Team JR day 4 trip @ Baisha +Magong Downtown

Using Qstarz GPS tracking device to record our day 4 route

View Team JR day 4 trip in a larger map

Where did the time go?! Today, Day 4, concluded our Penghu trip. We woke up early to make sure we could have a full day to enjoy before flying back to Taichung at around 6 pm.

Our first destination was “Wish Paradise” – a large gift shop selling Penghu pearls, amongst other souvenirs. I bought a couple of gifts – a solitary pearl necklace and a pair of pearl earrings. Jason bought a “Wish Pearl” gift box, containing a necklace chain and pendant and an oyster in a tin. The idea is to open the tin, open the oyster and remove the pearl, which can then be inserted into the necklace pendant. It is a very interesting gift idea! Jason chose the heart shaped pendant and then gave me the necklace – complete with a “lavender” pearl symbolizing love – to me!





Next to the gift shop was the Penghu Visitor Centre. We walked around inside it for awhile, observing several displays portraying various aspects of the island. Our next stop was the Penghu Aquarium in Baisha. We mostly saw varieties of fish, but we also enjoyed looking at the sea turtles. The aquarium was playing an interesting film about Octopuses (in English with Mandarin subtitles ) in the theatre, so we watched that for awhile.



We finished at the aquarium at around 1 pm and headed to the harbour area and explored a marketplace housed in a ship-shaped building before riding to “Old Street” located downtown. Old Street consists of a small network of narrow stone roads, only wide enough for pedestrians and the occasional scooter. Many artisan shops can be found in this area, and I bought a little owl carved from Penghu stone. One offshoot of Old Street was a road called “Touch Breast”; as it is so narrow, certain things might happen if two people are walking down it at the same time! :P

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the bed and breakfast and wait for a ride to the airport. We flew on a larger plane this time, so I was more at ease than when we flew to Cimei on a 20-seater! It was sunset as we took off, which made it a lovely ending to a wonderful trip.

Team JR Day 3 Trip- Baisha & Siyu Township

For Day 3, Jason and I spent most of our time on a road trip. We travelled clean, quiet, well-paved and extremely scenic country roads from Magong (where we are staying) to the township of Baisha.


View Team JR Day 3 Trip route in a larger map
Using the GPS device from Qstarz, it shows that we have traveled about 80km today!

On the way, we passed a wind generator plant. Once in Baisha, we visited a large gift shop selling cactus ice cream and Penghu pearls. I bought a pearl necklace (I got a bargain!) and a post card, and Jason and I shared a small carton of bright purple cactus ice cream – an interesting sweet and sour taste combination.

The entrance to the Great Penghu Bridge lies next to the strategically placed gift shop, linking the township of Baisha with that of Siyu, our next destination. Siyu was equally if not more beautiful, with fishing villages nestled in green hills next to the ocean. It was in one such village where we stopped at a 7-11 (they really are everywhere) and had lunch on a bench next to some surprised looking locals!

After lunch, we winded our way to a lighthouse on the southern tip of Siyu township, next to a rather tacky army barracks. Here, there was a beautiful view of both land and ocean. Many cacti were growing in the grass (apparently, not native to Penghu but introduced many years ago).

Heading back to Magong, we stopped at “Devil Mountain” a mound of basalt columns and grass in Siyu. We enjoyed exploring a few more little settlements on the way back to Magong, in perfect weather conditions (it cooled off today, although it was Jason’s turn to get sunburned). Other than being a little saddle sore, we had a wonderful road trip. I didn’t know Taiwan could be so beautiful..

Team JR Day 2 Trip- Magong

Jason and I began Day 2 with a boat ride from Cimei to Magong on the main island of Penghu. We stood out on deck for most of the way, enjoying the cool breeze.

View Team JR day 2 trip- Magong in a larger map

Again, using the GPS device from Qstarz to record the track and pur marker on sepecific location we visited.

We arrived in Magong at around noon and were picked up and taken to our bed and breakfast. Magong is much bigger than Cimei and is home to a university, two large hospitals and several schools. It also has many ever-popular 7-11’s and even a McDonalds! As we were ahead of schedule, our room wasn’t quite ready when we arrived at the bed and breakfast, so we rented a scooter and went for lunch – rice noodles with meat sauce and meatball soup – yet another tasty and inexpensive meal.

On the way back to the bed and breakfast after lunch, we stopped at a grocery store to buy a few things. When we left the store, we noticed an adorable little puppy tied to the scooter next to ours. While admiring the puppy, the owner came out – and we found out that he is a surf instructor from South Africa who is fluent in Mandarin! Jason actually recognized him from a Penghu brochure! We chatted with him for awhile, and he mentioned that he owned a coffee shop and invited us to stop by later that day. We returned to the bed and breakfast, rested in the air conditioning, and set off to explore the island.

We stopped at a beautiful Moroccan-themed bed and breakfast that we had read about in our tourism brochure. We told the owner that we were contestants for Taiwan Best Trip competition and were given a tour. A lady named Xiao-Mei who spoke English very well showed us around and turned out to be Ted’s wife (the South African we had met earlier)! We were very impressed by the bed and breakfast – two rooms were even complete with outdoor Jacuzzis. The décor was beautiful. Xiao-Mei invited us to stay for afternoon tea, which they serve to their guests, and we enjoyed ice cream, cake, pudding, and Moroccan mint tea. We very much appreciated their kind hospitality.

We drove some more and stopped at a Greek-themed bed and breakfast- another place featured in our brochure. In the front garden, we met Ted and his puppy again, as Ted’s coffee shop can be found on the lawn. Once again, we were treated to a tour of the bed and breakfast and a look at two rooms – one of which was Bali style. Like the Moroccan-themed bed and breakfast, the décor was absolutely stunning, and the people, friendly.

Just before sunset, Jason and I made our way to the beach. Neither of us had been to a sandy beach in a long time! The water was clear and clean, and there were beautiful little seashells and pieces of coral scattered in the sand. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the beach had barely been commercialized at all. Although there were a few food stalls along the road by the beach, that was it, despite being an obviously popular spot. We enjoyed the sunset and then headed to “Rainbow Bridge”, the site of a free outdoor evening concert.

We had marinated tofu, meat and vegetables and noodles for dinner nearby and walked to the site of the concert, where a famous young Taiwanese singer was performing. It was a family affair – we saw many couples with their children at the concert and enjoying the perfect summer’s evening. Originally, there were supposed to be fireworks tonight, but due to the typhoons in Taiwan, the fireworks festival was cancelled and the money given to charity.

We watched the concert for awhile and while heading back to our scooter, ran into Ted and Xiao-mei at a clothing booth they were running. We chatted with them, and I bought a pretty top.


It was a pleasure to meet such a friendly welcoming couple (and such an adorable puppy!). We had a fantastic day (despite a bit of sunburn) and look forward to another two days on the island.

Team JR Day 1 Trip- Cimei Island

Today Jason and I embarked on Day 1 of our 4 day tour of the Penghu islands! We flew to our first stop, a small island called Cimei, from Kaohsiung airport. Riding in a 20-seater plane for the first time was part of the experience!

We were picked up from Cimei’s tiny airport by someone from the bed and breakfast we had booked. The bed and breakfast had also arranged a scooter rental for us, and soon Jason and I were on our way to explore the tiny island.

View Team JR Day 1 Trip at Cimei Island in a larger map

I am using a GPS tracking devide by Qstarz, the device allow me to record our travel route and convert to google map, quite cool.

We were struck instantly by Cimei’s beautiful landscape – blue skies, rolling green hills, clean blue water, clean bright buildings, clean quaint roads and lots of goats grazing peacefully in open pastures. It reminded me a bit of some areas in England and in France that I have visited. Within a couple of hours, we had driven around the island and stopped at numerous interest points.

The first attraction we visited was “Twin Hearts Stone Weir,” a double-heart fish trap made of stones, which can be viewed above from a cliff or at sea level after descending a flight of stone steps. I also took the chance to buy a couple of postcards sold with shells and other tourist items on the overlooking cliff.

We continued driving and admiring the view and then stopped at “Little Taiwan,” a rock in the sea near the beach that has eroded to become shaped like a mini version of Taiwan.

We drove some more, and stopped at “Seven Beauties’ Tomb”. According to legend, this is the site of the well that seven young beautiful women jumped into to avoid being raped by pirates. Some people leave offerings at this site which has become a shrine (such as nail polish, jewellery, make up, iced tea, bottled water, etc). Lastly, Jason and I headed to the harbour area. Here, we saw fishing boats moored and several small-scale restaurants. It struck me how clean the area looked, and how quiet!

We looked around briefly, returned to our bed and breakfast for a break, and drove back to the harbour area for dinner. The owner of the bed and breakfast owns one of the restaurants, so we decided to eat there. We enjoyed a delicious and inexpensive dinner of oysters, squid with bamboo, seaweed and egg soup, chow mein, and guava juice.

Jason and I enjoyed our day exploring beautiful quiet Cimei – a little gem off the coast of mainland Taiwan. Tomorrow morning we will have breakfast and take the 10 am ferry to Magong.

The day before the competition....!

Greetings from Taiwan! Jason and I left Vancouver for Taiwan on Aug 15 travelling with Eva Airlines (a couple hours after my last exam of the semester!). Although the flight was long, it was comfortable and the flight attendants were friendly.


We slept most of the way and arrived at Taoyuan airport on Aug 16. Since then, we have been spending time with Jason’s family in Taichung and doing lots of eating and relaxing! We took the train to Kaohsiung this afternoon where we met up with a friend and are spending tonight at Jason’s uncle and aunt’s house. Tomorrow afternoon we will fly from Kaohsiung to Cimei, the first stop on our 4 day trip of the Penghu islands. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you…stay tuned! 