Hello everybody and welcome to the very first Mandarin & Miles blog post! I deeply appreciate all the support I have gotten from family and friends so far; I plan to grow this blog into something bigger over the next two years. But enough dreaming about the future, let’s talk about my journey of moving to Taiwan from the USA to become a graduate student at National Chengchi University. My trip started with saying goodbye to my family at the Atlanta airport (ATL). I was filled with hope and a sense of adventure, however, I didn’t know that an absolutely menacing check-in lady was waiting inside the international terminal ready to ruin my vibe.
Immediately after getting to the Sky Priority desk, I knew I was in for a treat because of how warmly I was greeted. “Where are you going?” she asked. “Taipei.” “We don’t fly to Taipei from this airport,” she laughs. “Well, I have a connection in Seattle.” “Okay, so you’re flying to Seattle.” She then held out her hand, presumably for my passport. After giving it to her she declared that I couldn’t go to Taiwan because I needed a return flight. I explained that I had a visa so she flipped to the page… to my Chinese tourist visa, telling me once more with a smug look that I needed a return flight because my maximum stay was 90 days. I politely told her she had the wrong visa.
After finally scanning my Taiwan resident visa she once more proudly informed me my visa was invalid. I began to panic on the inside and asked if she could grab a supervisor while I called the Taiwanese office in Atlanta. The supervisor was on the phone so after about 20 minutes she eventually gave up and came back, telling me the visa was okay (I would later find out via customer service that she had instead just checked me in to Seattle, giving up on checking me in for Taipei). My relief was short-lived though, as she told me with a smile that I needed to be charged $150 for my third checked bag. I politely told her that wasn’t the case (two checked bags are free on international flights and I get a free bag via card/status). She told me that wasn’t true and I needed to pay or get out of line. I paid, then immediately called customer service after receiving my boarding pass to Seattle (SEA), and was refunded the $150. Delta, if you ever read this, choose better staff for your Sky Priority check-in, and maybe train your folks to have empathy for the customers moving their lives to the other side of the world.
I am pleased to report that following my terrible check-in experience, everything else about my trip to Seattle went smoothly. I had the privilege of flying on one of Delta’s new A321neos, and while I was hoping to be upgraded to their new first-class seat, it would ultimately not pan out as I was something like number thirty in line for one of the two remaining slots. The flight was about five hours and passed relatively quickly thanks to Delta’s amazing in-flight entertainment selection. On transcontinental flights like mine Delta also offers more ‘premium snacks’ like the ones pictured. So, I watched TV, ate, drank (a bourbon cream of course), and mentally prepared myself for the herculean task that awaited me after arrival: wrangling five pieces of luggage to the Uber stand. While undoubtedly a comical sight, I was able to push my three roller bags to meet my driver. He carried me to my lovely (and most importantly affordable) homestay near the SEA airport.
After a good five hours of rest, I found myself back in an Uber heading to the airport. Luckily upon arrival I had a much better check-in experience, getting rid of my three bags while also receiving my boarding pass to Taipei (TPE). While the line was long because of Labor Day travel, my check-in agent this time around knew what she was doing, and so with a quick glance at my visa, I was approved for travel (Finally!). The SEA airport was experiencing rather serious electrical outages and as a result, all of the departing flight information for the S-gates was displayed via a whiteboard at the top of the escalators. After what I had experienced the day before in ATL this felt like a non-issue. Instead of worrying about it I gave the board a quick glance and said goodbye to the US the only way I knew how, with an $8 (the cheapest) coffee from a local chain.
The boarding process was smooth and I found myself in my lovely Premium Select seat within 15 minutes of the first boarding call. Now I could talk at length about every detail of this flight, but this isn’t a flight review blog (Yet…) so I’ll keep it short. For me, if the price is right I will absolutely always choose Premium Select on a Delta flight to Asia. The flight lasted for 13 hours in total, but with the help of great service, good food, and almost an entire season of Parks & Rec, my time onboard was… dare I say, relaxing? The leg rest in particular is something I find extra comfy as someone who is six feet tall. As a self-proclaimed foodie, the onboard meals did not disappoint either. I had my pre-dinner snack served with a glass of scotch and sparkling water (heaven). One hot towel later the main of Taiwanese-inspired beef brisket was served; I always appreciate it when airlines serve dishes inspired by the destination. Saying that, however, I had to go with the Western option for breakfast about ten hours later: an amazing soft and delicious three-cheese quiche.
While I certainly didn’t arrive in Taiwan well-rested (I only managed about two hours because it was a daytime flight), I did arrive excited to begin this new chapter of my life. I was greeted by a friend I made during my first trip to Taiwan who helped me get my bags to the hotel I would be staying at on my first night near the Zhongxiao Fuxing station of the Taipei Metro. This was made easy by the frequent schedule of the Taoyuan Airport MRT to downtown Taipei, as well as the masterfully designed metro system. After dropping off all my bags we had dinner at a Sukiya nearby (my first time at the famous Japanese chain) where I gourged on some wonderful Japanese beef curry with miso soup and greens. After all, I would need my energy to move into my apartment the next day!
Overall, minus the unfortunate start, my trip to Taiwan was as smooth as moving to another country could be. I want to express my deep thanks to all of my family and friends who helped make this moment possible! This time in Taiwan will undoubtedly present challenges, but I look forward to documenting my adventures over the next two years and sharing them with all of you. Next week I’ll be sharing some about what apartments in Taipei are like, including a tour of my own. So, if you’re excited for that then make sure you bookmark the blog or subscribe to the Substack on the homepage to receive my next post as soon as it’s published. Thanks everyone!
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