After hurrying off the flight from Chicago, I quickly made my way to the EVA Air Infinity Lounge. EVA Air has several lounges available in Taipei, but I decided to visit just one. As I made my way to the lounge, I was struck by how absolutely dead this major airport was at 04h15. Empty hallways as far as the eye could see!
The Airport
The departure board – no flight departures for hours.
Early morning and empty terminal
Soon these halls would be filled with excited travelers, not so much at 04h30.
Entering the EVA Air Infinity Lounge you are greeted by several staffers, plus an inquisitive robot. The robot seemed mostly to distract people entering the lounge.
EVA Air Infinity Lounge
The Lounge
My first order of business was to grab a shower. It had been nearly 20 hours since I had last showered. While I wasn’t working out, I did feel quite gross. Maybe the gallons of champagne I drank had something to do with that. I immediately swapped my boarding pass for a shower key. Every time I take a shower at TPE, I struggle to figure out how to actually enter the shower area. I can’t offer guidance either, as I try a dozen different ways to get in and then it finally clicks. Just ask for help. I’m too stubborn to do that though.
The shower room isn’t anything fancy, but it is clean and has hot water.
The private shower room is stocked with fresh toiletries and towels.
Bulk shampoo, conditioner and body wash were waiting in the shower.
Not too fancy of a toilet, but it did have several bells and whistles, that I didn’t try out.
After the shower, I felt like a new man. I wasn’t very hungry, but I did force myself to grab some water, more champagne and some ice cream. The lounge was relatively quiet this early in the morning, which allowed me to get a little work done and relax before my next flight.
EVA Air Infinity Lounge looks like an arcade from the 1980s.
The EVA Air Infinity Lounge has ample room for guests.
I had spent the last 15.5 hours eating and drinking, so I wasn’t too keen on the idea of breakfast food. Plus, I had another 5 hour flight in Business Class in just a couple of hours. I’ll skip this meal.
Self-serve beverage station.
The breakfast pastries weren’t all that appetizing
Yogurt, butter and other chilled breakfast items
En Route to the Gate
I got a little tired of just sitting around the EVA Air Infinity Lounge, so I headed off to explore TPE and make my way towards the gate.
I don’t understand the infatuation with Hello Kitty, but I do dig the aviation themed kitty.
My flight from TPE to SIN. Love this Boeing 777-300.
While not exactly THE Hello Kitty Plane, this Sanrio livery was hot.
I’ve never had much time to spend exploring TPE, but I’ve been pretty pleased with my time there. Unfortunately, EVA Air doesn’t offer any stellar ground services like Thai Airways, Singapore or Lufthansa does, so there really isn’t any reason to push for a longer layover.
Have you spent much time in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport? What should I be on the look out for next time I transit?