Thread by @sdamico, In the theme of this thread, here’s been my experience with going [...]

In the theme of this thread, here’s been my experience with going to Taiwan. I’m currently in quarantine for another 14 hours so...

First: how do you go to Taiwan? Aren’t their borders closed?

The government set up a pretty slick digital nomad visa called the gold card. 1/ https://twitter.com/thatalicewu/status/1330287079708893184">https://twitter.com/thatalice...

https://twitter.com/thatalicewu/status/1330287079708893184

This is equivalent to a residence permit and work permit among other things and allows you to effectively move to Taiwan for up to 3 years without renewal. Fairly sweet program - doesn’t require you to change your job and doesn’t automatically have tax implications.

So the next thing was to book a flight. I went with United. To check in at SFO I had to provide a negative COVID-19 test taken in the past 3 days and the paperwork for my visa. They also took my temperature.

This was my getup for the flight (face shield and KF94 mask). At the gate I had to take this off for an automated kiosk to do some facial recognition task for checkin + also taking my temperature.

Meal situation was a bit different due to new safety protocols - looks pretty close to what the biz class (note: great points deals these days...) meals probably look like before they’re plated.

Before I forget - before boarding you have to provide proof of a bunch of stuff including quarantine location (and a Taiwan phone number if you have one) to this central system. This produces a code that gets scanned at a few steps.

You end up doing a Heath survey and upload a PDF of your COVID-19 test as part of this.

So turns out sleeping in a mask and a face shield on the flight isn’t too bad. The one hilarious thing with the flight is there are basically NO new movies. That definitely stood out. The next couple of steps I don’t have photos of but will try to explain.

As soon as you land you get the normal arrival experience at TPE airport except - there’s a segment where if you do not have a local SIM card you are required to buy one (very cheap!). Workers (wearing masks) sell you a SIM and set it up for you.

You then have to update the quarantine website / health form with the new phone number. This is important as they basically use the cell network to ensure you’re in your designated quarantine location and send you daily texts to inquire of health status.

At that point you’re allowed to proceed to immigration where the only special thing is you have to show the entry paperwork (US is normally visa free). Then baggage claim and customs which are identical to normal.

The last airport step is you have to fill out a taxi request form with personal info (to aid contact tracing so your driver is linked to you) and are picked up by basically a normal taxi (with a masked driver). If I had any feedback to the Taiwan government they should ensure

windows are down for this step as it feels like a possible risk.

I then arrived at my designated quarantine hotel (there’s a huge list of private hotels that are 100% quarantine, you can pick). Some folks also stay with family if they have a separate room with a bathroom.

The hotel staff greeted me with full PPE, handed me forms to fill out in my room (which was prepaid), a boxed dinner, and I entered the elevator alone to an unlocked hotel room.

Once in the hotel, I get a call by what I think was local police (in English) going over the rules and indicating they will check in with me daily with my health status. The hotel itself also gave me a worksheet and a thermometer. I have to record body temperature 2x/day.

I maybe saw staff once over the 15 days I’ve been here. There’s a box for trash, and a small side table where they leave food (prepaid meals at this hotel) three times a day. They typically drop items off and then call the room phone so I never interact with anyone in person.

Food at this hotel overall was pretty good. Had a lot of beef noodle soup. The hotel also gave me boxes of bottled water and coffee / tea packets.

I got UberEats to work immediately as well, and the options there are quite excellent.

I was sleeping US hours so didn’t really index my hotel room selection on the view but this is the only outside air I’ve experienced in 15 days.

Beyond normal work stuff, I set up TRX (forgive the sweatpants) and started cramming Chinese lessons on italki and Memrise.

At midnight my quarantine period expires - so will update with the checkout process!

Will clarify that you can’t leave the hotel room without some fines / penalties - probably a few hundred USD minimum for entering hotel common areas, much higher ($10K+) if I dipped out to go to a bar. I never stepped past the door threshold of the room for 14 days!

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