Best travel attractions which is called Cijin Island kaohsiung must visit

November 27, 2019April 14, 2020 / travelqueen4ever / Leave a comment

Cijin Island is a very small island in Kaohsiung Taiwan. Kaohsiung is belong to the Southern area in Taiwan. It is just 15 minutes ferry ride outside the famous Kaohsiung Harbour to the Cijin Island. Although it is a very small Island, this island has become a favorited destination for those people whoever had visiting the city. The island is famous not just only for historical and cultural sites, but also for the fresh seafood around the night market. It really is perfect for any type of travelers; no matter if you are visiting for a hiking trip, sightseeing, cycling, photography etc. Cijin Island has something special for everyone.

Cijin Island is one of those destinations that always has visitors and it is the best tourists attractions in Taiwan, it is because there is so much trip to do in the island. Those who love a good hike usually make their way to the famous Cijin Lighthouse that is located on top of the hills. The hike is not difficult and it is easy to navigate around the trails, so it is very suitable for many people. Cycling around the island is also a preferred activity in Cijin Island; some of the best places that can be explored include the Cijin Windpower Park and the Cijin Seashore Park. Exploring an island is not completely without a dip in the water, and because the water in Cijin is quite warm, many love to relax while soaking their feet or taking a swim by the beach. Lastly, it is also important to try some seafood in the port area of Cijin since it is known to be very fresh.

Which Month and what season of the year will be the best for visit

There is four seasons in Taiwan. They are Winter, Autumn, Spring and Summer. Taiwan season is totally opposite with Australia seasons. For example, When Australia is on Winter, Taiwan is on the Summer season. Many people are wondering that which season would be the best visit Cijin Island. In my personal experience, the best time to visit Cijin Island would be between September and February of the years. That would be when the summer about to end. It is because Summer is the season of raining which is not able to explore much on the island while raining so it is very best to visit between September and February which was Autumn, Winter and Spring season. I am not recommended to visit between June and August as the weather is too heat with raining. You may wondering that why Winter would be good to visit. Well, Kaohsiung won’t be freezing during the winter. It is totally different with Taipei City.

Please note that during the summer seasons, the ocean wave is pretty strong due to the weather

Introduction of the Cijin Lighthouse

According to the photo taken above, it is taken from the Lighthouse in the Cijin Island. Aside from the scenery, Cijin is also famous for its historical sites, including the Cijin Lighthouse and the Cijin Fort. In 1883, British engineers built the Cijin Lighthouse, which was used for the military during their conflicts with France. The lighthouse went through several reconstructions during the Japanese colonisation, and it is now open to the public. The Cijin Fort is also a historical site in the island that must be on the itinerary. The fort was originally built in 1720 and has witnessed quite a lot during its time. Since it was destroyed in the war, the fort was reconstructed in 1991 and is now one of the most famous attractions in Cijin Island that offers a magnificent 360 view.

The History of Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell Monument in the Cijin

Basically James Laidlaw Maxwell Senior Chinese name called 馬雅各 and he was born on 18 March 1836 in Scotland. March 1921 was the first Presbyterian Missionary to Formosa (Qing-era Taiwan). He served with the English Presbyterian Mission.

Maxwell studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and completed his degree in year 1858 with a graduation thesis of The Chemistry and Physiology of the Spleen. He worked in London at Brompton Hospital and at the Birmingham General Hospital. He was an elder in the Broad Street Presbyterian Church before being sent to Taiwan by the Presbyterian Church of England (now within the United Reformed Church) in 1864. He donated a small printing press to the church which was later used to print the Taiwan Church News.

On 16 June 1865, at the urging of missionaries H.L. Mackenzie and Carstairs Douglas, he established the first Presbyterian church in Taiwan, this date now celebrated by the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan as its anniversary. First of his mission centred in the then-capital Taiwan Fu (now Tainan city); in 1868 he moved near Cijin and now part of Kaohsiung where his work place, both medical and missionary, became more welcomed. In early 1872 he advised Canadian Presbyterian missionary pioneer George Leslie Mackay to start his work in northern Taiwan, near Tamsui.

He married with Mary Anne Goodall who died on January 1918 of Handsworth on 7 April 1868 in HongKong. They had two sons, John Preston and James Laidlaw Jnr, both of whom later also became medical missionaries. He retired in London in 1885 where he formed and became the first secretary of the Medical Missionary Association. He and his sons oversaw the construction of Sin-Lau Hospital in Tainan, the first western-style hospital in Taiwan. The younger J. L. Maxwell served in the Tainan hospital from 1900 to 1923, during Taiwan’s Japanese Era.

How to travel down to the Cijin Island

How to travel down to the Cijin Island? Well, this would be depending on where will you be coming down from. Firstly, getting to the Cijin Island from Kaohsiung City is very easy. Just take the MRT orange line and get off at Sizihwan MRT Station. From there, just head to the harbour and take Cijin Ferry; instructions from the MRT station to the harbour are available around the streets and it will take about 10 minutes to get there on foot. The cost to the Cijin Ferry is roughly NT$15 (approximately 0.50 USD) and the journey is around 15 minutes. Travelers can take a bike on the ferry so if you prefer to rent a bike in Sizihwan, so it wouldn’t be an issue.

But if you are drive, you wouldn’t need to worry about the ferry and you can explore much more surround the island by car.

For instances, when traveling to Kaohsiung, do saving a day for Cijin Island is a definitely a no-brainer. This island offers varieties of activities and sights for many types of travelers, starting from hiking, cycling, sightseeing, to eating. How can anyone say not to that? So, if you are planning to travel in Taiwan and looking for something to do in Kaohsiung, be sure to take a day trip to Cijin Island. You won’t feel regret to visit as it is worth of travelling. #vacation #dream #summer #Cijinisland

Hope you enjoy your vacation when you get there one day. Stay tuned for my next post 🙂

Top foods and beverages must give a try in Taiwan

November 25, 2019April 14, 2020 / travelqueen4ever / Leave a comment

Pearl/Boba milk tea

Bubble tea also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea or boba is a Taiwanese tea based drink invented in Tainan and Taichung in the 1980s. Recipes contain tea of some kind, flavours of milk and sugar optional. Toppings, known as “pearls”, such as chewy tapioca ball also known as pearls or boba, popping boba, fruit jelly, grass jelly, agar jelly, sago and puddings are often added. Ice-blended versions are frozen and put into a blender, resulting in a slushy consistency. There are many varieties of the drink with a wide range of flavors. The two most popular varieties are black pearl milk tea and green pearl milk tea.

Taiwan Beef noodles soup

Beef noodles is one of the best local food taste in Taiwan. You can get beef noodles everywhere in Taiwan. Taiwan is said to be the home of beef noodle soup, and you’ll find the world’s most expensive bowl here in Taipei. But visitors don’t need to spend US$300 for a bowl, as there are beef noodle shops on practically every corner, with each serving their own special recipe. If you try only one food in Taiwan, then make it beef noodle soup.

Despite my love for Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup and how simple and iconic it is, recipes always seemed incredibly complicated and intimidating to me–making the broth, figuring out the balance of infinite spices, getting that tender beef–where do you start? It was just one of those foods where, when I wanted it, I went out and paid someone else to make it, or convinced myself that I was actually craving something else.

Pineapple cakes

Pineapple cake is a sweet traditional Taiwanese pastry containing butter, flour, egg, sugar and the pineapple jam or slices. These small shortcrust pastries filled with pineapple paste are the tastiest after-dinner treats that go perfectly with a cup of tea. There are many companies that make their own versions of the snack, but the most famous is probably Sunny Hills. These make a great souvenir, as they can be brought home on the plane to give their friend for surprising them. While pineapple cakes had historically been produced as a ceremonial food, a combination of governmental promotion and globalization popularized the pineapple cake. Pineapple cakes have become one of the top-selling souvenirs in Taiwan.

Dan Bing

Dan Bing is defined as Taiwanese egg crepe and it is one of the Taiwanese daily breakfast. Dan bing is a traditional Popular Taiwanese breakfast food that is usually sold by street vendors every morning. Since everyone is in a rush to get to work (sometimes waiting with their scooters running), the vendors have to be able to make every order to go super fast, and once you get the hang of it, you can make it pretty quickly at home, too!

Basically, a dan bing is a thin crepe with an egg on top. There’s multiple variations; my favorite is just to mix a little sesame oil and a lot of chopped scallions into the egg. Feel free to try different fillings in the egg mixture (e.g. chopped ham, crumbled bacon, corn) or on top of the cooked egg before rolling it up (e.g. shredded cheese, rou song [pork floss], cilantro), but I wouldn’t put too much in because you want to make sure you can still roll it up easily. Soy paste and sweet chili sauce are the more traditional sauces, but you can also try oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, or even ketchup.

Fan Tuan

Fan Tuan means the rice rolls and it is also one of the traditional breakfast in Taiwan. White sticky rice is packed down flat on the table and layered with the standard ingredients of pickled radish and mustard greens, chunks of braised egg, a bit of pork floss, and a crisp cruller. A cruller is deep-fried dough, like an elongated donut minus the sugar. They’re often eaten by themselves with a side of soy milk. For the purposes of the fan tuan, it’s fried twice and cut into bite-size pieces. Pork floss is dried meat, mashed so finely and dehydrated so that it has a texture of cotton. Egg is braised in soy sauce, which adds salty depth, and pickled radishes and mustard greens create a dimension of tartness.

Glutinous rice is wrapped around your choice of fillings, such a fried egg, pork floss, and pickled mustard greens. The result is a dense, filling, and savory breakfast that will definitely get you through the day!

Taiwanese Snow Ice

Taiwanese Snow Ice or Xue Hua Bing (雪花冰) is flavored ice with a milk base that is shaved razor thin. The ingredients are frozen into a block and then the Snow ice Shavers shave the block into tiny strips of “snow” that melt in your mouth! Then you top it with whatever you want, fresh fruit, chocolate sauce, tapioca pearls, popping boba, grass jelly etc.

Taiwanese Snow ice is different than Snow Cones or Hawaiian Shaved Ice. A lot of these use water (ice) and fruit flavored syrups while Taiwanese Snow Ice puts uses milk and puts the flavoring right into the ice block. Taiwanese Snow Ice Shavers also uses a very sharp blade to shave the flavored ice really thin. It’s called snow ice because of it’s fluffy consistency.

Taiwanese Style Sausages

Taiwanese Style Sausages is one of the entree food in Taiwan. You can get from any night market in Taiwan as it is part of the street foodies as well. You can’t walk 10 feet at a Taipei night market without running into a sausage vendor that sometimes has five different types available. The basic Taiwanese sausage has a slightly sweet taste with a beautiful crisped skin. When you take a bite, the skin bursts filling your mouth with juice. You can find everything from the mild to the wild with flavors including pig’s blood, squid ink, and even ones made with fish and little roe stuffed beneath the skin. I’m rather partial to the plain sausage – haven’t worked up the nerve to try the fishy ones yet.

Papayas Milk

One of the popular Taiwanese drink that you’ll find street vendors selling is Papaya Milk. It is kind of like a tropical papaya Smoothie or Shake. One of my early childhood memories is of my parent took me to a street vendor (in Taiwan) and buying me for my first cup of Papaya Milk.

In Taiwan, there is two kind of papaya milk. One is a cane of papaya milk and another one is fresh papaya milk. The best options and best taste would be the fresh papaya milk.

Conclusion

For instances, if you are thinking of visit Taiwan one day, and don’t know what foodies and beverages to have a try, or you have been to Taiwan and never try of these food listed above, please do considered to have taking a try. You will never feel regret after get a taste as it is the best local foods to experience. Please don’t go to Taiwan for Western food as it is not the best way to do so as you could get Western food anywhere in your town.