Bike Friendly

As opposed to most major Asian metropolises, the streets of Taipei are pretty bike friendly.  The not-so bad traffic along with the wide streets and quality roads make bicycling in Taipei something that even tourists can take part in, feel comfortable without worrying too much.  For Americans, the cars drive on the same side of the street as America as well.

Taipei Bicycle Map (click to Enlarge)

Getting There & Rending a Bicycle

Since rivers dominate the Taipei landscape it is not hard to get to a river.  I cannot remember which exact place I was dropped off by, but around 8 or 9pm I had a taxi driver bring me to the river.   I don’t remember what exactly I told him but I got to the river via taxi.  I was dropped off at a giant gate in a neighborhood next to the Danshui River.  The neighborhood was literally littered with bike shops.  There were at least 4 or 5 bike shops within a block of the entrance to the river path which was separated from the streets with a 20 foot high wall as you can see in the photo on the top of the post.

In the particular neighborhood I was dropped off at there were some vending machines selling hot and cold beverages.  I took advantage of this as I grabbed a hot coffee and walked around looking for bike shops.  I should have known coming so late on a Sunday evening that there would be no rental places open and I was right.  Most rental places were closed before 10pm which made sense.  Anyone reading this should take note, but then again most people probably don’t look to rent a bike at 10pm on a Sunday night in a foreign country.

The Place along Danshui River I started From

Riding Bicycle along the River Bike Path

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph I made the mistake of not getting to the river in time to rent a bicycle.  I had thoughts of just calling it a night and trying to wake up in the early AM to rent a bicycle but I didn’t want to risk missing my Monday afternoon flight but I decided to hoof it.

Since I was there and armed with my Nikon D90 digital SLR and tripod I decided to walk along the path to get some shots.  I remember seeing a couple of cool bridges at one point and I saw some in the distance so I thought I could walk to them so I started walking.

I noticed the nice, 2-lane paved and marked bicycle path along with a walking/jogging path which I walked on.   As I walked I had the river to my left, bike path and 15-20 foot wall to my right.  It was a pleasant, quiet and dry evening.  I noticed high water marks from the recent typhoon on along the bike path.  Stating the obvious, I’d recommend staying away from this area during a typhoon!  The late hour I was there would have been nice for a bicycle ride as there were few bicyclists and joggers.

I just kept walking along the path until I got tired.  There were either steps going over the giant wall or entryways about every kilometer or so.  I had a chance to take a few photos of the buildings across the river with the great cloud reflections but it soon got monotonous.  There were several bridges in the distance so I decided to catch a cab once I got a couple shots of the bridge, exited the bike path and took a taxi back to the hotel.

One of the Bridges across the Danshui River

Overall Impression

I would recommend anyone who plans to visit Taipei to rent a bicycle and travel along the paths.  I have read there are over 100km of bicycle paths throughout Taipei, some even leading out of the city into wilderness areas.  I surely regret missing out on the opportunity for less physically active endeavors.

I was alone, pretty late at night and felt completely comfortable.  The only thing that spooked me was the presence of a couple stray dogs as there would really be nowhere to run if they ran after me.   I could see how some people may find the path uncomfortable at night time so if you do the same, it would be a good idea to bring a friend or 2.

More Scenery at a Pit-stop along the Danshui River Bicycle Path

Trip to Immigration

As I mentioned in my previous post about getting a Thai Visa in Kuala Lumpur I have a ED or student visa through my language school Language Express.  This student visa is actually good for up to 3 years provided I keep my tuition payed at my school and my ED visa current.

To keep the ED visa current you DO NOT have to leave Thailand.  You simply must go to immigration every 90 days and pay the 1800 baht ($55 USD) fee.  Since I plan to travel outside of Thailand often I have to also purchase a re-entry permit.  The re-entry permit allows me to leave the country without losing the student visa.

The multiple re-entry permit I get costs 3800 baht ($116 USD) which allows you to leave Thailand as many times as you want before the 3 months are up and keep the ED visa.  Single re-entry permits are also available for 1000 baht ($30 USD).  While I consider the re-entry permit to be a necessity it does cause a major headache at immigration making it a whole day event.

New Location

The Thai immigration bureau was previously located at Thanon Suan Plu which was very close to Silom and convenient for most people who live along the BTS.  The street was a nice, friendly neighborhood with the typical food on the street, 7-elevens and shops.  The actual immigration building was a dump to say the least.  It was extremely crowded and had minimal, if any air conditioning which is probably the reason why the location was updated.

The new location for immigration is in a GIANT government building complex consisting of multiple buildings.  The immigration department is directly on the right as you walk in (see photo at top) and if you walk forward you will see a huge convention center surrounded by various government offices.  It looks bleak at first but the basement floor has a bunch of surprises for you long immigration wait.

In addition to the copy shop which charges a ridiculously low 1 baht (3 cents) per copy there are several restaurants, a giant coupon cafeteria,  7-Eleven and even a small kiosk-style shopping mall not to mention a bunch of real estate advertising and even more shops which I didn’t explore.  You’re no doubt going to be waiting if you go to immigration and if you time it right, you could avoid sitting listening to the horrific Scottish-Spanish sounding woman recorded voice of the queue numbers.

Ground floor of the Goverment Building

Getting to the New Location

The new location is far more inconvenient for anyone living near Sukhumvit or any BTS station.  It is located near the Don Muang Airport.  To get there the best and fastest way is to take the BTS to Mo Chit aka Jatuchak where there is always a line-up of taxis right as you exit the BTS.  Make sure you exit the BTS station on the side of the Jatuchak Market and the lake to catch a cab in the right direction.

The cab ride from the Mo Chit BTS takes around 10-15 minutes and costs around 100 baht ($3 USD).  The immigration is located inside building B of an ENORMOUS government building complex.  It is on the ground floor (2nd floor) which is visible directly as you enter the building from where the taxi drops you off.  After you get there, your immigration adventure finally begins.

New Location for Thai Immigration

New Queue System, Very Long Wait

Instead of the free-for-all type of queue where people rush the machine to push the button to get their number, the new immigration has a system (the word system should be used loosely).  First you have to get your forms from the agents at the front desk as you walk in.  Signs were posted saying you would NOT get a queue number if your forms were not completely filled out.

Once the forms are filled out and the photos are glued (glue provided) to the forms you walk through a metal detector in the main waiting room.  A line awaits which is for getting your queue number ticket.  Once you get the queue number it is time to wait for your number to be called.  Once your number is called you simply walk up to the agent, pay your fee and sit back down and wait again to receive your freshly stamped visa on your passport.

In my case I had to go back to the initial line to get another queue number for my re-entry permit.  IF YOU NEED A RE-ENTRY PERMIT THIS TIP MAY SAVE YOU AN HOUR OR MORE. If you are getting your visa extended as well as a re-entry permit, make sure to get the queue number for your re-entry permit directly after you submit your passport for the visa.  Make sure you get your re-entry permit application at the time you get your passport application, fill it out and have it ready.  It took me over an hour (2 counting lunch) to get my passport back and if I waited to get the re-entry permit queue number until after I got my passport I would have wasted at least another hour.

I took some photos in immigration but decided not to post them as it may get me in trouble….

Lunch for All

Something that really bugged me was the lunch.  Signs were posted throughout the immigration office “Lunch: 1200 -1300.”  I was thinking, “there is no way they are going to shut this place down at noon.”  I was wrong.  Instead of having separate shifts, the entire immigration department has lunch from noon to 1 while everyone is shooed out of the office.  Most people went to eat but I went to the copy shop to start this blog post.

Learn from My Mistakes

My language school recommended being at immigration at around 8:30am which is when they open.  This is dead on.  If you arrive from 8:30am to 9:30am there is a good chance you will be out of immigration before noon when everyone goes on lunch.  If you think you are going to be there much after 10 or 11, it may be worth it for you to just wait until after 1pm when the workers get back from lunch.  I arrived around 10:30 or 11:00am and I ended up leaving at 4:30pm which wasn’t desirable at all.

Whoever is helping you with your visa should give you all the directions but they aren’t always very clear.  Anything dealing with a visa requires copies of everything.  It is a great idea to make MULTIPLE copies of every (pertinent) page on your passport.  Also remember to get multiple copies of your passport/visa photos so you don’t have to take them over and over again.

Renewing a visa is akin to going to the DMV in America.  Driving is a privilege and in order to be able to drive you have to put in some time in the DMV.  Living in Thailand as a foreigner is a privilege and every 3 months for a student visa holder this privilege is beaten in your head with a wasted day inside immigration.

Best Part about Going to the Government Center: Leaving