Suggesting to use Google Flights to check for prices, also considering leaving/returing a few days later/earlier: https://www.google.com/flights?gl=ca#flt=YYZ.TPE.2019-07-13TPE.YYZ.2019-07-28;c:CAD;e:1;s:11;md:1260*1260;sd:1;t:f
What I saw is ~CAD1400 per person for flights < 21hrs with max 1 stop:
Just so you guys are in the loop I am now at $1110 in the gofundme account.
Inching closer to my goal, thank you all for your support, encouragement and help with everything.
Hopefully I will meet some of you when I arrive in Taiwan, or you can add me on fb if you want. 
Of course, who else would have been my best man at my wedding.
July 20, 1996, me on left Dave on the right. 
you look like uh…brothers !
Was thinking, if Dave’s ex wont see you at all, there would be no point in going down to TAitung.
And especially if the Canadian trade office is going to help and you can meet with some top Police Brass in TAipei. Then perhaps more time spent in Taipei with the second most time spent in Hualian would be more efficient
The cliff should not be your main focus, in my opinion. There is no chance that you will find any further physical evidence at that location. Sure, you should visit there a few hours so you have a good idea of what the location looks like when talking to others, but THAT should be the focus: communication with people who were involved with the situation.
Physical evidence is not going to be something you can get a hold of at this point. That’s gone. Instead, your visit to Taiwan should be a series of interviews. Find out the location of the police precinct that was in charge of the investigation. Make appointments to meet with anyone who had any involvement in the case.
Spend time with the ex-wife. Kindly but thoroughly interrogate her on all things leading up to Dave’s disappearance and following his disappearance. Talk to her family. Never come off as blaming them or they will immediately close all doors…and you will NOT be able to open them. Ask the wife about Dave’s lifestyle, who he worked with, who he hung out with. Trace those people down. Go to the diving community in Taidong. Ask around about Dave.
I know a lot of people are saying you can eat for 50nt a meal, but I think this is a good amount. Some foreigners don’t like the local food here as it takes some getting used to in my opinion. (The cleanliness of food preparation here is off-putting to some) Western style food is expensive here.
Not everyone can eat local lunch boxes.
Ah, yes they can. If you’re hungry you’ll eat them.
I would cut any cost as much as possible to make unavoidable money for transportation.
Plus you’ll lose donors if you’re saying you want to spend over 2000NT a day on food. That’s a hideous amount of money to fill your belly.
That is for 2 people I believe. I don’t think budgeting 1000nt a day for food is unreasonable.
Costs that are out of control like transportation is the priority. You can always compromise a bit on food and accommodation especially when using donations. Trust me 50~100nt here is not like 2-3CAD in Canada. I normally eat a person’s whole salary just going out the office or home for a quick meal (after reading some threads about food budget here). But when I am hungry and there is nothing around I eat a 50nt meal and there is nothing wrong with that. Last night I left in a hurry and found myself late (over 9:00pm) still without have had eaten dinner, so I saw a local restaurant open and spent a ‘whooping’ 60nt that made me full and satisfied for a meal.
That’s 333NT per meal. You would have to eat pretty darn fancy to hit that amount in Taiwan. 200NT per meal is PLENTY in Taiwan.
In Hualien you can eat a 7 course meal in Tasty for 400nt. 2000nt is a fine budget if he had more $ and since this is not a trip he can stretch the money as much as possible. In case of emergency expenditure like extra trips to Police office etc he should budget for that.
100 Cad per day
50 cad per person
17 cad per meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Is 17 cad per meal too much?
What is that in NT?
As @Taiwanguy said, 17cad per meal in Taiwan is quite a lot for someone who is coming on a budget. You can decrease that a lot and you will NOT go hungry, trust me.
Cost to eat can be 300 NTD (=13 Canadian dollar) per person per day, as I said before.
I have no idea what things cost there, just basing things on what it would be here and going from there.
Looks like my plane tickets will cost more than anticipated as well.
Per day?? 13 cad
Yes
One meal at Mcdonalds here cost me more than that
