It’s hard to travel alone in Taiwan. When I searched online for guesthouses on Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) while planning my escape from the big city, I scrolled through cute, romantic and extremely tacky entries such as a fake Santorini-style building with boat-shaped beds and pastel pink furniture and a traditional brick dwelling painted into bright rainbow colors with units named “passion” and “purple sea breeze.”
Finally, I found one that looked like a pretty typical sanheyuan (三合院), a traditional three-building courtyard, with rooms featuring standard-issue white sheets, wooden floors and white walls with what looked like amorous turtles painted on them. It was far away enough from the “downtown” area and also had a private entrance from the backyard to the sandy beach wedged between the deep blue ocean and towering coral reefs. I could live with amorous turtles.
I arrived in Donggang (東港), Pingtung County after a 1.5-hour bus ride from Kaohsiung’s High Speed Rail station. The last ferry leaves from Donggang to Siaoliouciou at 6:45pm. The fish market at the Donggang pier offers local specialties such as red cherry shrimp fried rice and fried “that fish” (那個魚), a type of lizardfish with a jelly-like texture, dissolving at first bite.
Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times
The guesthouse owner met me at the pier, covered by a structure with rainbow-colored external columns. We drove along a stone-paved street, and as the colorful guesthouses transition into typical residences, we turn down a side street and arrive.
Since I arrived on a winter weekday, tourists were nowhere to be seen. Winter here is mild with bouts of rain, and the ocean’s warm temperatures make it a great place for diving and swimming in the colder months. My host tells me that tourism here started booming only about five years ago. More than 100 guesthouses have popped up since, sticking out among the traditional two-story and sanheyuan residences.
EXPLORING ON FOOT
Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times
I ask my host if it’s possible to walk around the entire island.
“Well, nobody does that,” he says. “Most people rent a scooter.”
I study the map and decide to walk anyway, completing the trip in roughly four hours.. There’s not much in terms of scenery, but the ocean is always nearby. And my host was right — I didn’t see a single soul walking. I passed by docks, residences, woods, an Indian-themed camping ground, an Indonesian karaoke bar and a bunch of paid attractions — mostly of the geological formation type — that didn’t really seem that enticing. The romantic themes continue with a path called “lover’s lane” and “fall in love plaza.”
Most human activity is centered on two roads circling the island and one going straight down the middle. I made a foray into the hilly, unpopulated area between the roads, and found a network of muddy paths at points barely traversable due to overgrown foliage, numerous elaborate traditional graves and waste treatment facilities. Most of the island still retains a raw, rustic feel, but effects of tourism can be seen through the emerging ultramodern villas and resorts on the northwestern shores adjacent to a stretch of shore inexplicably dubbed “Venice Beach,” sans the bums and hippies.
Most dining and drinking options are located in the commercial district around the pier, almost all of them serving local seafood fare. A few exceptions include Bigtom American Ice Cream Cultural Center (美國冰淇淋文化館), where you can also scoop up some burgers and pasta, and a Thai joint.
After finishing my dried mahi mahi fried rice and seaweed salad, I ask the restaurant owner if there are any supermarkets nearby.
“There is one but it’s very far, you’ll have to ride a scooter,” she says.
I make it there in 15 minutes on foot.
AFTER DARK
On the western shore, there’s a Sunset Pavilion (日落亭), which is said to be the best place to view the sun vanish on the horizon (there’s a Sunrise Pavilion on the east for the opposite purpose).
Watching the sky assume hues of orange and purple over the ocean is spectacular enough, but what really made the view were the faint specters of fishing ships and the nearby mainland of Taiwan. The lights of the opposite harbor shone through the fog, topped by a thick layer of cloud from which the majestic Central Mountain Range emerged like a giant monument.
And the stars. I haven’t seen such a blanketed night sky since I lived in rural Wyoming.
The next night, the guesthouse owner takes me on a 2am ocean safari, where coral pools with abundant wildlife have appeared due to the low tide. He says many places only provide daytime tours, but you can’t see as much.
Our flashlights revealed a variety of sea creatures, including sea urchins, lionfish, a variety of crabs and other unfamiliar beings in fantastic shapes that locals usually name after a terrestrial counterpart: sea grapes, sea hares, sea snakes and sea male and female genitals (sea cucumbers and barnacles, respectively).
“It’s a local tradition,” the guide laughs when he mentions the last two.
Sea turtles are also often encountered either on the shores of the clear waters or by diving alongside these endangered creatures.
I spend my last morning here sitting on a coral reef and staring out into the sea. It’s Saturday, and the tourists start pouring in, so I hop on the ferry and head the opposite direction.
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