Team JR

2009-09-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's all about the fun and romantic places in Penghu !!!

Penghu is a remote paradise off the west coast of Taiwan main island. An archipelago, it is the only county surrounded by ocean. The islands are marked by much natural scenery, and one can find romantic and unique venues not only found on the main island of Magong, but also on the many peaceful smaller islands within the region. If you love the ocean, the sun, and nature, Penghu is definitely a worthwhile vacation destination.

One of the nicest and most romantic places to visit in Penghu county is Cimei Island, located two hours (by boat) southwest of Penghu main island. Cimei is covered in lush green fields and inhabited by numerous endearing goats. It is possible to ride around the island by scooter within approximately an hour without stopping, or within three hours if one wishes to stop at the various points of interest along the way. A must-see attraction is the "Twin Heart Stone Weir" - a heart shaped fishing trap built with stones - located just off the beach to the north of Cimei. Twin Heart Stone Weir is regarded as a symbol of Penghu's beauty. The water within the heart structure often appears turquoise; this beautiful colour combined with the shape of the fish trap ensures a romantic setting for wedding photography.

On the largest Penghu island in the city of Magong, one can stay at unique bed and breakfasts or at least take photographs of them! On the way to Shanshuei beach, we visited two such accomodations. One such memorable bed and breakfast is called Raid Garden, designed in a colourful Moroccan style. Each of the luxurious room contains unique decor and two rooms even feature outdoor hottubs on the patios - complete with wonderful views. We were lucky enough to be given a tour of the bed and breakfast by one of the friendly staff members and provided with afternoon tea as served to guests - complete with Moroccan mint tea! The other bed and breakfast we visited is Greek Frontier, which is built in a Greek style. This bed and breakfast also features beautiful comfortable rooms, each with a different theme, as well as environmentally friendly solar heating. The large grassy gated garden at the front of the building contains a coffee shop, gift shop, and space perfect for children and pets to play in.

Shanshuei Beach, located in the south of Penghu main island, is one of the nicest beaches we have ever visited. The sand is white and fine and covered in exquisite shells, and the water is clean and clear. Many people took advantage of the warm weather to spend time swimming, playing frisbee, sunbathing, taking a walk, and simply enjoying the company of friends and family. Visiting the beach at sunset as we did makes it a particularly romantic venue for couples.

After sunset, one romantic place that many couples visit is Rainbow Bridge, located in west downtown Magong City. The multicoloured lights of the bridge reflect into the water below, making it a picture-perfect romantic venue. Sometimes you may find outdoor concerts in the neighboring park and night market vendors off the side streets nearby, creating a lively atmosphere within a beautiful setting.
Penghu old street, located in the heart of downtown Magong City, contains many artisan shop and is an interesting place to visit. The architecture is of a traditional Taiwanese style, so you can feel like you are back in time! It is a good place to buy local Penghu snacks, traditional clothes, and unique DIY coral reef souvenirs.

Penghu is famous for its pearls - even Michelle Obama wears a strand of them! So, it was essential that we visit a pearl store. At "Wish Paradise", a variety of beautiful jewellery is sold. One interesting gift set includes a real whole oyster in a tin, a pendant and a chain. One must open the can, remove the oyster, open the oyster and remove the pearl within, wash the pearl and insert it into the pendant before placing the pendant on the chain. Oysters are x-rayed to make sure they contain a pearl, but the colour of the pearl is a suprise - you won't find out until you open the oyster! Each colour of pearl represents something different; we were lucky that we got a "lavender" pearl, which symbolizes love. If you come to Penghu, a pearl necklace is definitely a great souvenir, and I can attest that this makes an especially good gift for girlfriends!

One of the most enjoyable things to do in Penghu is to take a road trip on a scooter; scooters are a fun, convenient and affordable way to travel and can often be rented from the bed and breakfasts. Penghu is picturesque everywhere you go - surrounded by green fields, trees, and the ocean - and all under a sunny blue sky. In the countryside, the streets are very quiet, which allows one to fully appreciate the peaceful surroundings. We travelled from Magong all the way to Siyu lighthouse, passing over the great Penghu bridge on the way. The trip in itself was just as enjoyable as visiting various destinations we stopped at en route.

We had a wonderful trip, and hope you will decide to visit Penghu to see for yourself what it has to offer. You won't be disappointed! :)

Team JR day 4 trip @ Baisha +Magong Downtown

2009-08-24T12:05:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

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....!

2009-08-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

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! 

Team JR Facebook Fan Page

2009-07-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

The easiest way to follow our footstep during our trip at Penghu is to join our Face book Fan page:

Join Team JR on Facebook

Our Trip Schedule

2009-07-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Note to all viewers

Our Romantic Penghu 4 days trip will most likely start on Friday August 21 to Monday August 24.

We are looking forward to go to Penghu and show everyone how beautiful Penghu is~~

We are in!!!!

2009-07-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks Everyone for your support.

Here is a good news. We are in!!!!!! Thanks everyone for all your support and we are sure we will share with you all the fun we will have during our trip. Stay tune for any updates

Team JR Video Up !

2009-06-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

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

We are Team JR !

2009-06-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-22T00:25:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-22T00:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-22T00:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-22T00:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-16T01:39:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-06-16T01:31:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-16T01:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-16T01:17:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-06-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-06-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

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.

December 2008 Trip: Day 7- Center for Traditional Arts → Taipei

2009-06-16T00:54:00.000-07:00

On day 7, we visited the Center for Traditional Arts- the Center is only about 5-10 minutes ride from the downtown area, and personally I would recommend that you take the bus if you don’t have a car. We took a taxi as we had just missed the bus, but they charged a fixed rate, and based on the time it took to get there, it didn’t seem worth it. Although the bus takes longer to get there, if you are not in hurry, you can save some money and have more time to enjoy the scenery :).

The whole center is designed in a traditional Taiwanese style of architecture, and is built entirely of brick. There were a lot of exhibitions and performances at the Center, and there were many goods (mostly made by local artisans) for sale in each of the little artistic shops (selling everything from handmade soap to ceramics). In the glassmaking shop, I bought a few little souvenirs for friends back in Vancouver. I should mention that a few little kids on a fieldtrip ran up to me and practiced saying hello in English, too!

For lunch, Jason and I headed to the food court. Jason and I thought the food there was great; there were many different local food options, and for a reasonable price, we had more than we could eat (and knowing us, that’s saying something!). All the food was delicious, but I particularly liked the deep fried lean meat, a specialty of the area.

All in all, if you go to Luodong, the Center for Traditional Arts is definitely somewhere you should visit!

In the evening, we headed back to our hotel to get our bags before taking the bus to our final destination, Taipei. Interestingly, I found out that the hotel manager could speak Mandarin and French. French is my second language, so he and I were able to have a conversation in our non-native language. It was so exciting!

December 2008 Trip: Day 8- Taipei 101 + Shin-Yi Planning Area (信義商圈)

2009-06-16T00:47:00.000-07:00

The first attraction that we headed to in Taipei was the famous Taipei 101 tower. I was a little uneasy at first to take an elevator all the way to the top, but it went quickly and we were there before we knew it (I should mention that it is the fastest elevator in the world). We saw a wonderful view of Taipei from the observatory on the 88th floor. We also saw the heaviest ball on Earth that helps stabilize Taipei 101 so it can better resist wind and earthquakes. There were shops at the top of the tower, and I bought a Taiwanese coral necklace for my mom. The mall inside Taipei 101 has a lot of luxury stores where you can shop and purchase famous brand-name clothing, but for us, it was good enough just to look! We had lunch in the tower’s food court, and chose to have Korean food for a change. I also insisted that we buy some pastries from the French style bakery :)

Yummy~~~

Right outside of Taipei city hall there was a parade featuring different mascots, statues, costumes and performances. The parade was entertaining, although I am still not sure why it was held.

After the parade finished, we went to Eslite (誠品)Bookstore (which resembled a department store in and of itself) in the Shin-Yi Planning Area. There were not only books, but also contemporary arts and crafts and stationery. There were probably 4 levels where you could find books in any category and in many different languages. Jason bought me a Taiwanese cuisine cooking book, written both in Chinese and English, with the agreement that I would try and cook him something from it (such as my favorite rice noodles). I still have to honor my side of the agreement…!

December 2008 Trip: Day 9 – Tamsui (淡水)

2009-06-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

Another famous tourist attraction in Taipei is Tamsui, and there were tons of people there when we visited it. Everywhere you go in Taipei, you find street vendors, and Tamsui was no different! We had BBQ squid, squid sausage, and Tamsui’s famous fish ball soup and rice noodles. We walked along Tamsui’s harbor and discovered a popular Turkish-run meat and ice cream shop, much to my surprise.

Jason's favorite- BBQ squid

After exploring Tamsui, we took the bus to the fishermen’s market. At the market, there is a “Valentine bridge” to walk across, which is lit up beautifully. Every couple that comes to Taipei ought to visit it!

December 2008 Trip: Day 10- Taipei Zoo → Taichung

2009-06-16T00:34:00.000-07:00

On Day 10, we visited Taipei Zoo with a friend of Jason’s who also studies in Vancouver. We saw many animals, including adorable Taiwanese monkeys and baby chimps having piggyback rides on their parents. However, it was sad to see that some larger animals only had small spaces to live in; some seemed to unnaturally repeat movements over and over again, and it was very depressing.

We bought lunch in the zoo from a concession stand (I had BBQ pork on rice, which was very good). We finished exploring the zoo, and because we missed the last shuttle bus back to the entrance, we had quite a long walk to the exit. Jason, his friend and I headed back downtown and had dinner at a Japanese restaurant before taking the train back to Taichung where we spent the rest of our trip staying with his parents. It was hard to believe that our 10 day trip had come to an end! Time to go home :(

Overall impressions of the trip

2009-06-16T00:24:00.000-07:00

Jason and I had an amazing trip. We experienced many different types of scenery, different modes of transportation, different types of food, country life and city life. Everywhere we went, we had a good time; we had delicious food, the people were friendly, and we always had something to do. Now that I have been all over Taiwan and have also met Jason’s relatives, I feel like I understand Jason better. Although Taiwan is very different from Vancouver, I also learned that in many ways, it is much the same. I am looking forward to going back to Taiwan and exploring more of what it has to offer. Of course, I am especially looking forward to the food!