The first leg of my long journey to Ontario began with a layover from Manila to Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei. I had such good experience flying with EVA Air (mainly because they served good food) that I was still full and high with energy when I arrived. After doing some research, I realized the 4.40 hr layover wasn't enough for me to get out of the airport and do some decent exploring. Fortunately, Taoyuan International Airport is wonderful. Easy to navigate, it has plenty of facilities to entertain travelers with long layovers. There's free wifi too in the entire airport, making it easier to pass the time.
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| landing at Taoyuan International Airport |
When I reached Taipei, I didn't have to go through immigration or pick up my luggage. I thought I'd be bored with all the free time I had but I got so engrossed looking around and trying out things that I ended up having to rush to my boarding gate for my next flight!
The waiting areas are themed and one of famous ones is the Hello Kitty waiting lounge. I am no fan but it was amusing to see all that pink. Being a foodie, I was even more amused with the food themed lounge with seats in the shape of dim sum inside a bamboo steamer. Hehe! :)
The waiting areas are themed and one of famous ones is the Hello Kitty waiting lounge. I am no fan but it was amusing to see all that pink. Being a foodie, I was even more amused with the food themed lounge with seats in the shape of dim sum inside a bamboo steamer. Hehe! :)
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| Inside Terminal 2 of Taoyuan airport |
Our flight from EVA Air landed at Terminal 2 and thankfully, it was also where I was taking my next flight to Toronto Pearson airport.
There were free massage chairs near C9 boarding gate but you need to secure a token first from one of the Information desks. Each person gets a token which you put in a slot connected to the chair. The massage lasts around 20-30 minutes and was adequately long enough to provide relief to my sore muscles. :)
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| Massage Chair lounge |
What I found really cool were these workstation pods which are located beside the airport library. I sat down and just browsed on my phone. The seat was so comfortable!
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| Workstations beside the airport library. You can stay here for free and try the different types of lighting for relaxing, studying, etc. The lighting does have an effect on the eyes. It's pretty cool! |
The library's near D2 boarding gate but I didn't have enough time to sit and browse through its selections.
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| Airport library |
To locate the airport facilities, click here for a passengers guide map of Terminal 2 Taoyuan International airport.
Travel Tip :
Travelers with a 7-24 hour layover and have valid R.O.C. (Republic of China - Taiwan) visa or are visa-exempt may avail of free half day tours in Taiwan. Complete information here. (Info may change, please always double check with the information center at the airport)
Airport website here.
I booked my flight to Toronto Pearson Airport via the Traveloka mobile app just because the interface is so much simpler. I can even select my seats with it. I didn't get my voucher until the next day but after contacting customer support, I received it right away so I was happy with it. After booking via the Traveloka app, I double checked my booking through EVA Air website and it was there. :) Easy! Traveloka's still one of my favorite travel apps.
Note:
Trip was December 2017