TAIWAN | RESORTS WORLD ONE CRUISE SHORE EXCURSION ~ PENGHU NORTH TOUR
Sunday, July 16, 2023
The bait, a Doraemon-painted fishing buoy hanging from a doorway. And we took it, stepping inside an old house converted into a shop in Erkan Village, north of Penghu Island. We were soon swallowed by a case of cuteness overload. Everywhere we looked, colorful buoys playfully painted to portray characters from Spiderman to Peppa Pig. We were hooked and everyone started looking for the best possible angle to pose for a photo. This really wasn’t what I was expecting for our Resorts World One shore excursion in Penghu, but it’s still a nice surprise.
| RESORTS WORLD CRUISES SHORE EXCURSION: PENGHU TABLE OF CONTENTS ~ WHAT’S INSIDE? |
BOOKING A RESORTS WORLD ONE CRUISE
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| RESORTS WORLD ONE ANCHORED AT PENGHU’S HARBOR |
Philippine residents can still book a cruise with Resorts World Cruises even if its two ships are based in Hong Kong and Singapore. You may contact their Senior Sales Manager, Andrea Manzano at andrea.manzano@rwcruises.com for great deals and cruise promos.
DOCKING AT PENGHU ISLAND
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| A GLIMPSE OF PENGHU FROM RESORTS WORLD ONE |
We arrived at Penghu Island early. So early that we had to eat breakfast as soon as the inclusive restaurants opened make it on time. From the deck, Taiwan’s smallest county came into view. From what I can see, an orange-roofed temple atop a hill, a towering bronze statue of the sea goddess Mazu, desolate amidst blue green waters—Penghu seems to be even sleepier than Cijin Island. I’m liking its vibe.
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| OUR FERRY RIDE TO PENGHU’S MAGONG ISLAND |
Unlike our previous Resorts World Cruises shore excursion to Kaohsiung, the ship anchored quite a ways away from the dock. We had to ride a small ferry from the ship to land at Penghu. It’s actually the first time I experienced this—fun!
RESORTS WORLD ONE SHORE EXCURSION
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| PENGHU HAS A VIBRANT AZURE SEA |
Resorts World One has three shore excursions available for Penghu. Our group chose the North Penghu Tour. And yes, you can alight from the ship and explore DIY if you don’t want to avail of these tours. Just be back on time.
Penghu Scenic Tour – HKD 320.00
Penghu Aqua Farm & Seafood Tour – HKD 480.00
North Penghu Tour – HKD 430.00
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| A BUCOLIC SCENE AT PENGHU |
Again, these are on a first-come-first-served basis, so book early at the ship’s lobby. And be sure to bring your stamped passport copy, which is provided as early as the night before your shore excursion.
PENGHU COUNTY
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| A WOODEN HOUSE IN MAGONG CITY |
Composed of ninety islands and islets, Penghu County is located on the western side of Taiwan. We docked on its main island, Magong Island, where Magong City is located. Our guide related to us how small the population is on the island, since most of the kids go straight to Taipei after graduating to work. And indeed, there were hardly any people on the street during our visit.
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| WIND TURBINES AT PENGHU’S BAISHA ISLAND |
It’s a very quiet island, but totally progressive—there were a lot of commercial establishments, towering office buildings, and even glitzy hotels. It’s a full blown city, complete with 7-Elevens and fast food establishments—the only thing lacking are people.
PENGHU TIANHOU TEMPLE
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| THE OLDEST MAZU TEMPLE IN TAIWAN IS IN PENGHU |
We were the first group to depart from the dock, boarding a van to Penghu’s Tianhou Temple. The 15th century temple is the oldest of its kind. It is dedicated to Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea—similar to Cijin Island’s Tianhou Temple. The temple’s Mazu idol, made from a single piece of wood, is estimated to be around 700 years old.
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| THE PENGHU TIANHOU TEMPLE |
The city of Magong was actually built around the Tianhou Temple, growing in size as time went by.
PENGHU BROWN SUGAR CAKE
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| MAGUNG BROWN SUGAR CAKE FACTORY IN MAGONG CITY |
Before going to Xiyu to see the island’s columnar basalt rock formation, we dropped by MaGung Brown Sugar Cake Factory, a popular shop that produces Penghu’s famed brown sugar cake or hei tang gao. The trip would take around forty minutes, so we get to have some free taste of the cake first plus some cups of free coffee too, before we drove around to the western side of Penghu.
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| DELICIOUSLY FAMILIAR |
The cake’s actually good—you can definitely taste the molasses flavor of the brown sugar used. The texture is moist and spongy. But, it was a tad too similar with our very own puto or rice cake, that most of us decided to pass—opting instead for their other offerings, like their almond-encrusted seaweed snack and their jarred cooking condiments.
DAGUOYE COLUMNAR BASALT ROCK FORMATION
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| THE DAGUOYE COLUMNAR BASALT IS JUST BESIDE THE ROAD |
Most of us fell asleep as we passed through Penghu’s pine-laden roads. And soon enough, we were alighting from our van. And right in front of us, on a hill overlooking the sea, stands the Daguoye Columnar Basalt rock formation.
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| A CLOSER LOOK AT THE DAGUOYE ROCK FORMATION |
The curious formation was unearthed by the Japanese when they were planning to build a wharf in the area. These form when basalt lava cools down and cracks into hexagonal shapes. The most famous of these are found in Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway—which made it to Led Zeppelin’s House of the Holy album cover.
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| THE SMALL POND AT THE BASE OF THE ROCK BASALT IS PERFECT FOR REFLECTION PHOTOS |
While Penghu’s columnar basalt rock formation probably won’t make it into any LedZep albums, it still looks impressive. At about twelve meters high, it stretches for about a hundred meters on a hill overlooking Chi’-tung Fishing Harbor. A shallow pond sits below its base, perfect for reflection shots.
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| THE FORMATION RISES TO A HEIGHT OF ABOUT TWELVE METERS HIGH |
There are actually more than one 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 these, the Daguoye Columnar Basalt is the easiest to access as it sits right beside the road.
ERKAN HISTORICAL VILLAGE
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| A GIANT TEAPOT AT THE ERKAN HISTORICAL VILLAGE IN XIYU |
Still in Xiyu, our next stop was the Erkan Historical Village. It’s a collection of over forty traditional houses designed in the Southern Min style using red bricks and coral stones. Our guide said that these are the oldest houses in Penghu.
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| A SHOP SELLING SOUVENIRS |
Like Magong Island, most young residents have left for the big cities. However, since the influx of tourism in Erkan, a few have returned and has started repurposing the houses as shops, restaurants, and lodgings. An effort to revive, revitalize, and maintain the historical village.
The most famous house in Erkan is the Chen House—being faithful to its original design.
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| INSIDE ONE OF THE HOUSES AT ERKAN HISTORICAL VILLAGE |
In its bare form, the houses here somehow reminds us of those in Batanes. And it’s not that hard to understand why. Both islands are windswept and they’re both by the sea.
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| A VERY CHARMING VILLAGE INDEED |
The village is small but extremely charming—low buildings, narrow stone roads—I can imagine staying here at least for a night to see how it looks come evening. It must be quite romantic.
THE GREAT PENGHU BRIDGE
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| A VIEW OF THE OLD AND THE NEW GREAT PENGHU BRIDGE |
Just before going back to Magong Island, we stopped by the Great Penghu Bridge, which connects Xiyu Island to Baisha, which then connects to Magong City. Built in 1965, it stretches for almost two and half kilometers long.
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| YUWENGDAO STATUE AND THE GREAT PENGHU BRIDGE ENTRANCE |
A colorful statue of a huge fish and an old fisherman stands at the bridge head, the Yuwengdao statues. Being a fishing town, Penghu was once named by the Portuguese as Pescadores, which means fish, when they occupied the island in the 1600s.
SEAFOOD LUNCH
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| SEAFOOD AT FESTIVAL HOTEL IN PENGHU |
And finally back at Magong City, it was time for lunch. And, of course, it’s seafood!
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| SIZZLING SQUID |
Lunch was at the dining hall of Festival Hotel near the port. Again, we were seated on a round table fitted with a lazy susan. And one at a time, plates of boiled shrimp, clams in vegetable, steamed fish, braised pork knuckles, sizzling squid, abalones, pork cutlets, and a local Penghu squash soup were laid on our table. There was also a hotpot filled with veggies and seafood for everyone. Delicious and definitely filling.
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| A LOCAL SQUASH DISH WITH WHAT SEEMS TO BE RICE NOODLES AND SEAFOOD |
Again, if you’re touring as a couple or a small family, you can always request to be seated separately so you won’t be forced to share food with complete strangers.
~ THIS TRIP WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY RESORTS WORLD CRUISES. VIEWS & OPINIONS, ALL MINE.
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