Some random stuff to remember which are helpful to know:
1) Changing money
You can come here with US$ and Euros (just checked yday, bank saus they change Euros) and change them at a bank next to the clinic or Alice Hotel. They only allow a max of US$500/person/day to be changed, so time your exchanges carefully (so you have the money you need to pay the clinic – more info on that later).
2) Credit cards
Credit cards are widely accepted when you shop and eat. Alice Hotel and Zhong Ke accept credit cards too. Unfortunately, Dr. Lee’s clinic doesn’t – so be prepared with your NT cash.
3) ATMs
I unexpectedly needed additional treatments when I was here, which required additional money over what I brought. I was panicking trying to figure out how to get the extra money to Taiwan, knowing the funds were sitting in my BDO account in Manila.
Then I realized I could use my BDO ATM card in the ATM machines here. Banks in Manila have ATM cards that actually work abroad (they’re affiliated with either Cirrus or Plus). So you can withdraw money from your account here (even if your acct is a peso acct). The money the ATM will dispense to you is NT dollars. There’s just a maximum amt to withdraw per day (BDO’s was NT30,000/day). And your bank will usually charge you a transaction fee (probably around Ps50/transaction, but it differs per bank).
Just look for ATMs that have a Cirrus or Plus sign on them. Most 7-11 stores have these ATMs inside. If you stay in Alice, there’s one across the street, and also one in the 7-11 next to it.
4) How much money to bring during your clinic appts
Your total IVF cost with the clinic will be about NT120,000-150,000. You don’t need to pay the total amt right away. You pay it in installments. The schedule of payments is more or less like this:
• Your 1st appt – About NT 10,000 (for your blood tests)
• Day 2 or 3 – NT 55,000 (for your fertility meds, shots etc)
• Day 8 til egg retrieval – You’ll be going to the clinic daily to have your follicles checked via ultrasound. The doctor may decide to extend your fertility shots from day to day, so you’ll need to pay about NT 4,000 per day for each additional shot.
• Egg retrieval day – NT 20,000
• Embryo transfer day - NT 40,000
Other possible costs:
• Embryo cryo storage – If you are fortunate enough to have extra good quality embryos that you can have frozen here at the clinic, storage is free for the first year, and NT 30,000/yr thereafter.
• IVIG treatment sessions - If you end up having an immunological problem like me, be prepared to pay upto NT 50,000 per treatment (IVIG) session. In my case, I’ll need to do 4 sessions. My 1st session was on Day 8. 2nd session is after I test positive for pregnancy. Not sure yet when exactly the 3rd and 4th sessions will be, but I heard they might be on my 6th and 10th weeks of pregnancy (counting from first day of your last period). If you test negative for pregnancy, then you don’t need to do IVIG sessions anymore beyond the 1st one.
5) Weather
Taiwan has 4 seasons. The closest I can compare it to in terms of weather would be HK. It’s now late Oct (autumn), temperature ranges from 19 (late at night) to 28 degrees (middle of the day). I heard winter (Jan/Feb) can get pretty cold, upto 9 degrees. So if you’re not the type who likes the cold, it’s probably best to avoid winter. Plus that’s also the time of Chinese New Year, when Dr Lee is gone for a week.
6) Safety
In terms of safety, Taiwan is pretty safe, even at night. We noticed how we hardly saw any cops around here. Yet, crime rate seems low. Our friend who lives here explained to us that that’s because there are many cameras installed in every street corner, outside bldg etc. So less need for cops. Seems to work.
That doesn’t mean you should go around leaving your bag and belongings unattended. Always still practice caution. I always think we’re pretty well trained in Manila – we don’t leave our stuff unattended, always wary of pickpockets and snatchers etc. So we’re pretty much prepared to fare well here in Taiwan.
One thing though I’d probably watch out for though in terms of safety is pedestrian safety. Most traffic lights don’t have green signal lights for turning left. Cars turn left at their own caution. So even if you’ve got a WALK signal, watch out for cars that may be turning left. My general observation here is that drivers here care even less than Philippine drivers do. In the Philippines, if they see you in the middle of the road, the driver will at least finally yield to you. Here in Taiwan, when it would happen to us, the cars didn’t even seem to slow down. We had to run off the road, otherwise the cars would have run us down.
It’s also amazing how many scooters/mopeds there are in Taiwan. They outnumber cars! They go pretty fast, a number of them don’t follow the traffic lights, and they weave in and out of roads. So watch out for these too. Although they’re smaller than cars, being run down by one can’t be that much fun either.
7) The Taiwanese people
One thing we immediately noticed here is how nice, friendly, and helpful the Taiwanese are. I have yet to see one who is unpleasant. Even the cab drivers are good natured! Amazing. You should see the staff in the clinic – the nicest people in the world you’ll ever meet. Our friends from here tell us that they are especially nice to foreigners – isn’t that great?
8) Voltage
Taiwan’s voltage is 110V (like the States). Most of the chargers for my electrical/electronic stuff are dual voltage (100-240V), so I was fine. I didn’t have to bring a transformer or anything like that. Make sure you check the stuff you bring to make sure they’re dual voltage too.
Their outlets are pretty similar to the Philippines:
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