Taiwan is a busy and bustling country of some 23 million people. The Taiwanese speak Mandarin Chinese (in addition to the local Taiwanese language and several other ethnic dialects) and often speak English or Japanese.

Weather in Taiwan is rather hot and humid. The minimum temperature in the winter is about 10!, while the maximum is the summer is about 35~38!. During our Congress, the temperature should be in the 20-25!.

Taipei s Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung Airport can be accessed via over 190 non-stop and direct flights from 56 major cities throughout the world. The carriers are Air Macau, Air New Zealand, Air Nippon, Angkor Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Airways, Continental, Dragon Air, Japan Asia Airways, Korean Air, Far Eastern Air, Northwest, KLM, Malaysia Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, Palau Trans, Pacific Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Thai Airways, TransAsia Airways, United Airlines and Vietnam Airlines.

For landing visa and other visa information, please check skal.org

Passport: A passport from your home country valid for at least six months is required for all visitors to Taiwan. Visitors should consult the Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) website at http://www.boca.gov.tw for information about visa requirements for entry into Taiwan. Citizens of the following countries may enter and remain in Taiwan without a visa for a maximum of 30 days: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA.

Visitor Visa Application Forms may be downloaded from http://www.boca.gov.tw and should be submitted directly to BOCA. For more information, please contact BOCA at +886-2-2343-2891 or e-mail: post@boca.gov.tw.

Taiwan's unit of currency is the New Taiwan Dollar (NT$), which has five denominations in paper money and five in coins. Paper money comes in NT$2000, NT$1000, NT$500, NT$200, and NT$100 denominations. Coins come in NT$50, NT$20, NT$10, NT$5 and NT$1 denominations. At the time of printing, the exchange rate was about 1USD=32NT$.

Foreign currency can be exchanged at banks and hotels. Keep your receipts as they must be presented in order to exchange unused NT dollars before departure.

All major credit cards are accepted and traveler's checks may be cashed at banks, hotels, and some tourist-oriented businesses.

Taipei has a huge fleet of taxis. Charges are very reasonable. All fares appear on the meter, except for a NT$10 charge for cabs dispatched by phone and for each piece of luggage placed in taxi trunk. Tips are not required.

For long-distance travel it is a good idea for all travelers to confirm charging method before getting into a taxi. Taipei's taxi drivers are generally a friendly and helpful group of people, but few of them speak English.

You may call the English Taxi Association in Taipei for any assistance at (02) 2799-7997.

Many cab drivers do not speak English at all, so it is a good idea to have someone write both your destination and your hotel's name and address in Chinese on a piece of paper.

The mass rapid transit system (MRT) is clean, comfortable and convenient, and payment is easy; together with the metropolitan bus route network, the MRT forms a convenient transportation system. The MRT currently has five lines in operation. Tickets can be purchased at automatic-ticket machines in all MRT stations. A "Single-journey Ticket" costs from NT$20 to NT$65 depending on distance. A NT$150 "One-day pass" purchased from a service booth will allow unlimited travel on all MRT lines within one day.

The MRT runs from 6 am to 12 midnight seven days a week.

Smoking, eating, drinking and gum chewing are strictly prohibited on all MRT trains.

In addition, the use of cellular phones is prohibited in the first and the last cars of each train. For further information, please call the Taipei MRT customer service lines at (02) 2181-2345 (24 hours) or (02) 2536-3001 (8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.).