Macau • Japan • Taiwan
This long-awaited adventure is the first of many more trips. I have always dreamed of traveling to different countries, but it was always just a dream. Time and money were two main factors that kept me from making that dream a reality, but I guess it was never really a priority for me to just go and travel. It wasn’t until after 9-10 months of working when I finally decided to treat myself and take a vacation. What would I do with all those hours of PTO anyway?
This trip is one of the biggest and most spontaneous decisions I have made my entire life. Within a few weeks of deciding to take a vacation, I had already chosen my destinations, requested to take a vacation, and booked my flights to Macau and Taiwan (Japan was the main part of this adventure, but it was more complicated coordinating the timing with my travel buddies that I had to meet up with). Not only was this my first time taking a vacation, but it was also my very first time flying all alone – and for such a long distance too! I was so ready for this trip.
Before my trip, I made sure to exchange any currency I needed. I mainly had to get some Japanese Yen, but I also made sure my credit card company was expecting some foreign transactions in case I run out of cash. I also ordered a rental pocket WiFi for the Japan portion of my trip so that I could navigate and easily look up locations. Another item to prepare for your trip is to bring a small notebook. In Macau, Japan, and Taiwan, there are many places that have a stamp for the site you are visiting – you could be an expert at stamping by the end of your trip!
Rates during my trip:
$1 USD = MOP$8.02 (Macau)
$1 USD = ¥107 (Japan)
$1 USD = NT$30.23 (Taiwan)
My trip began as I checked in my suitcase at LAX on October 31st. Since there wasn’t much to bring with me, I fit my carry-on suitcase into my larger suitcase so I didn’t have to worry about rolling it with me everywhere. The check-in process was pretty quick, and going through the security screening and getting to my boarding terminal took only around 20 minutes. Although I was stuck in the middle seat, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! Luckily, the guy at the window didn’t have to get out at any time, so there weren’t any problems. To last through the long plane hours, I watched Detective Pikachu, Spider-man Homecoming, and Breakthrough, and slept for a few hours.