Early 2019 Asia Trip (Taiwan, Bali, Timor-Leste, Thailand)

Early 2019 Asia Trip (Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Thailand)

It's been a couple of years since I've been back to Asia, so I kicked off 2019 by going to three different countries, two of which I've never been to before.

This post is more of a general overview of my trip.

I have already done a post on Bangkok here: https://blog.alexandercheng.com/2019/02/bangkok-thailand.html

Stay tuned for the rest !

My flight itinerary for this trip was :

01/09: San Francisco, California to Taipei, Taiwan

01/13: Taipei, Taiwan to Bali, Indonesia - Stopover from Taiwan to Timor-Leste

01/14: Bali, Indonesia to Dili, Timor-Leste

01/17: Day trip to Atauro Island

01/18: Dili, Timor-Leste -> Bali, Indonesia -> Bangkok, Thailand

01/23: Bangkok, Thailand to Taipei, Taiwan

01/29: Taipei, Taiwan to San Francisco, California

In case you haven't noticed, I do like to travel rather fast, which I will write a post about soon.

Flight cost:

San Francisco to Taipei, Taiwan RT  - $719.63

Taipei, Taiwan to Bali, Indonesia 1 way - $145.06

Bail, Indonesia to Dili, Timor-Leste RT - $393.64

Bali, Indonesia - Bangkok, Thailand 1 way - $90.32

Bangkok, Thailand to Taipei, Taiwan 1 way - $144.80

Total : $1493.45

Hotel cost :

Plaza Hotel Dili, Timor-Leste (01/14-01/18): $340

T2 Residence Sathorn (01/18-01/23) $169.30

Park City Inn & Hostel (01/23-01/27): $74.56

I stayed with my relatives in Taiwan from 01/10-01/13 and 01/27-01/29

Total: 583.86

Here's my takeaways from each country:

Taiwan: Always a fun country to visit. Maybe I'm biased since my family is from there, but the food is good, the scenery is great, cheap, and easy to get around anywhere in the country. Fun fact - It's one of the safest countries in the world to live in.

Timor-Leste: Worth going to most notably for scuba diving. Interestingly, they their currency is the US dollar, and there is no need to bring fresh notes. Convenient, but a little expensive. The way of life there is very laid back, and life is very simplistic.

Bangkok, Thailand: This was my first time in Thailand, and Bangkok is indeed cheap, the food is good, and you can also get cheap massages. I definitely wouldn't mind going back again to Bangkok, as well as exploring other parts of the country. The temples are also worth checking out, but it was definitely still in the 90s with high humidity so I only went to a couple of these temples.

A few tips for each country:

Taiwan: 

- Get an easy card. You can use it on the airport MRT (subway), Taipei MRT, make purchases with it at many places, as well as use it on the majority of public transportation such as Taipei buses, Taiwan Rail, Taiwan HSR (bullet train), and private bus companies. Once you are done using it, you can get return the card and get your deposit back.

- Avoid the super touristy areas such as Shi-Lin night market. There's at least 10 other night markets you can go to and way less crowded.

- If you have time, explore other areas besides Taipei. The best thing about Taiwan, is that despite it's size, you can go to the beach, up in the mountains, smaller islands off Taiwan, and much more. 

Timor-Leste: 

- If you like to scuba dive, definitely go here. I've only been to the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia before, but from what I've seen and what I've been told, they have the best coral reefs in the world here.

- Make sure you bring enough cash. My friend lived there for six months, and she said that the ATM machines often run out of money. 

- If you plan on going to Atauro island during the off season, check boat schedules. When I was there, their normal water taxis only ran Thursday and Sunday. You can find private water taxis, but you'll be spending about $45 each way.

Bangkok: 

- Download the Grab app. I read online that Uber is available there, but every time I opened the app, it said that there were no drivers around. The other benefit to the Grab app is that you are quoted the price on the screen. Just remember that there is a 20 baht charge that's tacked on top, but you're less likely to be ripped off by a cab driver.

- There are fees taking a cab to and from the Airport. The toll fees are about 70 baht , and there's an 40 baht airport fee if you're picked up from Don Muang. My taxi costs were about 400 baht from Don Muang Airport to my hotel, and about 450 baht from my hotel to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

- If you hate being around tourists, avoid the Grand Palace. Yes, it's prestigious, but there were way too many tourists. Wat Pho on the other hand did have tourists, but it wasn't bad at all to visit.  

- Eat the street food. It's cheaper and tastier than restaurants in my opinion.

- In case you're interested, I think one can easily discern between women and lady boys. I wouldn't worry about it to much, and just have some fun. If you do go to Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy, just don't be alarmed when people are aggressive with you getting in the door. Also, be careful and make sure you check prices of drinks and your bill to avoid being overcharged.

- Some areas of Bangkok seem to be catered to tourism, so don't be alarmed if you're often solicited for services.

Picture time !

Taiwan

Bellavita near Taipei City Hall

A picture of Taipei 101 from walking around

One of the night markets in Taipei

Classical Taiwanese dishes at the night market

Bangkok

A view of Bangkok from from a rooftop bar

Enjoying a nice cocktail with a nice view !

Another rooftop view of Bangkok

Walking around Bangkok at night

The Grand Palace

A view of a temple in Bangkok

Wat Pho - The temple with the leaning Buddha

Boats chilling in Timor -Leste

Late afternoon at a beach in TL

 Another view at a beach before sunset

Interestingly, they had a few Cheers bars around the city 

Thanks for reading my post ! Feel free to ask questions or leave comments. I'm definitely open to feedback on what any suggestions or any destinations you would like to hear about.