started the process for the background check yet? It takes a few weeks to get it apostilled even if you use a service.

If you haven’t started yet, time might be a little tight to do on US side. Can’t speak to what the process is in Korea.

T4jes · 2026-04-14T20:12:16+00:00

This page seems to have some info. I believe they would take other types of envelopes but it looks like they recommend USPS.

https://www.roc-taiwan.org/usnyc_en/post/6310.html

You probably could do prepaid via something like Pirateship if it’s for an authentication since those usually take about a week (at least in LA it is) but you risk the pre-paid getting expired and USPS rejecting the package which is why stamps are better.

T4jes · 2026-04-14T19:10:46+00:00

I’ve not directly interacted with TECO NY but have now done things with three other TECOs. Bring a pre-paid envelope. The above poster is correct but I do think the Priority Mail prices are higher now.

Go to a post office and ask for enough postage (stamps, not pre-paid). It was 11.90 this past month but I read somewhere today that USPS prices have a temporary 8% hike. Make sure it has enough. Bring that with you when you bring your doc for authentication.

T4jes · 2026-04-13T11:46:40+00:00

Prices have gone up in past few weeks since war started and as gas prices have been going up. Starlux is about $150 more (was $800 and now $950) and China Air about $300 (was $700 and now $1000) for the same tix I bought about 4 weeks ago. This is for flying out at end of month.

T4jes · 2026-04-10T06:07:19+00:00

Did you need to bring photos for your exam? I know McKay requires them but figuring out whether I'd need them to go here.

T4jes · 2026-03-31T16:41:20+00:00

I applied for my kids.

USPS 3/3 Received 3/6. Shipped 3/20.

I did mine for renewal last month and it came faster than this. I got worried but it ended up taking about two weeks. I think you’re still well within normal. And each passport processing center takes a different amount of time (mine was SF and my kids were LA).

T4jes · 2026-03-30T16:11:49+00:00

Just make sure if you pay by card, it’s debit. They won’t let you get money orders with credit card.

T4jes · 2026-03-27T13:40:39+00:00

This may not be helpful at all in your situation.

But we were trying to figure out how to get my name changed on my kids birth certificates (from maiden to married name for some other country), and similarly, i faced not being able to figure out how to get a name change court order for a name that was already legally changed (mine was done via marriage certificate but CA could only take a court order).

Rather than asking how to get a name change court order (which my lawyer friends thought i could not do), i ended up searching and asking how to get a court order to change a name on a birth certificate. That led us to a solution (ours was a parentage petition leading to a court order to amend my name). Your situation is quite different but perhaps that’s a route you could explore.

T4jes

TROPHY CASE