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.