those lovely blue CLEAN skies!
Did you happen to visit Penghu when they had their electric scooter rental system? It was probably ten years ago during my first trip there. All of the 7-Elevens stocked batteries, so youād just stop at one and trade batteries for free whenever you needed. I thought it was a cool scheme, but by my third visit it was already defunct.
Iām guessing GoShare will take its place? Anyway, just wondering if anyone else remembers this.
1 Like
Yes I did and I may have used it myself .
Iāve visited many of the islands recently and itās a terrible shame how the government hasnāt insisted on cleaner greener vehicles , control the numbers and also provide better bus options. It really is still a mess. Very disappointing.
1 Like
Isnāt this the case with almost all of Taiwanāand especially outlying islands?
I challenge anyone to find a bigger mess than Green Island, with its endless number of gas burning scooters zooming around, with no apparently regulation whatsoever.
Guy
1 Like
Ironic that Green Island is NOT āgreenā
1 Like
I have never heard of Green Island btwā¦ is it good for permanent residence?
no
2 Likes
No it is not.
Guy
1 Like
Terrible idea.
Why donāt you just move to Taitung?
2 Likes
@NYU, if youāre thinking of islands, you may as well consider Kinmen, which has a university.
You can practically swim to China.
3 Likes
I will consider that option, thank you!
Interesting, thank you! Never heard of that place. Do you like Kinmen more than Penghu?
Which reminds meā¦ When 7-11 started the ādraft beer in storeā Thingy I was surprised that even on Penghu 7-11 was offering draft. Great!
About Kinmen (and maybe Matsu?): Even smaller islands. Full of historyā¦ And landmines? Well, the latter have been removed mostly I think. But I think Matsu has no university.
1 Like
Iāve been to Green Island, Turtle Island, Penghu (main island), and Liuqui Island (Liuqiu Island - Wikipedia), but never been to Kinmen nor Matsu, but I really want to go to one or both.
I loved Penghu when I went there with girlfriend (now-wife) around 2001 or 2002.
Matsu is also right off the coast of China and has a satellite campus (opened July 2019) of National Taiwan Ocean University in Beigan Township (Beigan, Lienchiang - Wikipedia).
So, now you have 2 universities within swimming distance of China to find a program that will accept foreigners.
2 Likes
Iāve had this goal to visit every one of Taiwanās offshore islands that are possible to visit. This weekend I just went to å¤åé ę“², or I guess Umbrella Sandbar in English. Itās a 40-minute boat ride from Chiayiās Dongshi Harbor. Thereās absolutely nothing there, but itās an interesting 45 minutes on the sandbar which has been moving southward over time. The real fun is the boat ride, which includes ktv (great if you can sing Taiwanese songs, which I canāt) and a full lunch.
I still need to go to Keelung Islet and a few of the tiny islands in the Matsu and Penghu chains. Iām determined to reach my goal 
EDIT: Some photos to entice you 
Our party boat
Party animal
Thatās all there is to Umbrella Sandbar
Lunch is included
5 Likes
I am going to matsu next week I shall make a report for you. First time there. 
3 Likes
You have helped a lot, thanks!
1 Like
I am looking it up at the moment. Seems like not a bad place at all!
Hey there!
I actually lived in Penghu for three months, from April of this year to June.
I was studying Chinese at a small language school called A-kan language center, in the center of Magong, which provided me with a room as well.
While I loved living there, the first month was definitely harder because I had only basic Chinese skills and there were little to no foreigners. However, I did end up finding some cool people who also lived there, one foreigner even ran a bar called the Beach Break near å±±ę°“ beach. (the snorkeling there is amazing)
Speaking of the beaches, I still think Penghu has some of the cleanest and most beautiful beaches in the world. The ocean is always near, which is also great.
It is very modern, the roads are very nice, at least in the middle of Magong. I pretty much longboarded everywhere and never had any issues. Thereās a main touristy street by the harbor which has some excellent food, almost as good as I have in Taipei now. Thereās even a shop that serves the best cut beef noodles that Iāve ever tasted. Iād go back there just to have the noodles again!
Iāve also visited the campus of that Uni and I can say it looks pretty decent. It was clean, the students looked happy and they all made the usual fuss when they saw a foreigner on their campus!
If you have any questions about Penghu just let me know, Iād be happy to answer them!
12 Likes
Which beef noodle shop?