Ahh... Good ol' Taipei
One week after my "stamped" license expired, and only 3 weeks before Kris' did, we decided to give it a go in Taipei. This is how the international driving license works in Taiwan. Depending on which province/state/country you come from, there is a reciprocal agreement as to how long one can drive on an international license. Apparently Ontario sucks, as Taiwan (according to some places) only gives Ontario drivers 2 months - from the DATE OF ENTRY into Taiwan. The problem is, you can't apply for the stamp to validate this until you get your ARC (Alien Resident Certificate), which you can't get until you arrive and apply for it (and then it takes over a month to get it!). So, by the time we got ours, I had about a week to drive, and Kris had just over a month (apparently Saskatchewanians are kinder to Taiwanese drivers). All this took over an hour as the Kaohsiung DMV was extremely meticulous (and probably really bored as there were no people at this place!) We were trying to figure out how to get our Albertan or Yukon drivers' licenses (which both give a year of validation), when we heard that friends in Taipei had gotten stamps for a year. So, off we went to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Our actual goal was to take the Taiwan driving test. We practiced all night the night before - give it a try sometime - it's definitely a test of how well you can take a test, as the English is a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo. Some of my favourite questions:
1) You are driving and it turns out two of your passengers are drug dealers. What should you do? (Answer: Call the police and hold them until the police arrive)
2) You are driving and a car passes you. What should you do? (One of the choices was, "I don't like the dust from the car, so I should pass the car too.)
Unfortunately, the site is currently down, but I'm putting the link here in case it works again:
Taiwan Simulated English Written Test
In any case, the DMV is a hub of excitement, and as we entered, there were about 30 areas that we had to choose from to line up in. We randomly chose a lady at the "Driver's License" area, and got the response of "No, there's no such thing as stamping an International License." We then lined up at the information desk, and were given a flow chart as to the process of how to get our licenses - at a building about 30 minutes away by BUS. Just as we were ready to head over, Kris insisted on lining up once again at the "Driver's License" area. This time, we got a very efficient lady who stamped, stamped, stamped, and within 10 minutes, we were licensed to drive in Taiwan.
One week after my "stamped" license expired, and only 3 weeks before Kris' did, we decided to give it a go in Taipei. This is how the international driving license works in Taiwan. Depending on which province/state/country you come from, there is a reciprocal agreement as to how long one can drive on an international license. Apparently Ontario sucks, as Taiwan (according to some places) only gives Ontario drivers 2 months - from the DATE OF ENTRY into Taiwan. The problem is, you can't apply for the stamp to validate this until you get your ARC (Alien Resident Certificate), which you can't get until you arrive and apply for it (and then it takes over a month to get it!). So, by the time we got ours, I had about a week to drive, and Kris had just over a month (apparently Saskatchewanians are kinder to Taiwanese drivers). All this took over an hour as the Kaohsiung DMV was extremely meticulous (and probably really bored as there were no people at this place!) We were trying to figure out how to get our Albertan or Yukon drivers' licenses (which both give a year of validation), when we heard that friends in Taipei had gotten stamps for a year. So, off we went to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Our actual goal was to take the Taiwan driving test. We practiced all night the night before - give it a try sometime - it's definitely a test of how well you can take a test, as the English is a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo. Some of my favourite questions:
1) You are driving and it turns out two of your passengers are drug dealers. What should you do? (Answer: Call the police and hold them until the police arrive)
2) You are driving and a car passes you. What should you do? (One of the choices was, "I don't like the dust from the car, so I should pass the car too.)
Unfortunately, the site is currently down, but I'm putting the link here in case it works again:
Taiwan Simulated English Written Test
In any case, the DMV is a hub of excitement, and as we entered, there were about 30 areas that we had to choose from to line up in. We randomly chose a lady at the "Driver's License" area, and got the response of "No, there's no such thing as stamping an International License." We then lined up at the information desk, and were given a flow chart as to the process of how to get our licenses - at a building about 30 minutes away by BUS. Just as we were ready to head over, Kris insisted on lining up once again at the "Driver's License" area. This time, we got a very efficient lady who stamped, stamped, stamped, and within 10 minutes, we were licensed to drive in Taiwan.
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