Shanghai-Taiwan 2019 Trip Summary

My trip to Shanghai and Taiwan was an experience.  It seemed to start off a wee bit rough during check-in at Vienna Airport because I didn't need a proper Chinese visa since Shanghai offers their 144-hour visa-free travel option.


I arrived at my hotel on Saturday night.  The rain started later that night.  It rained...and rained...and rained.  This put a damper on my Shanghai experience.  First of all I really shouldn't complain.  Over the past decade of intensive travelling I've never had a serious weather disruption before.  Sure I've been caught in rain before but never enough that my trip would be sidelined.  In the four days I was in China it rained HARD!  I did manage to get some night time photos on Monday evening when there was a break in the rain.  It lasted until late Tuesday afternoon and then it started up again.  So Monday night and Tuesday day; at least I got more or less one full day to explore the city.


From what I saw of Shanghai I liked.  However, I just scratched the surface.  I think a do-over visit is in order.  Especially since I didn't get to visit Nanjing.  Nanjing was the former capital of China until 1949 and it's about 270 km (170 miles) northwest of Shanghai.  It just didn't make sense to ride the train for 90 minutes to visit the city in pouring rain.  So Nanjing is still on the bucket list.

On Thursday morning it was off to Taiwan.  I started off in Taipei and it was great.  It did rain while I was there but it only rained overnight.  The days were gorgeous.




I did a few free walking tours with Like It Formosa.  Highly recommended, especially the food tour.  The food was just incredible especially at the night markets.  I even found a corn dog which I haven't had in about 7 years.  Not quite the same as back home but still good.  The only thing missing was the mustard.

On Monday I took the high speed rail to Kaohsiung to spend a few days in the second-largest city.

Kaohsiung is definitely worth the 90 minute train ride.

The area surrounding the Lotus Pond is awesome.

There's lots to see and you can spend a whole day just here.

I did a couple more walking tours with Like It Formosa in Kaohsiung as well.  There was one rainy day but I used my Shanghai souvenir umbrella and soldiered on.




Just like in Taipei, the food was oh so good.  And cheap as chips.  But for sure it's not low-carb with all of the rice, noodles, and dumplings.












In one of the night markets there was a place that I found fried soup dumplings.  Wow!

One of the best bits in Kaohsiung was Cijin Island and it's only a 10-minute ferry ride across the harbour.  A beach, palm trees and 32℃ (90℉).  It felt like paradise.

On Friday I took the high-speed rail back to Taipei.  It was the start of the Moon Festival so on the train they gave out small moon cakes.

On my last night in Taipei I had to go for a shaved ice.  Really decadent but worth it.  After this trip I'm going to have to put in some extra time on the elliptical machine.

I wasn't ready to give up the 32℃ in Taiwan for the 20℃ (68℉) at home in Brno.  I survived the 24 hours of travel to get home and had to immediately begin Operation Laundry.

I got officially spoiled on the trip home.  From Taipei to Doha I had my first experience in Qsuite which is the new Qatar Airways business class.  It's only available on certain planes and routes.  I had my own cubicle with a door, a fully lie-flat bed, and they gave me pyjamas.  After this, the hassles I had at the start of my trip are nothing.  Travel may never be the same again.

Made it to Shanghai, China

I finally made it to Shanghai.  Here's how it all started.  I took the Student Agency bus from Brno to Vienna Airport.  No problem.  I went to check in with Qatar Airways and then the fun began.  The check-in agent wanted to see my Chinese visa.

I explained that I don't need a visa because Shanghai permits 144-hour visa free travel for those en route to a third country.  For an American citizen a Chinese tourist visa is $140.  But if you're flying to/from another country then you can stay for 144 hours.  And the 144 hours starts at 00:00 following your date of entry so depending on when you arrive you can actually stay more than 144 hours.  For transit purposes, China considers Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan as separate countries.

For some reason the agent didn't know this and wanted to see my visa.  I had to explain it a few times in both English and German.  Then the supervisor got involved.  I explained it again.  Eventually, they were able to verify it, apologised for the delay and 45 minutes later I was checked in.  On my way to the gate I took advantage of my Oneworld  Sapphire status and popped in the lounge for a quick bite before heading to the gate.  I queued up when they called for priority boarding and the fun started all over again.  The two gate agents wanted to see my visa.  Again I explained that I'm travelling visa free but they just couldn't grasp it.  I told them that I had just gone through this and to call their supervisor.  I was told to wait to the side while they proceeded to check in everyone else.  About 40ish minutes later the supervisor I dealt with earlier showed up, apologised for the second delay and allowed me to get on the plane.  Everything was fine once I got on the plane for my 5 hour flight to Doha, Qatar.  I only had an hour layover so I was really hoping that no one would ask me for a visa again.  Everything was good when I landed and I went straight to my gate on boarded my 9,5 hour flight to Shanghai.

My 144-hour visa

Once I landed in Shanghai I went to the 144-hour visa queue.  I showed my passport, hotel confirmation, and proof of my outgoing flight to Taipei, Taiwan.  The border agent wanted to see proof of payment for the ticket.  So for this visa it's best to have a printed receipt from the airline to show as evidence.

After passing immigration, I picked up my luggage, bought a SIM card and headed for the maglev (magnetic levitation train).  The maglev goes non-stop from the airport to downtown.  The 30,5 km (18.95 mile) distance only takes 8 minutes.  It has a top speed of 431 km/h (268 mph).

301 km/h = 187 mph

The maglev opened in 2004 and it is the oldest magnetic levitation train still in operation.  It's still the world's fastest commercial electric train.  A single ride costs ¥50 (~€6).

I feels good to finally be here.  The plan is to explore Shanghai for a few days.  One day I want to catch the bullet train to go spend a day in Nanjing.  The forecast predicts a lot of rain over the next few days and my food tour for tonight was cancelled.  But hopefully the rain won't be too bad while I'm here.

BA Silver Status

Yeah!! I earned Silver status with British Airways.  The British Airways frequent flyer programme is called Executive Club and there are four tiers - Blue, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.  Each level gives you additional perks when flying on BA.

Every time you fly on BA, or one of their Oneworld partners, you earn tier points and Avios.  Tier points are earned from flying.  The tier points awarded are dependent on the cost and class of the ticket purchased.  Flying in business class over economy gets you more points.  The only way to earn tier points is by flying.  You can't purchase your way to a particular status level.

Avios are points that you earn from flying, or from making purchases with airline partners.  You can redeem Avios points for free flights, hotel stays, rental cars, etc.

Each of the Oneworld Alliance airlines have their own frequent flyer programmes.  The top three BA Executive Club levels, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, are equivalent to Oneworld's Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald levels.


Some of the benefits I now get with Silver/Saphire status include:

• Access to priority Business Class check-in at the airport, even when I fly economy 
• Priority boarding 
• Priority standby when on a waitlist
• Priority baggage handling
• Extra baggage allowance.  On BA flights I get to check two bags for free instead of just one.  And my checked bags gets to be 32 kg instead of the normal 23 kg.
• Earn an extra 50% bonus Avios points when flying on BA.
• Free seat selection at purchase.  No more having to wait until checking in to get a free seat; or having to pay for an emergency seat exit for the extra leg room.
• Free use of the the airport Business Class lounges, even when flying economy.  This one is huge - a quiet place to rest, free Wi-Fi, free snacks, free drinks; and I can even bring a guest. 

It's not listed as a benefit but I've noticed that when flying through London Heathrow, my BA ticket comes with Fast-Track access through airport security.  Love that!

Some of these benefits may not sound like much but for frequent travellers they can make all the difference at the airport.  Fortunately, I actually received Silver status before my trip to India.  I just hadn't received my card.  The Qatar Airways checkin line at Bangalore airport had at least 25 people in queue.  It was so nice to be able to walk right up to the priority checkin and be done in less than five minutes.  And having lounge access privileges at Doha airport gave me the opportunity to take a nap in the business class sleep rooms and I never had to pay exorbitant airport prices for food or drinks.  I so plan on taking advantage of these benefits in November when we fly to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

You have to keep flying in order to maintain your status.  It takes 600 tier points to maintain Silver.  If I don't earn at least 600 points this year then next year I drop down to Bronze status.  Bronze/Ruby is nice but Silver is way, way better.  Unfortunately, I'll probably never earn Gold/Emerald. which requires 1500 points.  I'd have to fly more than twice what I do now so that's not happening anytime soon.  

2018 India Trip Summary

Last week was my whirlwind trip to Bangalore.  On Tuesday, I had Qatar Airways flights from Prague to Doha to Bangalore.  I was ready to drop by the time I got to my hotel at 4 am on Wednesday.


Thursday was the Out & Equal LGBTQ India Forum.  The first of its kind event in India.  It was awesome to meet with executives from so many top Indian companies.

On Thursday night, the hotel held a drag show at the roof top bar.  I can't remember the last time I saw a drag show.  The headliners were Maya The Drag Queen, Rimi Heart, DJ Summer Camp, and Lady Bai.  The show was great!

We couldn't make it too of an evening because we had an IBM leadership workshop that started early Friday morning.

Another excellent day with IBMers from all over the world.  It really is a small IBM world sometimes.  For example, one of the participants from who recently transferred from Australia to Singapore is someone that I knew back in Atlanta.  We hadn't seen each other in probably 12 years.  Well, except for on Facebook.

I also got the chance to catch up with Mirek who used to work in Prague but is now in Singapore.  It's kind of funny that the Czech guy came to India to represent IBM in Singapore while I, the American, was here representing Czechia.

We were so busy that our first chance to even leave the hotel was on Friday night.  Several of us headed out for dinner and to get our first sight of India beyond the hotel lobby.

Rather than fly back home on Friday night, I paid for an extra day so that I could fly out Saturday night (actually super early Sunday morning).  This gave me the chance to see some of the sights in Bangalore during the day on Saturday.

On the way back I had a ten hour layover in Qatar which gave me a few hours to check out Doha.  But sightseeing in 46℃ (115℉) heat was a bit extreme though.

State of Qatar

The State of Qatar, دولة قطر‎  is located on the Persian Gulf in the Middle East.  Qatar is a little smaller than Connecticut.  It borders Saudi Arabia, and is across the sea from Bahrain and the UAE.  Saudi Arabia just announced a bid to build a canal on the border which will basically turn Qatar into an island nation.

Qatar is home to 2,6 million people but only 12% are Qatari citizens.  There are 2,3 million expats, mostly non-Arab, living and working in the country.  You're a Qatari citizen only if your father was a citizen.  It takes at least 20 years for a foreigner to get citizenship.

The Al Thani dynasty has ruled Qatar since 1825.  Once a part of the Ottoman Empire, it became a British protectorate and gained independence in 1971.

The country is an absolute monarchy and Islam is the official religion.  Qatar has a mixed legal system blending civil law with Sharia (Islamic law) when it comes to family and personal matters.  Political bodies and trade unions are not permitted by law.

This is not a place to be if you're gay.  Homosexuality is illegal and is punishable by fines, up to 7 years in prison or even the death penalty.  

©Test Tube News

Arabic is the official language.  With so many expats, English is a common foreign language.

Until 1966, the Indian Rupee was used as the country's currency.  It briefly spotted the Saudi Riyal before adopting the Qatar and Dubai Riyal.  In 1973 the Qatari Riyal became the official currency and it is pegged to the U.S. Dollar.

Due to having the world's third-largest natural-gas reserves and oil reserves, Qatar is a very rich country.  It has the highest per capita income in the world.

Qatar is home to the Al Jazeera television station which opened in 1996. 

Qatar Airways is the state-owned national carrier and it began operations in 1994.  Hamad International Airport opened in 2014 and is the airline's hub which provides routes to more than 150 international destinations.  In 2013 the airline joined Oneworld.  The airline is using Doha to compete with Emirates and it's Dubai base.

Qatar is probably the most open country in the Middle East when it comes to travel.  Citizens of more than 80 countries are able to visit without needing to arrange a visa in advance.

©Al Jazeera

In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt broke diplomatic ties with Qatar.  This included closure of their seaports and airspace which makes flights in and out of Doha longer.  The countries have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism which Qatar denies.  Here are a couple of YouTube videos I found that talks about the 1-year anniversary of the blockade and the impact of the economic blockade.

©France24

©Al Jazeera

Oneworld Alliance

There are three major airline alliances that allow members to earn frequent flier status and perks when flying with other airlines in their respective group.  Since Atlanta is home to Delta I was always a SkyTeam member.  Since living in Europe I've earned Miles & More points with the Star Alliance.  But my favourite is Oneworld.

Oneworld is the third-largest alliance and is made up of American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines plus 30 affiliated airlines.

Air Berlin was a member until they filed for bankruptcy and will cease operations this month.  It's a pity because they were really good.  Plus whenever I flew with them from Vienna my Oneworld status always qualified me for the priority lane at security.

I wish Aer Lingus would join.  Since 2015 they have been owned by International Airlines Group (IAG) which also owns British Airways and Iberia but it doesn't look like Aer Lingus will join anytime soon.

British Airways is my preferred airline even after May's IT crash.  Every time I fly on one of the Oneworld airlines I get BA Executive Club points.

BA's Bronze, Silver, and Gold status levels equate to the Oneworld Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald premium status levels.  So when you have priority status with one airline it carries over to the other airlines as well.

SkyTeam is the is the second-largest airline alliance and it includes Czech Airlines.  Anytime I fly with one of the Skyteam members I get points on Delta.

Star Alliance is the largest of the three groups.

I earn Miles & More points any time I fly with one of the 28 airline members.

Update:  As of 5 December 2018, Fiji Airways has become the first Oneworld Connect partner.  Hmmm...I've never been to Fiji before.

Update:  As of 1 April 2021, Alaska Airlines has joined Oneworld.  Alaska serves +120 destinations across the USA, Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica.  Its hubs are Anchorage, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Portland.

Alaska Airlines Route Map