Penghu
澎湖
It's been over a year since I've last posted here, but I've decided to have another go at trying to keep this blog semi-regularly updated. Sorry that it's been so long, but I promise I will try my best from now on to keep the blog updated on my new journeys.
I'm going to start where I left off, the summer of 2016. I've had these photos sitting in an unedited post, waiting for commentary for almost a year, and am now finally allowing them to see the light of day.
My school last year had the advantage of finishing for summer vacation a few weeks before the rest of the school system did. Deciding to take advantage of being able to travel before the masses, my friend and I booked a trip to one of Taiwan's outlying islands, Penghu. Taiwan has a number of outer islands, known as the 外島, which allow tourists to see a slightly different kind of lifestyle (i.e. even more relaxed) than that on the mainland. Penghu is actually an archipelago of 90 different islands, slightly off the west coast of Taiwan and accessible via ferry or airplane. As we were traveling from Taipei, airplane seemed the better option and the flight, though a little on the expensive side considering the distance, was overall pretty comfortable and very speedy.
We arrived in the late afternoon on Penghu's largest island, Magong. We stayed at the Penghu Monster International Hostel, and after arriving and dropping off our things, we went to sort out the number one item on our holiday agenda: transport. The islands of Penghu are relatively small and unpopulated, so public transport there is not very developed, meaning travelers have to find their own way to get around the islands. However, the islands are a little too big to be accessible via bicycle, so our only option was a scooter. I hadn't attempted a scooter since my Vietnam trip and didn't feel confident about renting one, especially with the roads on Penghu being relatively busy. Fortunately my friend was more confident on a scooter (she too had a Vietnam scooter experience, but instead of crashing in an empty parking lot, she'd biked across the near uninhabited mountains of Ha Giang for 4 days). So with her driving and me as a passenger, we sorted out our rental and decided to explore the island a little and find somewhere to see the sunset.
We managed to find a pretty view from near our hostel and watched the sun go down before sorting out dinner and heading back for an early night.
The next morning, we left bright and early, ready to explore the parts of Penghu accessible from the main island. Magong is connected to three other islands via bridges, and the roads that connect the island is littered with a number of scenic spots and tourist destinations, ranging from really interesting (preserved historic villages), to pretty missable (an especially large and old tree). The man at our hostel provided us with a map and marked off a few recommendations and we were on our way.
We started off with breakfast in what seemed like the most logical place to have breakfast - Penghu Breakfast Alley.
Breakfast Alley, formally known as Wenkang Street 文康街 has a number of very popular breakfast shops, where locals and tourists can get their fill of soy milk, egg pancakes (蛋餅), and fried dough sticks (油條).
After breakfast, we headed down to our first area marked down on the map, Whale Cave (逍遙遊).
The scooter ride there was pretty enjoyable, and we passed great views of the ocean, as well as some buildings which really conveyed the island's aquatic vibe.
Whale cave is neither a cave, nor especially akin to a whale in appearance. However, eroded basalt headland has a little less of a ring to it, so I can see why the people in charge of naming stretched their imaginations a little. Whale cave is free to visit, and you can walk along the rocks with pretty views of the ocean.
Aforementioned pretty views of the ocean.
The area also had some big fields with cows, as well as tons of cactuses growing. Cactus is a specialty of Penghu, and there are tons of shops and restaurants selling cactus based refreshments, including jam, ice cream and juice. The product used is actually the purple fruit which grows from the cactus.
After walking around the rocks for a little bit, we stopped at a restaurant which sold a kind of squid noodle soup （小管麵線) , which our hostel owner said we absolutely had to try. The squid (like cactus, a specialty everywhere on the island) was very fresh tasting, but I found the soup a little too salty, and the flavour was a little too reminiscent of sea water for me.
After that, we had some cactus ice cream which had a really interesting flavour. I can't recall it too well a year on, but I remember it having a similar flavour to raspberries, with a slight tartness. Not especially sweet, but still very flavoursome.
Our cartoon cactus friend here to give you a better idea of what a cactus fruit looks like.
After filling our stomachs, we hit the road again, heading across the the different islands before stopping at a small harbour with some really pretty ships.
There were also a some people nearby surrounding by a seat of nets, which they seemed to be repairing, or making, or untangling... Whatever they were doing, it looked like a daunting task.
We headed on to our next destination, Er Kan Village (二崁村. Er Kan Village is a historical village, with lots of pretty traditional buildings, built in the early 1900s. The street has a very uniform style, with almost everything being made of white and grey stone, and the buildings all rectangular and flat roofed. As you walk along the village (one long street), you can go inside the different buildings, many of which are shops, and also buy local souvenirs and foods.
Throughout the village you could see this special kind of incense being dried out in the sun. The incense is made of hibiscus, wormwood and chrysanthemum and as well as smelling nice, is supposed to keep mosquitoes away.
The buildings were really pretty and unlike any ohter buildings I've seen in Taiwan.
Some fun painted pots on the steps of one of the buildings.
The street, though small, really did make you feel like you'd stepped back in time.
We left the village with plenty more on our agenda. Our next stop was Penghu West Fort (西嶼西臺). This fort was originally built in the late 17th century, but were rebuilt after a war with France in the mid 1880s.
The fort was pretty fun to walk around, as you could go through all the different tunnels and look out the small windows that were presumably for guns to point through.
There were also some huge cannons on top of the fort.
After the fort, we went to find a beach where we could relax and swim a little, having been driving and walking around all day.
We managed to find a pretty beach, with relatively few people, although it did take us a while to work out exactly how to get there after seeing it from above, as the path down as not especially clear.
The beach from above.
The water was a perfect temperature, and easy to swim and wade around in without feeling cold.
As it started to get dark, we went to a higher point where we could watch the sunset.
We passed a pretty funky looking military base.
Before finding a nice high point with views of the gorgeously coloured sunset.
Having covered the entirety of Magong, we used our second full day to explore one of the other big islands in the area. We were presented with two options, Qimei, an island famous for its unique rock formations and pretty views (七美）and Baisha （白沙）a white sanded beach. Considering how hot the weather was, the idea of spending the whole day on what was essentially an unsheltered beach didn't appeal much to us, and we opted for Qimei. After a very bumpy ferry ride (where I discovered that I am not immune to seasickness), we landed on the island. We'd bought a package from our hostel, which covered the ferry there, as well as scooter rental and snorkeling.
The ferry harbour where we set off. Upon getting here, we were introduced to our boat's captain, a pretty eccentric guy who was friends with the owner of our hostel, and who assured us that he would be safe in his hands.
We started with the snorkeling, heading to a beach a few minutes drive from the harbour to get kitted up.
The snorkeling was a slightly strange experience. People weren't allowed to explore on their own, but instead had to go in a group where everyone held on to a huge floating square that was trailed along by a guide. The waves were very big that day, which meant that we were unable to explore the best snorkeling area, but we still got to see some pretty coral and fish (including many of the cast of Finding Nemo).
The advantage of having a guide was that he was able to take some picture with his waterproof camera.
Us with our group and guide.
We headed back to return our scuba things and then got on our scooter to spend our remaining hours biking around the coast of the island, taking in the views.
Erin on the scooter.
The island had a number of recommended scenic spots where visitors can see interestingly shaped rock formations and pretty views. This particular rock was called Little Taiwan (小台灣), on account of its striking resemblance to the island of Taiwan.
Penghu's most famous view is this one here, the Twin Heart Fish Trap (七美雙心石滬). It's a type of fishing weir that had been used for centuries by fishermen. The fish traps fill with water and fish when the tide comes in, and the shape of the weir traps them, inside. This particular one is very well preserved, although the details of its origin are not known.
The island also gave some views of the very unique basalt rock formations that are widespread throughout the Penghu islands.
After exploring for a few hours, we headed back to the harbour where we were greeted with anger and shouts by the rest of our ferry group. Apparently the group had collectively decided that it was best to leave the island earlier than planned since the waves were getting progressively bigger. Although we were more than on time for scheduled departure time, and no one had communicated this change to us, we were apparently supposed to have worked this out for ourselves.
We spent a lot of this trip outside, and fortunately sea sickness didn't kick in this time.
We decided to end our trip in Penghu with a seafood feast, and headed to a slightly more upmarket restaurant which had a huge variety of fresh sea food. I can't remember the entire contents of our meal, but I know we definitely had...
sashimi...
and Thai shrimp cakes.
After our meal, we headed back to the scooter rental place, passing Penghu's local night market on the way.
From here, we went back to our hostel where, after a few hour conversation with a Taiwanese student was determined to tell us everything he knew on topics ranging from politics and history, to linguistics, we got some sleep before our flight back to Taipei the next morning.
