The bait, a Doraemon-painted fishing buoy hanging from a doorway. And we took it, stepping inside an previous home transformed into a store in Erkan Village, north of Penghu Island. We had been quickly swallowed by a case of cuteness overload. In all places we appeared, colourful buoys playfully painted to painting characters from Spiderman to Peppa Pig. We had been hooked and everybody began in search of the absolute best angle to pose for a photograph. This actually wasn’t what I used to be anticipating for our Resorts World One shore tour in Penghu, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a pleasant shock.
BOOKING A RESORTS WORLD ONE CRUISE
 |
| RESORTS WORLD ONE ANCHORED AT PENGHU’S HARBOR |
Philippine residents can nonetheless ebook a cruise with Resorts World Cruises even when its two ships are based mostly in Hong Kong and Singapore. You might contact their Senior Gross sales Supervisor, Andrea Manzano at andrea.manzano@rwcruises.com for nice offers and cruise promos.
DOCKING AT PENGHU ISLAND
  |
| A GLIMPSE OF PENGHU FROM RESORTS WORLD ONE |
We arrived at Penghu Island early. So early that we needed to eat breakfast as quickly because the inclusive eating places opened make it on time. From the deck, Taiwan’s smallest county got here into view. From what I can see, an orange-roofed temple atop a hill, a towering bronze statue of the ocean goddess Mazu, desolate amidst blue inexperienced waters—Penghu appears to be even sleepier than Cijin Island. I’m liking its vibe.
 |
| OUR FERRY RIDE TO PENGHU’S MAGONG ISLAND |
In contrast to our earlier Resorts World Cruises shore tour to Kaohsiung, the ship anchored fairly a methods away from the dock. We needed to journey a small ferry from the ship to land at Penghu. It’s really the primary time I skilled this—enjoyable!
RESORTS WORLD ONE SHORE EXCURSION
 |
| PENGHU HAS A VIBRANT AZURE SEA |
Resorts World One has three shore excursions obtainable for Penghu. Our group selected the North Penghu Tour. And sure, you may alight from the ship and discover DIY in case you don’t wish to avail of those excursions. Simply be again on time.
Penghu Scenic Tour – HKD 320.00
Penghu Aqua Farm & Seafood Tour – HKD 480.00
North Penghu Tour – HKD 430.00
 |
| A BUCOLIC SCENE AT PENGHU |
Once more, these are on a first-come-first-served foundation, so ebook early on the ship’s foyer. And make sure you carry your stamped passport copy, which is offered as early because the night time earlier than your shore tour.
PENGHU COUNTY
 |
| A WOODEN HOUSE IN MAGONG CITY |
Composed of ninety islands and islets, Penghu County is situated on the western facet of Taiwan. We docked on its essential island, Magong Island, the place Magong Metropolis is situated. Our information associated to us how small the inhabitants is on the island, since a lot of the children go straight to Taipei after graduating to work. And certainly, there have been hardly any individuals on the road throughout our go to.
 |
| WIND TURBINES AT PENGHU’S BAISHA ISLAND |
It’s a really quiet island, however completely progressive—there have been lots of business institutions, towering workplace buildings, and even glitzy motels. It’s a full blown metropolis, full with 7-Elevens and quick meals institutions—the one factor missing are individuals.
PENGHU TIANHOU TEMPLE
 |
| THE OLDEST MAZU TEMPLE IN TAIWAN IS IN PENGHU |
We had been the primary group to depart from the dock, boarding a van to Penghu’s Tianhou Temple. The fifteenth century temple is the oldest of its type. It’s devoted to Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea—just like Cijin Island’s Tianhou Temple. The temple’s Mazu idol, produced from a single piece of wooden, is estimated to be round 700 years previous.
 |
| THE PENGHU TIANHOU TEMPLE |
Town of Magong was really constructed across the Tianhou Temple, rising in dimension as time glided by.
PENGHU BROWN SUGAR CAKE
 |
| MAGUNG BROWN SUGAR CAKE FACTORY IN MAGONG CITY |
Earlier than going to Xiyu to see the island’s columnar basalt rock formation, we dropped by MaGung Brown Sugar Cake Manufacturing facility, a preferred store that produces Penghu’s famed brown sugar cake or hei tang gao. The journey would take round forty minutes, so we get to have some free style of the cake first plus some cups of free espresso too, earlier than we drove round to the western facet of Penghu.
 |
| DELICIOUSLY FAMILIAR |
The cake’s really good—you may positively style the molasses taste of the brown sugar used. The feel is moist and spongy. However, it was a tad too related with our very personal puto or rice cake, that the majority of us determined to cross—opting as an alternative for his or her different choices, like their almond-encrusted seaweed snack and their jarred cooking condiments.
DAGUOYE COLUMNAR BASALT ROCK FORMATION
 |
| THE DAGUOYE COLUMNAR BASALT IS JUST BESIDE THE ROAD |
Most of us fell asleep as we handed by way of Penghu’s pine-laden roads. And shortly sufficient, we had been alighting from our van. And proper in entrance of us, on a hill overlooking the ocean, stands the Daguoye Columnar Basalt rock formation.
 |
| A CLOSER LOOK AT THE DAGUOYE ROCK FORMATION |
The curious formation was unearthed by the Japanese once they had been planning to construct a wharf within the space. These kind when basalt lava cools down and cracks into hexagonal shapes. Probably the most well-known of those are present in Eire’s Big’s Causeway—which made it to Led Zeppelin’s Home of the Holy album cowl.
 |
| THE SMALL POND AT THE BASE OF THE ROCK BASALT IS PERFECT FOR REFLECTION PHOTOS |
Whereas Penghu’s columnar basalt rock formation most likely received’t make it into any LedZep albums, it nonetheless seems spectacular. At about twelve meters excessive, it stretches for a few hundred meters on a hill overlooking Chi’-tung Fishing Harbor. A shallow pond sits beneath its base, excellent for reflection pictures.
 |
| THE FORMATION RISES TO A HEIGHT OF ABOUT TWELVE METERS HIGH |
There are literally multiple place to see the columnar basalts in Penghu—there are formations in Neian, Dachi, and Chixi. And like Daguoye, they’re all on the township of Xiyu. Of those, the Daguoye Columnar Basalt is the best to entry because it sits proper beside the street.
ERKAN HISTORICAL VILLAGE
 |
| A GIANT TEAPOT AT THE ERKAN HISTORICAL VILLAGE IN XIYU |
Nonetheless in Xiyu, our subsequent cease was the Erkan Historic Village. It’s a set of over forty conventional homes designed within the Southern Min fashion utilizing pink bricks and coral stones. Our information stated that these are the oldest homes in Penghu.
 |
| A SHOP SELLING SOUVENIRS |
Like Magong Island, most younger residents have left for the massive cities. Nevertheless, for the reason that inflow of tourism in Erkan, a number of have returned and has began repurposing the homes as retailers, eating places, and lodgings. An effort to revive, revitalize, and keep the historic village.
Probably the most well-known home in Erkan is the Chen Home—being devoted to its authentic design.
 |
| INSIDE ONE OF THE HOUSES AT ERKAN HISTORICAL VILLAGE |
In its naked kind, the homes right here by some means reminds us of these in Batanes. And it’s not that onerous to know why. Each islands are windswept they usually’re each by the ocean.
  |
| A VERY CHARMING VILLAGE INDEED |
The village is small however extraordinarily charming—low buildings, slender stone roads—I can think about staying right here at the very least for an evening to see the way it seems come night. It have to be fairly romantic.
THE GREAT PENGHU BRIDGE
 |
| A VIEW OF THE OLD AND THE NEW GREAT PENGHU BRIDGE |
Simply earlier than going again to Magong Island, we stopped by the Nice Penghu Bridge, which connects Xiyu Island to Baisha, which then connects to Magong Metropolis. In-built 1965, it stretches for nearly two and half kilometers lengthy.
  |
| YUWENGDAO STATUE AND THE GREAT PENGHU BRIDGE ENTRANCE |
A colourful statue of an enormous fish and an previous fisherman stands on the bridge head, the Yuwengdao statues. Being a fishing city, Penghu was as soon as named by the Portuguese as Pescadores, which suggests fish, once they occupied the island within the 1600s.
SEAFOOD LUNCH
 |
| SEAFOOD AT FESTIVAL HOTEL IN PENGHU |
And at last again at Magong Metropolis, it was time for lunch. And, in fact, it’s seafood!
 |
| SIZZLING SQUID |
Lunch was on the eating corridor of Competition Lodge close to the port. Once more, we had been seated on a spherical desk fitted with a lazy susan. And one after the other, plates of boiled shrimp, clams in vegetable, steamed fish, braised pork knuckles, scorching squid, abalones, pork cutlets, and an area Penghu squash soup had been laid on our desk. There was additionally a hotpot crammed with veggies and seafood for everybody. Scrumptious and positively filling.
 |
| A LOCAL SQUASH DISH WITH WHAT SEEMS TO BE RICE NOODLES AND SEAFOOD |
Once more, in case you’re touring as a pair or a small household, you may all the time request to be seated individually so that you received’t be pressured to share meals with full strangers.
~ THIS TRIP WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY RESORTS WORLD CRUISES. VIEWS & OPINIONS, ALL MINE.
