[back to home] Travel Agent Information
To facilitate travel arrangements, RTAS is working with 2 travel agencies:
U.S.A. Gateway Travel                  O'Rourke-Beam Travel
Manager: Grace Tang                    Contacts: Mickey or Gail
10999 Reed Hartman Hwy.                1-800-404-BEAM (1-800-404-2326)
Suite 207                              gail@orourkebeam.com
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Tel: (513) 791-7887
Fax: (513) 791-8399
E-mail: gracehtang@aol.com
Hotel Information

RTAS 2001 have blocked sleeping rooms at the Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei. Fill out this html form or download this MS Word form and fax it to the hotel for a 50% discount BEFORE MAY 5, 2001.


Requests for accommodations must be sent directly to the hotel of your choice.  An acceptable credit card is the preferred method for guaranteeing a reservation. Please note that typically a 10% service charge is added per room/per night. 

IMPORTANT:To secure your reservation, a one-night room deposit plus 10% service charge and inclusive of 5% government tax must be sent with your reservation:

Other choices of accommodations are also available in the following links. Most of the hotels listed are in metropolitan areas of Taipei with convenient access to all kinds of transportations.

Location and Climate
RTAS-2001 will be held in the principal city of Taiwan - Taipei. For centuries Taiwan has been familiar to the West as Formosa, a name derived from the 16th century Portuguese mariners who, on sighting the island from a galleon, named it "Ilha Formosa!" (Beautiful Island!). 

Taiwan is situated in the Pacific Ocean about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the southeastern coast of the Chinese mainland. Located about midway between Korea and Japan to the north and Hong Kong and Philippines to the south, Taiwan is a natural gateway for travelers to and within Asia.

June in Taipei is a comfortable season, with average  low and high temperatures from 73 to 84 degrees Farenheit, or 23 to 30 Celsius. In general, visitors should wear lightweight clothing from April through November; sweaters and coats are necessary only from December through March. The real-time weather report of Taiwan can be found at Central Weather Bureau.
 

Transportation
Transportations are convenient from CKS International Airport to Taipei, including public transportation bus, ABC or AirBus to hotel, taxi and car rentals

    In Taipei city, the main transportation utilities include city bus, Metropolitan Rapid Transit (MRT) and taxi. City buses and MRT in Taipei are plentiful and frequent, and the fare differs according to the distance traveled. To reach other cities and scenic spots from Taipei, trains and highway bus services are available. More detailed information can be found at the following links.

Taxis are the most convenient in Taipei. Charges are NT$70 for the first 1.65km (the  meter shows NT$50), and NT$5 for each additional 350 meters, so the passenger should pay extra  NT$20 for each trip. A 20% surcharge is added to fares between 11p.m and 6a.m. Most drivers do not speak English. So it's a good idea to have hotel personnel write both your destination and your hotel's  name and address in Chinese. 
 
Buses are the most important form of public transportation in Taipei. The tickets are cheap. The price of a ride on a bus is NT$15 one way. Some longer routes are divided into two sections, each of which costs NT$15. 
 

Immigration
Information of immigration to Taiwan could be found at Immigration & Visa Site of CKS Airport, Bureau of Immigration Ministry Of the Interior and Taipei City Goverment.

 

Currency
The  unit of currency in Taiwan is the NEW Taiwan dollars (NT$). Foreign currencies can be exchanged at the CKS airport, government-designated and private banks, and hotels. Receipts are given when currency is exchanged, and must be presented in order to exchange unused NT dollars before departure. The currency exchange rate can be obtained by your currency to Taiwan dollars. The recent exchange rate in August, 2000, between NT$ and US$ is around 31:1.

 

Other Information
More information about Taiwan and Taipei can be obtained at the following sites: