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  • Hello, everybody!

  • Welcome to Travel in Taiwan!

  • Let’s go to the Matsu islands.

  • In the summer of 2012,

  • we went to the islands of Matsu

  • for a 2-day trip.

  • And it was a really great trip.

  • We had a lot of fun.

  • We started at the Taipei Railway Station

  • and took the train to Keelung.

  • And we went to the ferry terminal there.

  • There were already people waiting.

  • And soon we were on the Tai-Ma ferry.

  • Tai-Ma for Taiwan to Matsu ferry.

  • A little boat (ship).

  • And then we checked out the harbor.

  • Saw a big cruise liner there.

  • Much bigger than our ship.

  • And soon we were on the water,

  • leaving Keelung harbor.

  • You can see the full moon there.

  • It was very nice weather.

  • We checked out the harbor there.

  • Some of the harbor facilities.

  • Keelung is a very important harbor of Taiwan.

  • And it’s quite pretty at night.

  • The reflections there, and the ship was moving

  • slowly out of the harbor.

  • It was a great start to the trip.

  • We were looking forward to see Matsu

  • for the first time.

  • The weather was perfect,

  • no clouds, no waves.

  • Very smooth sailing.

  • We didn’t have to throw up overboard.

  • The trip from Keelung to Matsu

  • takes about 8 hours.

  • And after eight hours,

  • we saw the first island of Matsu,

  • and that is Dongyin.

  • A small island,

  • and the ship was stopping there

  • for a brief time

  • to allow passengers to get off board

  • and others to get on board.

  • We didn’t have enough time

  • to check out Dongyin.

  • Maybe next time.

  • It’s supposed to be a nice place.

  • A small island with some nice scenery as well.

  • And here we are approaching

  • the harbor. Early in the morning.

  • The sun was still behind the mountains.

  • There were some soldiers there waiting.

  • Some people were up already.

  • It was about six o’clock in the morning, I think.

  • That sign says: Welcome to Dongyin!

  • You see some people leaving.

  • Quite a few tourists.

  • As I said, it was in the summer.

  • So there were families with children

  • on vacation.

  • Leaving for Dongyin.

  • Some people left the boat,

  • some people came on board.

  • Headed for Nangan Island,

  • our final destination.

  • You can see the island is quite small.

  • There you can also see the sun is

  • behind the horizon.

  • And soon we were leaving Dongyin.

  • And from Dongyin to the next island, Nangan,

  • it took us two hours.

  • A nice, refreshing two hours on the ship.

  • Watching the waves and ships in the distance.

  • And then we saw the first mountains

  • of Nangan or was it Beigan?

  • I can’t remember.

  • Anyway, we soon were approaching

  • Nangan Island.

  • Everyone was looking forward to

  • getting on land and see

  • what Matsu is like.

  • So you can see, it’s quite hilly.

  • Quite a few mountains there.

  • And it’s very green, actually.

  • A lot of trees.

  • Very pleasant place.

  • Surprisingly, we were very surprised about

  • how nice Matsu is.

  • It's a recommended place to go.

  • That’s the main harbor.

  • Now the sun was up. And we left the boat.

  • There you can see Sunny and Rick.

  • We were a group of four.

  • Sunny, Rick, A-Guo, our photographer, and me.

  • And then we went on land,

  • and we met our guide,

  • a very nice lady of the

  • Matsu National Scenic Area Administration.

  • And soon later we were on a boat again.

  • This time to go on a bird-watching trip.

  • Matsu is known for water birds.

  • And they are attracted by these

  • small islands.

  • And we took a small boat north

  • to the island of Beigan.

  • There you can see some birds already.

  • We had to put on life vests,

  • and it was very hot.

  • So, if you go on this kind of trip

  • in the summer, make sure

  • that you get to the upper level

  • of the boat.

  • It’s much cooler there.

  • There’s a tip for you.

  • The boat is quite quick, and soon

  • we were at Beigan Island.

  • It’s also mountainous.

  • You can see the coastline.

  • The dot on the screen is not a bird,

  • but dirt on the lens.

  • And then we made a stop here,

  • to see Qinbi Village.

  • That’s actually the place

  • where we stayed later in the day,

  • at night.

  • There you can see a rock,

  • it’s called Turtle Island,

  • a small island in front of Qinbi Village.

  • Then we went on

  • to see some other islands.

  • There are quite a few islands actually there.

  • There are four main islands, but a lot more

  • smaller ones, uninhabited for most part.

  • Only inhabited by birds.

  • There you can see the famous, eh... not famous,

  • maybe famous for birds, a bird island.

  • And we couldn’t get any closer,

  • because it’s not allowed.

  • So, if you want to see some birds clearly,

  • you have to make sure to bring

  • binoculars or a tele lens.

  • If you look closely, you can see some birds

  • flying about. Not the dirt on the lens there.

  • Then it was back to Nangan.

  • Very quick, very nice.

  • Those boats are quite fast.

  • Like I said, the sun is very strong.

  • You have to make sure

  • that you have a good sun blocker,

  • when you go there in the summer.

  • And then we were on land,

  • and our guide took us to this village,

  • and this is called Matsu Village actually.

  • And there we had lunch

  • at a very nice restaurant,

  • serving Matsu specialties.

  • There is the owner,

  • a very nice guy, very talkative,

  • but we didn’t understand a lot

  • because he was talking

  • with a very strong Matsu

  • or southern Fujian accent.

  • There you can see other tourists,

  • and there you can see the food, mmhhh...

  • Very delicious.

  • People enjoyed their meal.

  • There you can see the Matsu hamburger.

  • That's my favorite.

  • It's filled with eggs.

  • The red rice is made with red yeast,

  • a by-product of the liquor production

  • on Matsu. There you have mussels, black ones.

  • Clams, and in front we had fish soup.

  • And then, those are fish noodles,

  • made with fish paste. A Matsu specialty.

  • There you can see the Matsu hamburger.

  • And there is fish. Matsu is an island

  • and of course, an island has

  • a lot of seafood to offer.

  • That was our meal for today.

  • And those are the fish noodles.

  • And those are made by and old lady

  • called A-Po.

  • And we visited her store later on

  • to learn about fish noodles making.

  • And then we went to this statue of Mazu,

  • the highest statue of Mazu in Taiwan.

  • And we visited this temple, the Tianhou Temple,

  • dedicated to Mazu.

  • And both sights are in Matsu Village.

  • There's also a little harbor there,

  • some navy vessels.

  • And there you can see the statue

  • on the top of the mountain.

  • That's Matsu Village.

  • And here we have

  • the Tianhou Temple. A Mazu temple.

  • Quiet a nice site.

  • Not many people there.

  • And then we went on to see this village.

  • It looks a bit Mediterranean.

  • Matsu is famous for old traditional stone houses.

  • And close to this village is the Iron Fort.

  • There are many military installations on Matsu.

  • And those are among the tourist attractions.

  • You can see here,

  • there is the entrance to a tunnel there.

  • And then we went down this path

  • to the entrance of a tunnel.

  • A military tunnel, called Beihai Tunnel

  • on Nangan Island.

  • And there is a monument there.

  • Dedicated to the soldiers

  • who built the tunnel

  • virtually by hand, with picks.

  • And then, the entrance to the tunnel

  • is behind this wall.

  • Here is the sculpture again.

  • And then we went down there.

  • It's a bit dark.

  • There is some display of soldiers

  • building the tunnel.

  • And then we went further down the tunnel.

  • There is the water.

  • And you can go on a short boat trip.

  • Or you can go kayaking.

  • There are also swan boats,

  • a bit out of place for my taste.

  • And we took the kayaks

  • and went for a little trip down there.

  • It takes about 20 minutes

  • to explore the tunnel.

  • It's very silent, calm down there.

  • There you can see the kayaks.

  • The light at the end of the tunnel is daylight,

  • an opening in the tunnel.

  • Oh, that's actually the way

  • where we came down.

  • And then we had to rush,

  • because we wanted to

  • go from Nangan to Beigan Island,

  • where we would stay for the night.

  • So we took the boat.

  • It takes about 20 or 30 minutes

  • from Nangan to Beigan.

  • It's quite quick.

  • The boats are quite quick there, the ferries.

  • And we looked at Nangan Island

  • and then Beigan Island.

  • Both are quite hilly, mountainous.

  • And then we approached the harbor of Beigan.

  • A small harbor.

  • Not much going on there.

  • All in all, Matsu is a very relaxing place.

  • There you can see some fishing boats.

  • And then we went to this place.

  • A village at the northern end of Beigan.

  • Famous for its temples.

  • There are quite a few of them,

  • in a very small village.

  • There seem to be more temples

  • then houses, actually.

  • And some of the temples have

  • dragon on their roofs.

  • And this is the village again,

  • from the distance.

  • A few temples, at least,

  • I can see three temples.

  • And then we made it to

  • Qinbi Village, also on

  • the northern side of Beigan Island,

  • in time to catch the sunset there.

  • And it was a very nice sunset.

  • The people there, enjoying the view.

  • There is a little beach down there.

  • And you can see, the sea was calm.

  • The sun was setting.

  • There you can see the Turtle Island again,

  • we saw from the boat.

  • And in the distance, that's actually

  • the mainland Chinese coast,

  • in the distance.

  • It's quite close.

  • And we made photos there.

  • Sunny, in front of the sunset.

  • Then, this is actually in the morning already.

  • I got up early and went to the beach

  • to check out the beach.

  • No one was there, it was very calm.

  • And the sun was slowly coming up

  • behind the mountains.

  • There you can see the Qinbi Village.

  • And then Sunny came to check out the beach.

  • Which is nice, nice soft sand

  • and some huge boulders.

  • We did stay in a very nice guesthouse.

  • The name of the guesthouse is Qinbe No. 25.

  • It's in an old house,

  • but has modern facilities.

  • And the interior design is quite new.

  • And then Sunny checked out the water.

  • And she did actually go for a swim there.

  • Quite refreshing in the early morning hours.

  • As I said, during the summer

  • the temperatures were very high,

  • so it was a great start to the day,

  • taking a dip in the refreshingly

  • cool water.

  • Then I went for a short hike

  • up the mountain behind the village.

  • There's a trail there.

  • And you have great views of the village.

  • And we had breakfast

  • in front of the guesthouse with nice views.

  • Here is the guestroom with a view of the sea.

  • And then we went to make some photos

  • in the village.

  • You can see the interesting wall design there.

  • So we did make pictures.

  • There you have Ah-Guo, our photographer,

  • making pictures of Sunny.

  • Sunny is pretending to read a map.

  • Here you can see some of the houses.

  • Interestingly, they have bricks on the roofs

  • as protection against the wind.

  • Very interesting architecture.

  • Later in the morning, there were

  • some tourist groups coming

  • to visit Qinbi Village.

  • And they enjoyed a coffee up there.

  • There's a coffee shop.

  • Sunny and Rick.

  • And you can sit there under a sunbrella

  • and enjoy the view.

  • There is a temple back there, a small temple.

  • Inside the temple they had some kind of ceremony.

  • I have no idea what they were doing.

  • Some kind of ceremony.

  • That's the temple from the outside.

  • It's also a Tianhou Temple,

  • dedicated to Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea.

  • There is the final view of the bay

  • where Qinbi is located.

  • You can see the Turtle Island there

  • and the old houses. A nice place.

  • Then we went to another tunnel.

  • Interestingly, this tunnel is also

  • called Beihai Tunnel, like the one

  • on Nangan.

  • We were actually looking forward to

  • going inside, because it was already

  • very hot outside.

  • Inside the tunnel, it's cool and dark

  • and refreshing.

  • There are some interesting rock formations.

  • This tunnel is smaller than the other one.

  • There are no boats or kayaks inside.

  • You walk for a few hundred meters

  • on a path through the tunnel

  • from one end to the other.

  • They have very nice light in there.

  • So the walls are looking orange.

  • You cannot see much on this image.

  • There you can see the path along the water.

  • And at the other end of the tunnel

  • the waves were crushing in.

  • You can imagine how difficult it must be

  • if you want to hide boats in this tunnel.

  • This is at the other end of the tunnel.

  • So the tunnel visits are a must-do on the islands.

  • Then we had some refreshments.

  • Those are sweet-potato dumplings

  • with ice-cream. Very tasty.

  • And then we had some Matsu pastry.

  • Also very delicious.

  • This is the Luoshan Peninsula

  • on Beigan Island.

  • There is a War and Peace Park

  • Exhibition Center near this peninsula,

  • which we did check out.

  • There is a trail on this peninsula

  • where you can go up to the very end.

  • But we didn't have time to go down there.

  • We just enjoyed the nice panoramic views

  • from up there.

  • Down there you can see the trail.

  • Was quite windy up there.

  • And there you can see a building,

  • this is actually a toilet,

  • a camouflaged toilet.

  • And further to the right there is the

  • Beigan Airport, where we would take off

  • a bit later.

  • Then, our final stop was this temple

  • in the south of Beigan and it's close

  • to the Banli Beach. A sandy beach.

  • As you can see, it's a typical temple of Matsu.

  • And we went on the beach, not the cleanest beach,

  • but not bad.

  • And that was already our final moment.

  • We had to rush to the airport to catch

  • the flight back to Taipei.

  • This is the airport.

  • This is Ah-Guo and Rick, waiting for the plane.

  • And then we were taking off already.

  • What a shame. It is so nice in Matsu.

  • We should have stayed much longer.

  • But surely we will go back in the future.

  • So, all in all this was a great trip.

  • We had a lot of fun and we enjoyed everything there

  • and hopefully you can make it there too.

  • Thank you for watching and see you again soon.

Hello, everybody!

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