Quick Information Guide

 

Brief Outline:
Roughly the first week of the course will be spent learning field techniques and conducting surveys in areas with different levels of biodiversity and human activity.  We will fly into Hong Kong and spend a few days there, then travel to Taiwanand conduct surveys in various areas around the island.  During this time you will also learn about the ecology and human affairs in each area.  You will be based in Hong Kong for the remainder of the course.

Course Dates:

Classes will be conducted on May 2 through May 16.  This means that we need to arrive in Hong Kong on May 2^nd. You will leave Hong Kong (or at least the course, for people who plan to doing some touristy things after the course) on about noon on May 16^th.

 

Travel:
Once we get the enrollment, we will be in contact with you about travel arrangements. In short, we will be working with a particular travel agent and recommend that you book your flights through this travel agent to make things easier.

   

Arriving in Hong Kong 
Ideally, we will all be on the same flight from Toronto to Hong Kong .However, if you will be in the area earlier, then that is fine as long as you meet us at the airport at the appropriate time (to be announced).This course has a very busy schedule, and there will not be time to go around hunting for people.

   

Hong Kong To Taiwan (May 7 to May 10)
We MUST all be on the same flights to/from Hong Kong and Taiwan !!! (No exceptions).  We will arrive at the Taoyuan International Airport (aka Taipei International Airport ; aka Chiang-Kai Shek International Airport – airport code TPE).  We will almost certainly be flying with DragonAir or Cathay Pacific.  You MUST have a booked/confirmed seat (no stand-by or other irregular tickets; but confirmed tickets using loyalty rewards are fine as long as these are treated by the airlines as normal tickets) on these flights.  The field course travel agent can help you book/purchase these flights as well.  The exact flights will be announced soon.

   

Leaving Hong Kong
In the past, some people have used this field course as a “jumping off point” for visiting other parts of Asia, and you are free to do that as well once the course concludes (and we do encourage you to take advantage of this rare opportunity to go and see more of Taiwan, Hong Kong or other places in Asia).

We will be arranging ONE bus to the HKG airport at about noon on May 16^th to service the majority of the students who will be taking flights back to Toronto (the bus ride is about 30-40 minutes to the airport and will allow for checking-in about 2 hours before departure time, which is very comfortable for the Hong Kong Airport – they are much more efficient than Canadian airports). So if you are planning to take other flights, it may be good to find ones with departure times that are close to the flights back to Toronto or if you don’t mind, you can wait at the HK airport if your flight is later. Otherwise, you will have to take other forms of transportation to the airport at your own cost.

 

Vaccinations:
You should be vaccinated for Hepatitis A & B (“Twinrix”), and your tetanus should be up-to-date.

Course Information

• • Information about Taiwan
  • Information about Hong Kong
  • Health & Wellness
  • Travel Information
  • Accommodation/What To Bring
  • What We Need From You