Team JR Video Up !

Our 60 sec intro video are up!!! thanks for watching :)

We are Team JR !

Hello Everyone, my name is Jason and I present to you: Team JR!!!
Team JR stands for Team Jason and Rebecca

We believe we are strong candidates for this competition because we are a unique-mixed couple being from two different cultures; Jason is originally from Taichung, Taiwan, and Rebecca is from Vancouver, Canada


What makes Rebecca special is that she is very Asianized: she has a lot of Asian friends at school, she likes Asian culture, and she loves Taiwanese food and her favorites are bubble tea and Taiwanese style rice noodles.

I am very good at trip planning and personally I believe I have a very strong sense of direction. Last Christmas, Rebecca came to Taiwan with me for the first time and I organized a 10 day whole island trip of Taiwan and had a fantastic time ( we did a summary of our 10 days Trip: see other posts below)


This time we would like to do a 4 day tour trip at PENGHU (see Itinerary below) , a remote paradise on the west coast of Taiwan, to explore unique and romantic places suitable for couples and family, so vote for us, and we will share with you all the adventures and fun we will have.

Romantic PENGHU- Day 1 Itinerary

Day 1 Kaosiung- Cimei 高雄- 七美

On Day 1, Team JR will take a ferry ride (南海之星) in the morning from Kaosiung to Cimei (七美), a remote Penghu island to the south, where they will explore the seven beauties of the island, including the famous Twin Hearts Stone Weir (雙心石滬), Little Taiwan (小台灣) , Dashih-Longcheng (大獅風景區), Yueli Recreational Area (月鯉灣), Waiting Husband Reef (望夫石), Seven Beauties Tomb (七美人塚) , and Nanyu Castle (七美石塔). They hope to see some sheep on the island, too!
They will stay at Cimei for a night at a local bed and breakfast.

Romantic PENGHU- Day 2 Itinerary

Day 2 Cimei- Magong 七美- 馬公

Morning ► Harbor area at 七美

Afternoon ►Shanshuei Beach and Fongguei Cave 山水沙灘, 風櫃洞風景區

Evening ► Harbor Area, Fisherman's Wharf菊島之星, 漁人碼頭 (第一漁港+第二漁港)

On Day 2, Team JR will visit the remaining tourist attraction sites at Cimei, including the lighthouse and the harbor area.

Then, in the afternoon, they will take a ferry ride and head to Magong City, the biggest city in Penghu County. After setting down at a downtown bed and breakfast or hotel, Team JR will rent a scooter and head to the southern part of Magong where they will take a romantic walk at the Shanshuei Beach (山水沙灘) and Fongguei Cave ( 風櫃洞風景區 ). Team JR will scooter and spend the evening in the downtown harbor area of Magong walking along the water and visiting the famous boat -market place (菊島之星) and the Fisherman’s Wharf (漁人碼頭). They will be sure to eat a delicious seafood dinner!

Romantic PENGHU- Day 3 Itinerary

Day 3 Baisha- Siyu 白沙- 西嶼
(Road trip)


On Day 3, Team JR will spend the entire day on a road trip riding on a scooter and will head to the northern part of Penghu, exploring the townships of Baisha (白沙) and Siyu (西嶼). On the way, they will visit the Jhungtun Wind Power Farm (中屯風力發電廠) in Baisha and cross the Penghu Great Bridge to Siyu. In Siyu, they will visit places such as the Dream Beach (夢幻沙灘), the Yuwong Lighthouse (漁翁島燈塔), and Nio-Shin Mountain (牛心山).
If time permits, on the way back, they will stop by the Hushi township (湖西) in the east of Penghu, visiting places like Bailao Recreational Area (北寮遊憩區) and Guoye (菓葉). They will stay at the same bed and breakfast or hotel.

Romantic PENGHU- Day 4 Itinerary

Day 4

Morning-Penghu Aquarium 澎湖水族館

Afternoon- Downtown Penghu 中央街, 老街, 外婆澎湖灣, 彩虹橋

In the morning on Day 4, Team JR will scooter north and visit the Penghu Aquarium at the Baisha Township, where they will discover the unique sea life of Penghu County. In the afternoon, they will come back and spend the remaining time in the heart of Downtown Magong, visiting the main street and the old street (中央街, 老街), Grandma’s Penghu Bay (外婆澎湖灣), and the rainbow bridge (彩虹橋). Team JR will take a ferry ride at 4:30pm, waving goodbye to Penghu and heading back to Taiwan Main Island.

December 2008 Trip: Day 1- Jason’s grandparents’ place (ShinWen) → Kaohsiung

After spending about a week with Jason’s parents in Taichung, we began our 10-day island trip by visiting Jason’s grandparent’s place in ShinWen (新溫), a small village in the Chiayi county near the ocean. We visited his grandparent’s fish farm and it was very nice to meet his grandma in person. Jason’s grandma is this tiny cute lady, and I bet it was her very first time seeing a real, live Caucasian girl! We went to a local restaurant nearby with his relatives and had tons of seafood (including prawns from the grandmother’s fish farm that had just been caught that morning). The food was so fresh and so delicious. I think everyone was surprised at how much I could eat, how I could use chopsticks, and how I enjoyed trying new things (and without always knowing what they were!). I must say, I was quite proud of myself! It was obvious how much Taiwanese people enjoy eating (I was in good company!)

After lunch, Jason’s parent dropped us off at the High Speed Rail station and we were off to our second stop of the trip, Kaohsiung, to stay two nights with his aunt, uncle and cousin. Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s second capital, and from what I saw of Taiwan, I felt like Kaohsiung looked the most like Vancouver, being a harbor city, having a subway system, a bike lane, and wide roads that are arranged horizontally and vertically.

In the evening, we all took a small ferry to a local attraction where there is a night market and many seafood restaurants. In British Columbia, we have ferries that will transport passengers and cars from Vancouver to nearby port cities such as Victoria and Nanaimo and to different islands nearby, so it was quite interesting to see a ferry transporting passengers and scooters! We had dinner at one of the delicious seafood restaurants and enjoyed looking at the various shops.

December 2008 Trip: Day 2- Meinon(美濃) + Dream Mall(夢時代) + Love River(愛河)

We started Day 2 with a visit to Mei-Non town, a village known for its Hakka culture and folk art. A friend of Jason’s aunt and uncle originally from Mei-Non came along and gave us a tour. She was very excited to be able to practice her English with a “foreigner” and even more excited when she realized I actually understood her! She told me that she had dreamt about having an English conversation with a foreigner, but had been too shy to try before, so I had fulfilled this dream!





We visited a cultural market selling a lot of small gifts and traditional Hakka snacks, and I tried sugar-coated strawberries on a stick. We then visited the local Hakka cultural center and 中正湖, and at the lake I tried fresh coconut juice from a real coconut for the first time. It was huge and I could barely finish it, so as usual, I passed the rest on to Jason to finish :)


In the afternoon, we went to Dream Mall, which is the biggest mall in Taiwan, and I believe it is also the biggest mall in South East Asia. If you ever come to Kaohsiung, this is definitely one of the places you have to visit. Apart from hundreds of stores, the architecture and design is so beautiful and we took many pictures. We enjoyed some bakery sweets and bubble tea, and browsed various stores – some Taiwanese and some international. There is also a playground on the top of the building, and a giant ferris wheel that Jason and I rode, which provided an excellent view of the city (although I shut my eyes for most of the ride!)



We met Jason’s relatives back inside the mall after our ride, and had dinner at a Japanese restaurant. After dinner, we walked along Love River and enjoyed the rest of the evening with them. There were many outdoor coffee shops and performances along the river, making Love River a romantic and relaxing place for friends, families, and especially couples.

December 2008 Trip: Day 3- Kaohsiung → Kenting

We waved goodbye to Jason’s relatives and headed to our next destination - Kenting, a Hawaii-like part of Taiwan. We were originally going to take the bus, but ran into two other travelers (from Hong Kong and Singapore) who were also going to Kenting, so we shared a taxi. The price of the taxi, split between four of us, meant it only cost a few extra dollars per person, and got us there much faster.

Our hotel was right in front of 船帆石, with an amazing view of the ocean and sunset. We rented a scooter and were soon on our way to downtown Kenting. We explored downtown Kenting for the rest of the day, and went back to the hotel to rest before dinner. Returning to the main street in the evening, we found the nightlife to be lively, bustling with street vendors and tourists. We went to a well-known music restaurant where we ate dinner and watched a special performance of male and female dancers (according to law, they had to keep their clothes on though :P) The male “stripper” dressed up as a typical female elementary school student, and to my embarrassment (avoiding eye contact just didn’t work for me) made me unhook his skirt to reveal a bright purple speedo! :S

December 2008 Trip: Day 4- Kenting National Park + Eluanbi(鵝鑾鼻) Park

In the morning, after having a Chinese-style breakfast at a nearby restaurant, we rode our scooter up a mountain to Kenting National Park. We hiked for 4-5 hours and visited almost every site inside the park, including the amazing stalactite cave and the tower that allows one to see the entire Hengchun region and the southernmost point of Taiwan.




we were so cool~~

On the way down from the mountain we happened to discover a nice little country road surrounded by farmland, and it was so pretty; I felt like I was back in the French countryside! We rode all the way to the end of the road and back, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and the solitude of the area. We then ate lunch at a local famous beef noodle franchise on Kenting Main Street. Compared to the night before, we did not see many tourists, partly because it was a weekday, which meant that stores wouldn’t open until the evening.


After lunch, we rode the scooter all the way to the southernmost point of Taiwan, Eluanbi Park, where we saw old monuments from the Chin Dynasty, including the famous lighthouse (we also encountered some adorable puppies running around the parking lot :) ). We had a nice walk along the boardwalk running along the perimeter of the park and stopped at several ocean viewing points.


That night, we were very tired from all the walking we had done, so after dinner on the main street, we went back to the hotel, watched TV and enjoyed the wind whistling outside the window.

December 2008 Trip: Day 5- Kenting → Taitung (Bunon village resort)

In the morning we took a van service from Kenting to Fong-Liau (坊遼), the closest town with train service and took the train to the eastern part of Taiwan to reach our day 5 destination: a Bunon tribe village resort in a remote area of Taidong County. The village was surrounded by mountains and rivers, and it felt like a small paradise where one could enjoy the view, relax and drink tea. We explored the resort, and I found some adorable kittens that lived there.

Later that afternoon, we were driven to the nearby hot springs, where we spent an hour or so before being picked up. We ate dinner on site in the resort’s cafeteria that provided a selection of aboriginal Bunon dishes.

December 2008 Trip: Day 6- Bunon Village Resort → Luodong (羅東)

It was Christmas morning and the weather was fantastic! I had spent all my Christmases in Canada, which meant snow and cold, so it was hard to believe that such a hot sunny day was actually December 25! We ate breakfast on the patio overlooking a valley, enjoying the sun, the view, and the beautiful little kittens interested in our breakfast (I made Jason feed them some squid snacks he had stored away in our room!).


After breakfast, we borrowed bikes from the resort and went to explore the neighboring village, and it was so nice to see a different side of Taiwan. Interestingly, there were quite a few Christian churches in this village, but they seemed empty even on this Christmas morning.


We arrived back at the resort just in time to see the end of an Aboriginal music performance and we decided to buy the CD. We also spent some time feeding the goats at the resort before being driven to the train station at around 3 pm so we could head to our next destination- Luodong (羅東) in Ilan County.

The scenery on the east coast of Taiwan that we experienced traveling from Taitung to Loudong was totally different from that along the west coast from Taichung to Kaohsiung; in the east we saw farms and uninhabited countryside, and in the west, we saw more urban development. I enjoyed looking at the beautiful scenery as we traveled along the coast. At one point, we stopped at a town called Chi-sun (池上), which is famous for its rice production. Food vendors sold bento boxes right on the platform! Since the train only stops for about a minute, you could see people rushing out of the train to buy a bento box, and running to get back on the train. Luckily, we had planned ahead and bought bento boxes before taking the train, so we did not need to worry.


We arrived in Luodong in the evening, and found our hotel to be right in the heart of downtown Luodong. We visited the Luodong night market and had our Christmas dinner there. We tried so many different kinds of food, including many different BBQ skewers, chicken butt, thin noodle soup, chicken nuggets, meat buns, red bean soup, etc. The food was delicious and I did not miss the usual western-style Christmas dinner at all!! There is always so much to do in Taiwan, and going to the night market is definitely one of the most popular activities.