Whale Cave is a natural basalt sea cave on the north side of Hsiaomen Island in Penghu (Shomom 小門嶼) , and one of the many tourist attractions in the area. According to some it looks like a whale, but that is not the true origin of its name.

The actual reason for the cave's name "Whale Cave" is that, a long time ago, a whale got stuck in the cave and died. According to local legend, a bone from that whale is now inside Dayi Temple. See more about Dayi Temple in our blog here.

How to get there:
The best way to get there is via scooter or car from Magong. But be careful to park in a designated spot because the cops there are strict.

Hours: Open 24 hours every day.

Price: Free!

Map: Please see below:

Our Journey:

There are many ways to get to Whale Cave, but we decided to park next to everyone else at the main entrance and walk down main street. There were quite a few people, including mothers telling their children to stay off the rocks and not follow the foolish foreigner down into the cave.

Next to the cave is a small valley with walled gardens. These walls are commonplace throughout Penghu and protect crops from strong winter winds and sea salt in the air.

A view of the rugged coastline next to Whale Cave.

The best time to see Whale Cave is during high tide when the water comes up to the cave entrance.

If you wait, you can get a shot of a big wave hitting against the rocks.

A famous treat you can try next to the cave is fried shrimp buns. This is a Penghu specialty, and this stand only sells them for 35 NT a piece. 

Delicious whole shrimp and crab meat mixed with veggies, and fried together in batter.

Be sure to also check out Xiaomen beach right next to the main parking lot. The water there is clear and calm!

Thanks for reading! Be sure to like and follow to see more of our adventures in Taiwan!

Erkan Historical Village is a unique place in Taiwan that preserves nearly 300 years of Southern Min culture. Isolated and cut off from the rest of Taiwan for quite some time on Siyu island of Penghu County, the village is a living museum for visitors. Every home is built in traditional red brick Southern Min style, and offering a unique splice in time. 

How to get there:
The easiest Way to get there is by car or scooter from Magong.

Price: Free, except for the Chen family ancient house which charges an admission of about 30 NT.

Hours: 8:00 AM - Dusk

Map: Please see below:

Siyu East and West forts are some of the best preserved fortifications in Taiwan dating back to the Ming Dynasty. They provide a rich history of the many invasions of Taiwan throughout the ages. Currently they are open to the public if you can get yourself over to the west side of Penghu.

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How to Get there:
The easiest way to get there is to take a car or scooter from Magong to the very southernmost part of Siyu (Xiyu, or Fisher) Island.

Hours:
Siyu East Fort: 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM, closed on holidays
Siyu West Fort: Open all day every day!

Price:
Siyu East Fort: Free!
Siyu West Fort: 30 NT per adult, 15 NT for students and seniors

​Map: Please see below:

Dayi Temple Lies in the northern part of Siyu Island in Penghu County, Taiwan. On the outside, it is a normal Taiwanese Daoist temple like any other, but due to its collection of live endangered sea turtles, whale bones, rare marine specimens, and coral rocks kept in an underground chamber, it has become one of the main tourist attractions on the archipelago. 

The morality of keeping these endangered species in the temple chamber has been a topic of debate over the past few years, and it is clear to see that they are not living in an ideal environment. This, including allegations of animal rights violations, will be discussed further below.

How to get there:
Go across the cross-island highway to Siyu Island. On the top of the first hill you will see a brown sign pointing left to Dayi Temple. Keep going down the hill and the temple will be on your right.

Address: No. 76 Zhuwan Village, Siyu Township, Penghu County
​西嶼鄉竹灣村76號 

Price: Free, but donations are welcome.

Hours: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Map: Please see below:
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Guanyin Temple Swimming Area (aka. Guanyinting, Guanyin Temple Leisure Park, and Guanyinting Recreation Area) is one of the main tourist attractions in Magong and Penghu. It is a relaxing place to enjoy views of the ocean and the sunset, as well as other activities such as jogging, swimming, parasailing, and fishing. 

How To Get There:
It lies on the very west part of Magong City. It's really quite hard to miss.

Price: Free!

Hours: Open all day every day.
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Map: Please see below:

Magong is the biggest and important city in the Penghu (Pescadores) Island chain, with a rich cultural and historical heritage. Among the many historical sights in the city, perhaps some of the most significant are the remains of the ancient wall surrounding the city during the Qing Dynasty, as well as the first military dependents village established by the KMT surrounding these old walls. 

Magong Ancient City Wall

Historical background:
The original walls of "Penghu Pang City" or Magong were completed 1889 after the Sino-French War in order to improve Qing defenses in the region. Afterwards, the walled city of Magong became the economic, military, and government center of Penghu.

In 1895 Japan took control of Taiwan. During the Japanese rule, most of the walls were torn down starting in 1905 in order to build the harbor and to conform with city planning (that's right, many of the old walls stood on what is now open harbor water). The South Gate, Minor South Gate, East Gate, and North Gate were destroyed. The only parts of the wall that are left are on the western side, including the Major West Gate and Minor West Gate.
As a side note, the Japanese changed the name of the City from  媽宮 (Magong, meaning mother's palace, probably a reference to the goddess Matsu) to 馬公 (Magong, same pronunciation but meaning Horse Gong).

After the KMT took control of the island, they turned the surrounding area a military base and military dependents village (篤行十字村 Duxingshi Village). The Major West Gate was renamed Chunghsing Gate (中興門） and the Minor West Gate was renamed the Shuncheng Gate （順承門）.
Currently the Chunghsing gate (pictured below) is the entrance to the military base on site, and is the only gate that was built without a tower.

The above photo was taken from here.

Price: Free 

How to get there: The gate is on the westernmost part of Zhongshan Road in Magong.
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Map: Please refer to the map below.

​​Foreword: Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of questions. This is meant to only give a basic overview of Taiwan's schooling landscape to those who have never been there. 

Are there foreign schools for my children in Taiwan?
Yes, there are a number of American and European schools in Taiwan. Please click here for a full list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_schools_in_Taiwan

Is Taiwan Safe?
Yes, Taiwan is one of the safest countries in the world according to Prescavve, due to low crime and high economic freedom and devolopment.
 
How to study in Taiwan? How do you Study in Taiwan?
There are many coffee shops, book stores, and libraries with free internet. Here is a map of working café’s made by Alexander Synaptic:

Raohe Street Night Market is a bustling night market in Eastern Taipei, and one of the most popular in the city. One could argue that Roahe street is the best night market in Taipei, but this blog was not written to prove that debate. With a large assortment of great food and snacks, along with the usual night market cheap clothes and everyday items, along with a close proximity to public transport, Raohe street is a must see destination when you come to Taipei.

Price:
Free! But don't you dare come with an empty wallet.

How to get there:
By MRT:
Take the MRT green line to Songshan station (the last station), and get out at exit 2, 3, or 4, and continue walking north for about 1 minute to Raohe street.
By Car or Scooter:
Don't take a car. But if you do, there is a parking garage on Bade street.
There is scooter parking next to Songshan elementary school and on Songhe street in front of Rainbow bridge. Do not park on areas with a red line; this place is a hot spot for parking tickets, so beware.

Map:

Historical Background:
The name Raohe comes from a county in Heilongjiang, China, meaning the place of many birds. Starting in the Qing Dynasty, the area around Raohe Street and Songshan station was called Xikou (tin port), an important transportation hub in Taiwan (for more information about this old industrial area in East Taipei, check out our blog here). From Songshan station, goods from Taipei, Keelung, and Yilan could be directly loaded to the Keelung River and transported to the sea. However due to silting, the Keelung River became less and less import in terms of transportation, and Raohe Street became obsolete, especially after the much wider Bade street was built right next to it.

In order to help business in the area, the Taipei city government established a tourist night market on Raohe Street on May 11th, 1987, which was the second tourist night market established in Taipei.

Qingjing Farm (aka Cingjing Farm) is a high mountain farm in Renai Township of Nantou County. It features beautful mountain scenery, sheep petting zoo, animal shows, horse riding, and horesmanship shows. 

Historical Background:
During Japanese rule, the area around Qingjing farm was originally pasture for the cattle of the Seediq aboriginal tribe. This is the same tribe that caused the Mushe Incident, the biggest rebellion against the Japanese during that era involving mass killings of Japanese and even more Aboriginals in return. If you don't know what I'm taking about, you should watch the film Warriors of the Rainow: Seediq Bale. The Mushe incident memorial can be found a littler further down the road in Wushe as the Mona Rudo Resistance Monument. 

Later in 1959 the ROC government made the area a relocation area for a few military families to plant tropical fruits. In 1967 Chiang Chin-kuo (Chiang Kai-shek's son) visited the area and remarked: 「清新空氣任君取，境地優雅是仙居」meaning "There is fresh air for one to breathe, and the area is elegant like the dwelling place of a fairy." From then on the farm changed it's name from Rongmin Farm (榮民農場meaning honorary citizens' farm) to Qingjing Farm, meaning "Fresh Landscape."

By 1985 the farms around Qingjing all were making losses. But then the first hotel was built in the area, the income of which was greater than that of the farm itself. From then on the tourist sector of Qingjing farm began. Nowadays the farm is purely a tourist attraction, and many hotels and hostels have been built in the area. 

Price:
Full adult ticket: 200 NT on holidays, otherwise 160 NT
Student ticket: 130 NT
Elderly/disabled/children 6-12: 80 NT
Groups over 30 people: 120 NT

Hours:
8 AM - 5 PM every day!

How to get there:
By Bus:
From Taichung, take the Kbus, Nantou Bus, or Quanhang bus to the Puli bus station. You can also take Kbus from Taipei Main station straight to the Puli bus station. From there, you can buy entrance tickets to Qingjing and round trip bus tickets all in one via Nantou bus. The bus will leave and come back to Puli Station. Be sure to take the bus all the way to the Qingjing entrance.

By Car:
Take national Highway 6 to Puli and then continue onto provincial highway 14 all the way to Qingjing farm. There are private parking lots above the entrance for about 200 NT a day, and there are usually extra spots even on a busy day.

​Map:
Please refer to the map below:

For the last few months, I have been using Ivideo Wifi service in Taiwan. Basically it is flexible and cheap Wifi service that you can use pretty much anywhere in the world.

Here are some of the places we have been in the past few months while using iVideo:

Raohe Street Night Market

Qingjing Farm

Fulong beach.

But three months is a long time, and some things don't always go as planned as I explained in this IG post below:

I had the  Pocket WiFi T-Star (Battery Upgrade). The package included unlimited data, speed 4G LTE, and allowed me to connect up to 10 devices simultaneously, including laptops, smartphones, and tablets.
Ivideo includes daily plans suitable for tourists. You can instantly share your travel highlights at the Taipei 101, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Kenting Beach, and more.
​Monthly Plans are also Suitable for expats or business travelers who will stay for more than a month in Taiwan.
They Can be delivered to your hotesl or picked up at Taiwan airports, convenience stores, and iVideo stores.

​Use the Coupon Code FOREIGNERS to get 10% OFF!
Website Link: https://goo.gl/7ZbiLB

Click here for our experience using it in the Philippines. Have fun out there!

​-FiTW