Many people who have come to work in Taiwan have had to undertake the inglorious journey of what is commonly called a “visa run,” in order to acquire the necessary status to work here legally.
The phrase instantly brings to mind English teachers working here under shady circumstances, but the reality is that economic immigrants to Taiwan in an array of industries find it necessary, at some point, to change their visa status.
If you are seeking employment, but arrived in Taiwan on a landing visa or some types of visitor visas (such as a student visa), at some point you will have to leave the country in order to be able to apply for a resident visa — which is a requirement to apply for an Alien Resident Card to be able to work here legally for any length of time.
PHOTO: MAC WILLIAM BISHOP
Such a trip may come at a difficult time, financially speaking. If you are just beginning a new job, you may not be receiving a regular paycheck yet.
With this in mind, there are several options available to those who wish to save as much money as possible when undertaking such a journey.
The usual destinations (the ones with the least expensive round-trip airfare) people think of for visa runs are Hong Kong, Okinawa, Japan and Bangkok, Thailand.
PHOTO: MAC WILLIAM BISHOP
But there is another option: Macau, the destination of choice for a combination of convenience and thrift.
Despite its booming economy, which is driven largely by legal gambling and tourism, it’s possible to get by in Macau for around MOP300 (roughly US$37 or NT$1,130) per day, including accommodations.
What we are talking about here is barebones, no-frills tourism: Your mode of transportation (except to and from the airport) is by foot, and your meals are not going to be journeys to a gastronomic wonderland.
But with an adventurous spirit, you can still have a good time; and more to the point, get your business at the visa office taken care of quickly and cheaply.
AIRFARE and ACCOMMODATIONS
Typical airfare for a one-person, round-trip ticket on Air Macau will run you between NT$7,000 to NT$9,000, but you can often find bargain deals for as little as NT$6,000. Some packages even include hotel accommodations (one night) and airfare for less than NT$9,000 — it is definitely worth checking with your travel agent for any bargains.
EVA Airways and Air Macau both have flights to Macau from Taiwan, and not just from Taoyuan International Airport. Several flights a day go through Kaohsiung, so if you live down south, it might be easier to fly from there.
One reliable travel service in Taiwan with a friendly, English-speaking staff is Interlink Travel, in Taipei. You can book your tickets by phone or e-mail and pay by ATM transfer or credit card. It is likely that you will receive an electronic ticket, if so you will receive confirmation and your itinerary by e-mail; otherwise Interlink can mail paper tickets (same day service to many locations) to you quickly.
Your next order of business is accommodation. If you have not managed to swing a package tour, a cheap place to stay is Hotel Central, with standard rooms running as low as MOP250 per night.
A word of caution: This is a budget hotel, with the emphasis on budget. The best thing about it is its price; the second-best is its location. After that, you might struggle to find something to praise.
It is English-speaker friendly, but this is a cheap place to stay in Macau: it’s not a haven of Puritanism. Don’t be surprised to see “masseuses” hanging around in the lobby, or to get an evening knock on your door, asking if you would like a massage. It isn’t probable that a massage is all that is involved. But a simple “No, thank you” will send your visitor on her way, and no one should bother you again.
If you want to avoid shadiness, and speak Mandarin or Cantonese to even a basic level of fluency (or have someone who can make arrangements over the phone for you), another option is a hostel service run by a woman nicknamed Xiao Budian, otherwise known as Sara Liu. She runs a very clean set of rooms, which cost MOP300 or less per night. Liu is quite helpful at pointing out places to see and to eat, and is less intrusive (for instance, guests can come and go as they please, at any hour) than many hostel owners.
food and entertainment
Macau is an interesting place for a first-time visitor, and one look at the throngs of tourists and businesspeople in the streets in the daytime will demonstrate just how well the economy is doing.
Macau is renowned for its excellent food, and for good reason. Whether you like Cantonese, Portuguese or anything ranging from Lebanese to Mexican cuisine, you should be able to find a decent restaurant that serves it. Prices vary widely, with a mid-range meal costing between MOP50 and MOP100 depending on the type of restaurant you visit.
But let’s assume you really want to save your money and are willing to forgo culinary pleasure in exchange for frugality.
The obvious choices (short of simply going hungry) in that case are street vendors and convenience stores. Be warned: Convenience stores are not as common in Macau as they are in Taiwan. You may even be forced to walk as many as three blocks to find a 7-Eleven, rather than the usual half-block that is customary in most of Taiwan. However, you can eat a meal from an OK Mart that is equivalent to (if not better than) any meal you could get at a convenience store in Taiwan.
A better choice during the day is one of the many shops selling Macanese specialties. Macanese cooking is best described as Cantonese with a Mediterranean twist, or as Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) might put it, Portuguese cooking with Chinese characteristics.
My favorite for a quick, delicious meal (and probably the most famous Macanese snack) was the pork chop bun (豬扒包) I found in Largo do Senado for MOP12, and a cup of pearl milk tea (just like you will find in Taiwan) for MOP8.
The advice given to me by my hostess at the hostel, when I asked if she knew a good place to eat, was “Just find a shop with a lot of people waiting in line.” This is probably universally sound advice for eating at street stalls, and it was certainly the case in Macau.
If you like to have a bit of a tipple before, during, or after dinner, then your best choice is to buy cans of Tsingtao (MOP5) from a convenience or grocery store. Not to speak ill of local companies, but real Tsingtao brewed in China (“Brewed with Laoshan spring water!” the can declares) is much better than the Taiwanese version. Meanwhile, a beer or cocktail at a hotel bar (the easiest to find for short-time travelers) will cost about 10 times as much, between MOP40 and MOP80 — hardly a bargain price.
This brings us to entertainment. If you apply for your visa as early as possible, you should have six or seven hours to kill. So what to do?
Well, if you really want to experience a new place, you have to see it on foot. Happily, taking a walking tour will also cost you nothing.
Macau is walker-friendly in a way that very few parts of Taiwan have managed to become. Spacious, sanitary sidewalks, interesting architecture and lots of parks and greenery combine to make a stroll a relaxing experience.
Your best bet is to head toward the Largo do Senado (the historic “urban center” of Macau and from there walk to the Ruinas de S Paulo, or Ruins of St Paul’s. In this area you will find a cobblestone pedestrian mall with lots of shops and even more people.
You can snap a few photos of yourself in front of the ruins (an icon of Macau tourism, it even appears on T-shirts), tour the Fortaleza do Monte (Mount Fortress) and its gardens on the hill above, and while away the hours people-watching or souvenir-hunting.
And you should be able to afford a trinket or two, given all the money you’ll be saving on everything else.
Languages used:
Cantonese is the predominant spoken language, although it is relatively easy to get by with basic English and Mandarin. Signs, including street signs and addresses, are usually written in traditional Chinese characters and Portuguese.
A note on currency:
The Macau Pataca (MOP) is the local currency, although the Hong Kong dollar (HK$) is accepted virtually everywhere, including by taxi drivers, street stalls and convenience stores. As with most overseas locations, be sure to change your New Taiwan dollars before you leave Taiwan. The airport currency exchange in Macau will not accept NT dollars.
Transportation to/from Macau International Airport:
The easiest option to get from the airport, adjacent to Taipa Island, to central Macau is to take a taxi, which will cost about MOP40 to MOP50. Otherwise, you can take the AP1 bus, which costs about MOP3.30 (you’ll want exact change handy, available at the airport currency exchange) and makes several stops in central Macau.
Climate:
Macau has a tropical climate, and is hot and humid for most of the year. Expect rain. Visitors should also be ready to sweat (especially if you’ll be walking a lot), even if acclimated to most Taiwanese cities.
Additional notes:
Macau is not a big place. Macau Peninsula (central Macau) is a mere 9.3km², and it’s easy to get around by foot.
Well-made tourist maps — indispensable for the first-time visitor — are readily available at the airport and most hotels.
The Taiwanese visa office is not difficult to find. It’s in a large office building on the southern end of Macau Peninsula; the building is located on the West side of the large, tree-lined Alameda Dr Carlos d’Assumpcao, north of a major tourist site that figures prominently in postcards and memorabilia — Estatua de Kun lam, a large statue of the Buddhist goddess of compassion, Kuan Yin.
If you go:
Interlink Travel (康喜旅行社股份有限公司)
11F-1, 68 Guangfu N Rd, Taipei City (台北市松山區光復北路68號11樓之1)
Tel: (02) 2578-0611
Fax: (02) 2577-7155
www.interlink.com.tw
Hotel Central (新中央酒店)
Ave Almeida Ribeiro, 264-270, Macau SAR, China
Tel: +853-373-888
House of Good Fortune (好運來之家). Ask for Sara Liu, who also goes by her nickname Xiao Bu Dian (小不點)
Tel: +853-6259-7356 or +853-6648-0930
Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (台北經濟文化中心)
Al Dr Carlos d’Assumpcao
(澳門事務處服務組), 6F F-K, 411-417, Dynasty Plaza Building, Macau SAR, China (澳門新口岸宋玉生廣場411-417號皇朝大廈六樓F-K座)
Tel: +853-306-282
Visa office: Monday through Friday, 9am to 12:30pm and 1pm to 5:30pm
Web resources:
Macau walking tour guide:
www.olamacauguide.com/macau-tours.html
Macau Government Tourist Office:
www.macautourism.gov.mo/en/info/get2macau.php
Macau International Airport info (includes bus and taxi info):
www.macau-airport.com/en/index2.php
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