Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

DAY 11

The morning started pretty early as I packed up and excited to hop onto Qimei. I wanted to hop on the bus to the city, which comes either really early at 6 plus or 8. I guess I was enjoying the view at the beach (which I've not stepped foot on during my 2 night stay), that I missed the bus! I only realised it when I was waiting at the bus-pole (yes, it's just a pole! hahaha can't and don't expect a proper sheltered bus stop), and one lady was telling me that the bus has changed its route because a movie production crew/team were setting up! That was when I realised they were preparing for a scene for Richie Ren's movie, all scenes set in Penghu. In fact prior to the trip, I was hoping to meet the stars (starring Shu Qi too). Unfortunately, no luck! But it was nice enough to witness the crew setting the scene! There's so much work and effort involved in preparing for just one scene - the number of crew involved, the equipments, ensuring roads are clear, etc. Respect for the crew behind every movie!

I thought I could still have some luck waiting at the diverted road for the bus, until I double confirmed with an Indonesian helper and she told me the bus has indeed left. I was briefly chatting with her and it was interesting to know that she has worked in Singapore before! What amazed me was her fluent Mandarin. What surprised me was also her willingness to work in Penghu (or even Taiwan) where the minimum wage is pretty low as compared to Singapore. But I guess the pros of working there is having a more relax pace as compared to our bustling little red dot!

The production crew was really nice as they offered to send me to the city even though the cab I called was on its way (and I only got to know there's a "cab station" just behind the bus stop I was waiting after calling for one -.-)! So anyway, yup, I accepted the nice gesture and had a nice chat with the lighting assistant on the way. He mentioned that he has only went home two days in the past year and he really missed home. It might sound fun and exciting working in the movie industry and with big shots, but to him, it's tiring. Thankfully he always have a great team with him, and I agree - it's always a bunch of awesome team mates who give you the strength, motivation and support.

It was a free ride to the harbour until the cab driver called me and was furious that I left and was complaining about how I wasted his trip and who's going to pay for his petrol. I felt kind of bad too so I got him to meet me and the harbour and paid him for the cab fare. Oh well.

I've digressed quite a bit about my dramatic morning. So, onto the main contents!

FERRY TO QIMEI (FROM MAGONG)

So on my way to Wang'an, a nice lady (in her thirties) started talking to me and asking if I was a backpacker. We started sharing with each other on places we've been and would like to visit. She was a really friendly person - showed me all her travel photos and told me she has been to almost all the beautiful places in Taiwan. One of the reason why she enjoy travelling is to kill time as her husband is always out of town for business trips. Love making acquaintances just like that! Slept through all the way after she alighted at Wang'an.

ACCOMMODATION

Qimei is slightly behind Magong in terms of development, hence there isn't a lot of choices or rather really classy looking accommodations. I saw and heard of one hotel/hostel that has very Greek feel. Probably you could find that through google. For myself, I stayed at where my parents did the last time they were there. It is a cosy little place with just 2 rooms (the owners, a couple, stays on the second level of the house).

GETTING AROUND QIMEI

The best way to get around Qimei is by bike or bicycle. There are no cabs or buses on this island. I guess the hosts can bring you around if you can't ride a bike, which Daxiong and Xiaoling did. I did try to cycle on my second day but it was really tiring because the roads were made of steep slopes, ascending and descending. Couldn't make it far out before feeling tired!

//

It was raining when the ferry reached Qimei. Thankfully, Daxiong picked me up from the pier. After checking in and settling down, Daxiong brought me out for lunch - Pork Ribs Noodles! Apparently there are 2 similar noodles stalls, and he brought me to the one he felt was nicer - Chao Zhou Rou Gu Mian (潮州肉骨面). Even though the name suggests Teochew Pork Rib Noodles, the lady owner's actually a Vietnamese but because the other noodle stall was named "Vietnam Pork Rib Noodles, she decided to name her stall after her dad's birth place. 

made at loogix.com

After lunch was snorkeling! Definitely much nicer than what I saw at Jibei - nicer corals and more fishes! It was really an awesome feeling relaxing my whole body whilst looking under the sea. Such a calm moment (even though I'm bobbing away). There were so many different kinds of corals - soft ones (which felt like sponge and jelly), hard ones, live and dead ones, corals that glowed liked light sticks and even those that turned neon when you draw on them! I really love them. Amazing.

There were sea cucumbers, mimosa which lives under the sea, sea urchins, starfishes (which are hard!), and grapes-alike plant which fishes feed on! I even tasted them - expecting something tasty? It's plain salty hahaha. Not forgetting feeding the fishes and feeling their bites on my fingers. And while we were preparing to swim back to shore, there were lots of jelly fishes around. I don't know how to put this whole experience (though it was a short 1 hour probably?) into words, but I felt I could stay in the sea forever. I felt I was one of them - the living things under the sea. (mermaid! bwahaha)

After getting up onto the shore, Daxiong brought his kayak over! It was a pleasant surprise because I merely asked him a question on why I don't ever see Taiwanese kayaking around (be it at Magong or at Kenting), and he brought his kayak down to the sea! Had a good time kayaking along the island coast lines with Xiaoling, and seeing the basalt columns right beside me. We wanted to explore a cave but the waves were getting stronger. Would have been a good experience kayaking into the cave!

Returned back to the house and washed up before I had a simple but filling dinner with the hosts. We had a good time sharing our own stories. Ended the night early because travel is not just about rushing through the itinerary. I really appreciate such relaxing nights.

DAY 12

Started the day off with breakfast prepared by the owners and it was really a filling one. Since I couldn't ride a bike and Xiaoling wasn't keen on putting my safety at risk, Daxiong drove me around the island and introducing the different natural attractions of Qimei. It felt great being the passenger of the bike as the wind hits my face. How nice if it was my prince charming biking me around instead. Hahaha (hallucinating again~)











  
The clouds that were coming from the right!


And this marks the last night in Qimei/ Penghu.

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Xiaoling shared with me that Daxiong's dream was to have a homestay/Min su of his own. It isn't for big bucks, but he wanted the guests to fully enjoy the environment of Qimei and being able to truly relax while on this beautiful island. Daxiong isn't a local of Penghu, in fact, he left whatever he was doing in Taiwan, to fulfill this dream. Even though the house in Qimei doesn't belong to him (it's rented), he hopes to one day, own his very own. He is also very amazing because he has cycled the whole of Qimei and even kayaked around the island (even though the locals thought he was crazy - due to the different tides and currents around the different parts of Qimei). But, to quote what youngsters love to say, #YOLO, isn't life just about trying and challenging yourself?

As for Xiaoling, she has, too, solo travelled in Europe. How brave and how awesome of her? 

I'm really in love with life on an island. Qimei isn't that commercialised yet and I think that's the beauty of her. There might be a handful of tourists at some hours (they were on island hopping day tours), but it's the slow-pace, quaintness, beautiful skies and sounds of crashing waves which makes life and days a lot better. Even your thoughts are happier too!


DAY 13

Decided to add my Day 13 here because part of it was spent on Wang'an, the other bigger island of Penghu Archipelago, and the rest were spent travelling. As I heard of the many landscapes on small islands around Penghu, I was hoping to do island hopping or at least a ferry tour around these islands. If you didn't know, there's a cave named as 蓝洞 (Blue Cave) on 西吉屿 (Xiji island). Unfortunately, these could only be done if you're with a group of people and able to charter a boat around, which can be quite expensive.

 Daxiong recommended that I could go on a short tour on Wang'an which he could arrange for me. Thankfully I haven't paid for the air tickets from Qimei to Kaohsiung (which I did an email booking because I somehow couldn't book online) and thankfully the DailyAir service personnel attending to my email request was responsive and friendly. I cancelled my flight tickets, managed to purchase a ticket from Magong - Kaohsiung (NT 1800!!! #heartpain) and then got on a boat to Wang'an, paying about NT 500 for it. (Speaking about last minute changes to itinerary!) Upon reaching, the ferry assistant was helpful (probably Daxiong told him to help me around!) and brought me to the local tour person. Paid NT 150 and got arranged to randomly join a huge group of Taiwanese on their coach.

They were on a company retreat with their family members and they were super friendly, welcoming me on their coach! (Although I was a little irritated that Taiwanese had the misconception of Singaporeans not having tried chewing gum before because it's illegal to sell/eat here -.-)

The tour is about 1.5hours and I think the short tour is good if you've limited time but don't want to miss out Wang'an, although I still felt that it will be good if you can stay there for a night or two to enjoy the nice view. (am I being contradicting here?)

We started with a short 20 -30 minutes at the little museum (?) of Wnag'an, getting to know more about this little island's habitat. During the right season, turtles will be laying eggs on the beaches!





Embarking on the second part of my travel on the East coast of Taiwan in the next post!

The Penghu or Pescadores Islands (澎湖群岛) are an archipelago of 64 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait between mainland China and Taiwan Island. The largest city is Magong (马公), located on the largest island, which is also named Penghu. (taken from Wikipedia). The other 2 bigger/main islands are Wang'an (望安) and Qimei (七美). 

Penghu is famous for its great beaches, glorious temples and the traditional Chinese-style homes surrounded by coral walls. A flat, dry place covered mostly with low bush and grasslands, Penghu is significantly different from Taiwan proper geologically speaking, being formed from the solidified lava of volcanic eruptions some 17 million years ago. The stunning rock formations and towering basalt columns seen everywhere date from that time. (taken from lonelyplanet)

The best time to visit Penghu would be the summer. Though the temperature can go to about 34 degrees, it's still relatively windy. Best of all, it's the best time to do water sports! One of my host mentioned that most of the locals will travel to the mainland to avoid winter (the wind that hits your face can freeze you immediately! haha)

There are only 2 main mode of transportation to reach Penghu: by sea or air (like duh).

Do check out the Penghu National Scenic Area official website for the airlines and ferries and their schedules to Penghu. 

FLIGHT VS FERRY (TO PENGHU)

My parents visited Penghu last year and took a ferry from Budai (Chiayi) to Magong. The tickets were definitely much cheaper (probably by half) than taking by air, however, the opportunity cost would be the time taken to travel over (which can be double). While by air the journey is only 30 minutes or a maximum 40 minutes from any islands to the main land (apart from Taipei, which is up north), taking ferry over can be hours! (From Budai, my parents took 3 hours to reach)

I took Uni Air (do check around the different airlines - prices are almost the same unless it's peak period/ weekends but the schedules are the deciding factor), which takes off at 12.05pm. Magong Airport is just 30 minutes away. I purchased on Uni Air's website and paid S$75 (NT1697) for a single trip to Magong, reason being travelling to Qimei after Magong via ferry.

Uni Air only flies from main land of Taiwan to Magong City, hence flights between island to island will only be by Daily Air or ferries. The only problem for travellers/tourists who can't read Chinese would be that the airline websites are only in Mandarin! But it shouldn't be a problem if you drop the airlines an email and book through email confirmation (I did that for Daily Air as I had problems booking through their website). 

ACCOMMODATION

Most of the accommodation in Magong city would be hotels or Minsu/Homestays (民宿), which I would go for them if I had the budget. But of course, I wanted to make new friends too! The best hostel I found was located 10-15 minutes, north of Magong city, at the area of Shan Shui Beach. 

Upon looking at google maps, I finally found the names of the homestays/ B&Bs around the hostel I was staying. They looks really nice (on the outside) and perhaps you guys can check it out on google maps!

GETTING AROUND PENGHU

The public bus in Penghu can bring you from one end of the island to the other, but the time taken would be too scary. In addition, the wait at the bus stop might just drive you nuts. I didn't take any buses around the island, but only the bus from the main station in Magong city to the hostel (a 20-min journey), which is scheduled every hour or so. It feels almost like back to the 60s or 70s where public transport system has just been introduced. 

So it's best if you can ride a bike to tour around the island! And I swear after this trip, I'm tempted to go for a bike license! There were many students on their graduation trip and it's so fun just looking at them enjoying riding their bikes around the island. Unfortunately, the island is so big I don't think a battery-operated bike would be effective/ efficient. 

I saw on the Penghu NSA website that you could rent cars and mini vans too. But NT 1200 for a day wasn't cost-friendly for me. 

In order to travel out of the hostel to the city or further away (even touring the island), the hostel helper can help to call a cab to pick the guests up. Most of the cabs drive in from the Magong City, which means a 10-minute wait usually. It is also a fixed rate of NT 200 to go to the city. Not very cheap either.

DAY 9

By the time I checked-in and ready to start my day at Magong, it was already 2.30pm. I made another new friend, who was also picked up from the airport. Only got to knew that Emily was a special lady, as she couldn't hear nor speak like us. As Emily was alone, the hostel helper asked if I would like to join her for an ocean farm experience, but I wanted to tour Magong city, which Emily has already been a few years back. Somehow we worked things out (the helper was told by his boss that he has to host Emily but he couldn't and didn't want Emily to be alone), and Emily followed me or in fact, brought me around the city. 

On our cab ride, we introduced ourselves on paper (Emily brings a notebook every where she goes). It was interesting, honestly. It's my first time interacting with someone who can't talk. Even the cab driver found our interaction amusing, and asked why we were busy scribbling away. 

We visited a few of the historical relics and the old residential area of 2 famous Taiwanese artistes. 

Four-Eyed Well (四眼井)

Zhang Yu Sheng Memorial Hall (张雨生纪念馆)

I felt bad that Emily had to walk the city with me again since she's been there before. (It must have bore her). Since we were done with the main scenic spots within 2 hours, I told her we should go for the ocean farm. The hostel helper couldn't help us call to reserve the tickets since it was just 30 minutes to the boat's departure. Hence we quickened our pace to South Sea Visitor Centre (南海游客中心), which was at least 15 minutes away from where we were. (Almost died)

You can buy your tickets there, which thankfully we made it a few minutes before the ferry departs. There are quite a few ferry providers there but I can't remember the one we went with. It's the first or second counter on the right of the entrance. You can look for 海上农场 (or literally ocean farm) at the counter and ask them for it. Tickets are at NT 250-300 (around S$12) (if I remember it correctly). 

Just 5-10 minutes out out Magong and we arrived. The name suggested something fanciful but it was just any normal floating platform. Nonetheless, it was still a good experience. We were given 2 hours on the ocean farm, and the NT 300 included unlimited supply of fresh oysters, which were delicious! There was limited supply of seafood porridge too, which the ingredients inside were pretty pathetic. 

Of course we had to eat to our fill and making the 300 bucks worthwhile! While we survived on oysters only, we saw other families and groups bringing their own food to bbq! I feel so nice sharing this with you guys if you're planning to go on the ocean farm: BYOF. BRING YOUR OWN FOOD (and drinks)! You can buy drinks there but what's better than bringing your own beer?

You can also catch your own fish/squids but they were too expensive. According to my almost-rusty brain, it's about NT 900 for a 700g catch!

One of the reasons for visiting Penghu was for its Fireworks festival. This happens every year during the mid April- mid June period. (Do check out the actual period!) The fireworks show is only on every Mondays and Thursdays during that period, and will be put up at the Guan Yin temple, and over the Xiying Rainbow Bridge.

There were tons of people there! So be there early to grab a good spot!

Truly enjoyed the perfect view of clear blue skies and clear sea. Even though I wished the beach was filled with smooth sand, (because one of the special characteristic of Jibei is that the gravel beach composed of coral coast and basalt gravel). The water activities were a little disappointment. While they were unlimited (really great), you had to queue and there were many people waiting for their turns. Another thing to note is that there a few other activities provider around so be sure to queue for the right one. Thankfully the one I went to had the best maintained boats and variety - banana boat, snorkeling...

As usual, I spent too much time exploring and missed my boat back to main island. Was supposed to meet Emily after our individual activities, but since I missed the ferry, we couldn't meet up to tour the rest of Penghu. 

Do note that there's only 4 ferries back to main land - 11am, 12pm, 1pm and 2pm. If you miss the very last one, you've got to stay on the island for the night! 

I wished I had more time on Jibei to tour around, which I heard and saw the pictures from my new friend (I met at the hostel), Wubby, that it was really beautiful and breathtaking. 

After getting off at the North Sea Visitor Centre, I was stranded. There wasn't any cabs in sight, and I even prepared for the worst - hitch-riding a tour group's coach or walking back to the city (really really far away). Most of the locals there rode on bikes and they were with another passenger behind, so I couldn't hitch a ride from bikes. I didn't know where the nearest bus stop was. I panicked for a little while, but randomly walk my way to a little near by and that's when I saw a cab! I was praying that the passenger didn't book the cab for the whole day. 

Thankfully, she alighted and yes! I got a taxi! 

My plan was to tour the rest of Penghu main land, further up north - Baisha (白沙) and Xiyu (西屿). I asked to rent the driver's service for half a day but she decided that going by meter would be better. (She didn't tell me how much it was to have a half-day tour with her). I think it was because she had to be back in the city at a certain time, as we didn't cover the furthest point of Xiyu (the Yuwengdao Lighthouse), I also missed the Zhongtun Windmill Power Park. 

Tongliang Great Banyan (通梁古榕)

This tree is believed to be at least 300 years old. What makes it special is the extensive growth that has sprouted huge branches and veins over a great area!

Penghu Great Bridge (跨海大桥)

 Xiaomen Geology Gallery & Whale Cave (小门地质馆 & 鲸鱼洞)

This is where visitors learn about the geological strata of Penghu Archipelago and the features of the rocks. The current Penghu has 6 stratum! And I'm kind of missing geography lessons.

Erkan Ancient Residences (二崁传统聚落)

The one and only historical house in Penghu, currently listed as National Grade Three Historic Site.

Daguoye Columnar Basalt (大菓叶柱状节理玄武石)