I am finally planning a trip to Lanyu a.k.a. Pongso no Tao.
I’m trying to figure out where to stay. I had a place in mind, but after looking it up on google, its owners and the B&B popped up on Apple Daily in a negative light. Let’s just say the married owner slept with one of his guests which she claims to not given consent. It’s too bad because I liked how the place looks, and like the fact that it’s sheltering stay cats.
Can you guys give me any recommendations about finding a nice place to stay in Lanyu? I couldn’t find related info in previous threads.
I can recommend this place. The owner is a friend of my wife’s family. He’s an aboriginal elder and has a boat (the traditional kind and a modern one). He took me and an uncle out to ‘little Lanyu’ for some reef fishing.
The place is clean and spacious. Great food and centrally located in the main village close to the port etc.
It’s on the southwest side of the island. The rooms are ordinary, nothing special. The owner (a fisherman, like most people on the island) picked us up from the harbor and organized a snorkeling outing (right by the airport; sounds bad but the underwater corals were great; and better than snorkeling near the nuke waste plant; we actually saw a group going there to snorkel) and a night flying fish catching boat trip (didn’t take part in that, cause felt miserable after throwing up my greasy fried rice with beef lunch; if you have a weak stomach, be prepared…). The place is also close to the airport and they rent out scooters. I kind of regretted not having stayed on the east coast for the sunrise. Had to get up before dawn and ride there, which is not too far (either cross the mountain or round the northern or southern tip; takes like an hour to ride around the whole island if I remember correctly; also remember, there is only one gas station, near the harbor, and the scooters strangely were low on fuel in no time. Ended up watching the sunrise from the weather station half way across the mountain (was spectacular). If you like flying fish for breakfast, they had a whole table full of it one morning.
Good tips. from what I can gather, it’s more about what kind of activities the B&B owners can plan for you. A lot of times even taking pictures of the exterior of traditional houses and traditional boats would require a local by your side, otherwise it would be considered intrusive.
You won’t have problems with the boats. You’ll find them hauled up on the beach or in boathouses on the shore in the more traditional villages away from the port and airport.
You won’t have problems with the boats. You’ll find them hauled up on the beach or in boathouses on the shore in the more traditional villages away from the port and airport.[/quote]
But don’t touch them boats, the locals don’t like it.
Are there building restrictions on the island? The places i have seen, and stayed, are like cheap love hotels. I’m surprised an operator has not put something a little more upmarket on the island
Not sure, but my guess is that mainland (Taiwan) developers are not allowed to go in there and develop the island to their liking. The locals who are running guesthouses are probably not rich enough to build anything big and modern. Might change in the future. I think the number of tourists wishing to go to Lanyu is steadily rising, which brings the usual opportunities and negatives of tourism development. I am glad we went there a couple of years ago, when it still felt un-spoiled.
