San Francisco to Taipei on EVA Airways
August 30, 2008 Posted by Chris
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The trip from SFO (San Francisco International) to Taipei (CKS) is a long one, so the airline you choose should be a comfortable one and the luggage you pack should be as light as possible. The actual flight varies from about 12 to 13 hours in length, which means you will have plenty of time for sleeping, reading & watching movies. Most transpacific flights will have two meals served along with many drinks to keep you refreshed. The movies played on EVA (like: Iron Man/Chronicles of Narnia) have English Audio & Chinese subtitles.
Leaving From San Francisco International
While this airport is not as big as LAX or Chicago O’Hare you can still get lost pretty easily wandering around. At San Francisco International there are two separate terminals for domestic and international flights. Since I was headed to Taiwan, we went to the international flights terminal and unloaded my stuff at the EVA Airways entrance.
There was no line at the ticket counter, probably because it was about 11pm and my flight departure time was 1:40am. So I checked in my one medium sized suitcase and a duffle bag, got my boarding pass and I was off to security.
On my way to security I noticed a peculiar art gallery. It was all British handcrafts that were created by artists in the nineteenth century. It is always amazing to see how realistic art is especially when it was created only by humans. These pieces were all modeled after the environments surrounding the artists.
Right next to this art gallery was security, and while I dreaded the experience of going through security it was actually quite a breeze. I put my laptop into a separate bin, shoes in another one and I crammed the rest of my stuff into a 3rd bin and sent it off into the x-ray machine. The one thing I did forget was to take off my belt. That thing kept setting off the metal detector like a mad man.
My flight departed out of Gate 98 which was just a ways down from security. There were a few shops & currency exchange machines along the way. I stopped into one of the shops to get a small gift for the person who would pick me up in Taipei; a small shot glass with stereotypical Golden Gate Bridge and “San Francisco” plastered all over it. Up above the terminal I could see the airplane I would be taking out of San Francisco. It was a standard B-747 but painted white and green, the colors of EVA Airways.
At 1:05 boarding started with 1st class & Business class (neither of which I held a boarding pass for). Then, at 1:10 boarding started for economy class and everyone rushed to get onto the plane.
My seat in the plane was 36A which is a window seat. I intentionally got a window seat because I like having a good view outside, and even though it was pitch black outside for most the flight, I could still see the lights of Japan when we flew over it. This is a reverse shot of the terminal from inside the plane:
There were two meals served during the flight: Dinner & Breakfast. Dinner was served first and there was a choice between Beef & Fish. Breakfast was served about 3 hours before we landed and the options were: Omelet & Chinese Porridge. I opted for Beef for dinner and Omelet for Breakfast. Most people seem to hate airline food but for some reason I have always loved it. My love for airline food must tie into childhood memories of going to Hawaii, because those were the only flights that we took when I was young where food was served.
Arriving At Taoyuan Airport In Taipei
After about 12 hours and 30 minutes we arrived at the Taipei airport in Taiwan safely and without any incident. The flight was actually early to my surprise but there was no worry because getting through the long line at customs took another 20 minutes. After getting through customs my luggage was already spinning in circles around the carousel at the baggage claim. So, I just grabbed my things and started making my way under the “Nothing To Declare” sign and into the main hall of the airport.
It was about 6:20am when I walked into the main hall and I was not expecting to be picked up until 7:00am but to my surprise there was already a young Taiwanese college student holding my name & university on a piece of paper waiting for me to walk by. He eagerly greeted me and helped me with my luggage over to the Bus station adjacent to the airport. He bought two tickets to Taichung and about 2 minutes later we left on what I would call a pretty comfy bus.
After a 2 hour bus ride we arrived in Taichung and took a taxi over to where I would be living. Taxis are pretty cheap here; about $3-4 can get you wherever you need to go. Once we arrived at my new place, I filled out some paper work, dumped my baggage in my room and finally I was all set, but the day had only just begun; it was only 8:30am.
Posted: August 30, 2008 under Personal
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