Saturday, September 26, 2015

First-timer’s guide to surfing in Taiwan





Taiwan surf guide 101
Typhoon surf. Photo 邱獻欽
In the shadow of Indo and Australia, Taiwan’s surf is still lesser known to the western surfers. Surf adventurers can still find plenty of secret spots.


General conditions

Surf Consistency

During the typhoon season in the summer, Taiwan sees 15-20 feet waves from time to time. But the swell window is not too easy to predict weeks in advance as typhoon often changes its direction. Outside of the typhoon window, it’s pretty flat in the summer. Summer is good for surfers that can book the ticket a week in advance or your layover to Bali. See our adventure's guide to Taiwan in the summer. 


Fall is the most consistent season in Taiwan. You can probably expect 4-6 feet on an average day with a fair to good condition. If you live far away and need to plan your trip ahead of time, book it during the fall.


Crowd

One of the best advantages about Taiwan is a relatively low crowd compared to Indo and Australia, especially in advanced spots with hollow, barreling waves. As long as it’s under the radar, a “satisfying” “average wave per surfer” can be guaranteed.

However no secrets can be kept forever. Surfing has become more and more popular in the past decade. It will be interesting to see the change in the future.

Surf Quality

 There are many.. many… many… point breaks with reef or rock bottoms in the east coast of Taiwan.

Taiwan travel information surf trip east coast kenting
Typhoon surf in the fall. Photo 邱獻欽


How to plan your first surf trip in Taiwan

A minimum of 5 days is a must if you are planning to surf or just visit places outside of the capital city, Taipei.

Advanced surfers

You are probably looking for consistent over head or DOH double overhead+ swells on a surf trip. It’s probably best to make Taiwan your layover stop to Indo or Australia. United States surfers often need to find a layover to Indo. 

You can opt in a 5 day layover in Taiwan before or after your Indo trip… Stopping by before your “main” surf trip can warm you up and help you adjust the jet lag.  Stopping by after your “main” surf trip allows a total relaxation, fun dessert surf trip in Taiwan. Either way is good.


Intermediate surfers

If you are most comfortable in a 4-6 ft condition, not so sure about DOH or 2-foot waves, you will have a lot of fun surfing in Taiwan. The light crowds and perfect waves will also help you step up your game. It’s an excellent place for a surfing boot camp.

Beginners

Thanks to the recent trend, there are more and more surfing schools in Taiwan. Any summer day without a typhoon is good for beginners. You can find surfing schools throughout the island. Pick a location first according to your itinerary. Then pick a local surf shop.


Taiwan surf guide 101
Surf's WAY up. Photo: Yu A Fu


Guide or no guide

Booking a surf / adventure tour is highly recommended, especially if you are visiting Taiwan for less than 10 days and you want to do as much as you can. Reasons being

     A. You need a car
Forget about the public transportations. You need a car or scooters to go to surf spots. Michael Massa of the Inertia agrees too.
A tip from Michael Massa in an article on The Inertia : Finding Friends (and Waves) on a Solo Surf Trip to Taiwan


      B. There is so much to do
Exploring process is fun but it takes time. It’s basically a time and money trade off decision. With a tour, you will be able to focus on fun things and not to worry about logistics. You can surf and explore until you are exhausted and sleep in the car on the way back. Airport to east coast takes about 6-7 hours on the road. You rather sleep or drive?!

      C.  It’s affordable
Taiwan is still under the tourism radar. The tourist price is still close to the Taiwan living standard. A lot of customized tours offer transportation/driver, accommodation, SURF PHOTOGRAPHY and in-between surf tours with a bargain price at about $160 - $200 per person per night. If you compare it with the rental car and gas price, these tours actually offer a great value of convenience.  It’s worth considering. 


Beginners, you probably don’t need a surf guide if you are not planning on a surf boot camp trip. However, if you are planning on some outdoor activities, booking an adventure tour will save you a lot of time, efforts and money.


Board rental

It is easy and inexpensive to rent a board. But if you are picky, you don’t have too many options.


Taiwan surf guide 101
Taiwan surf spots. MSW
Spots

Here is the point… surf spots! Taiwan is still under radar for most of the surfers outside of Asia. There are still many secret spots along the coast, providing anything from hollow fast barrels to trestles-like peelers. 


Magic Seaweed and Surfline have information about well surfed, classic spots. It is still worth surfing them because the crowds are probably still lighter than a lot of your home spots. For instance, SoCal.


These are good spots to test water too. If you are backpacking with limited time, it’s not a bad idea to pick one of these spots and stick around. If you have time to explore or if you travel with tour, you will likely find out many secret spots with no one around.


Most of classic point breaks are in the east coast of Taiwan. Try your luck there.


Besides surfing

There are lots of fun things to do around those good surf spots in the east coast. Nature hot spring exploring, visiting indigenous tribes, tea tasting, canyoning, rafting, fishing, camping, biking, scuba diving … and of course, trying out local food. You could do a typical surf, eat, and sleep trip. But you will be missing out. You should try them all if you have time. And again, booking a tour would really help pack all these activities in your short stay. But you will have fun either way.


As under the radar as it is, Taiwan surf trip is fun and full of surprise. If you are explorer type of surfer, you should check it out sooner than later. Drop us a line if you need more information.


Posted by at 3 comments:
Labels: ,

Sunday, September 13, 2015

The Dirtiest Contest in Taiwan



Taiwan travel information: Taiwan culture: ghost festival
The greasy pole. Photo: 彭智聲
Grappling with the ghosts


The 7th lunar month is the “ghost month” in Taiwan. The concept is similar to the Halloween without parties and slutty customs. And it lasts for an entire month versus the one-day Halloween, although some people extend the Halloween to a month long celebration.


Taiwanese people believe that the dead become ghosts roaming between Heaven and earth. 


Spirits without descendants to care for them are prayed to during Ghost Festival so that they may also enjoy the warmth of life among the living.


During the ghost month, people prepare offerings for the ghosts. Temples throughout Taiwan host various activities and ceremonies to pray for these orphan ghosts. 


There are also taboos in this month, such as avoiding dangerous activities because ghosts are now out and about to look for their replacement.


Among all, the Grappling with the Ghosts contest can be considered the most dangerous (totally taboo-averse) and exciting celebration. It is held on the last day of the ghost month in Taiwan. 


Contestants are formed in teams. The task is simple: contestants climbing on the 14-meter (46-ft) poles full of the black grease to the top plate form, and then climbing 30-meter (98-ft) bamboos to cut the flag off. 


Taiwan travel information: Taiwan culture: ghost festival
2015 Champion team forward, Photo: FTVNews
Hence it is also arguably the dirtiest contest in Taiwan. Champions are blessed to have the best luck in the next year.


This year the champion team broke the record, finishing up the greasy pole in 8 minutes and 9 seconds. 


The forward shared his secrets in the post-contest interview: his muscles. Haha. 


Do you think you can climb? The Grappling with the Ghosts contest is open to international teams!!  : )

Watch how it is done. 


Grappling with the Ghosts 2015 news in Mandarin, starting at 0:30





A well done 9-minute documentary in English about the ghost month and grappling with the ghosts contest.





Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Taiwan’s Thanksgiving: Mid-Autumn Moon Festival




Taiwan travel information: culture mid-autumn moon festival in Taiwan
Blood moon. Picture: Metro
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is one of the three main holidays in Taiwan, besides Chinese New Year and Dragon Boat Festival. 


It is a holiday to celebrate the harvest, worship the moon and get together with families. It is sorta like the idea of Thanksgiving without a turkey fest and black Friday.


It falls on the 15th of the 8th lunar month when the full moon is typically the largest of the year.  This year it is on the September 27th. 


Taiwanese people like to celebrate the holiday barbequing with friends and families. Restaurants, parks and roof tops of apartments may be a bit more crowded than usual at this time. We highly recommend you NOT to plan any romantic outings in any parks or roof tops that weekend.


Taiwan travel information: culture mid-autumn moon festival in Taiwan
Mooncakes by Howard Plaza Hotel.
Mooncake is the tradition delicacy, the sweet pastry for the holiday. It is offered among friends and families. It is usually in a round shape, representing the moon and the reunion. 


If you happen to travel to Taiwan for business or visiting a friend, it is very likely that you will receive a box of moon cakes as a gift. 


Like all the other food business in Taiwan, moon cake industry is competitive too. Bakers create new flavors every year. 


You can pretty much get whatever flavor you can imagine. For example, Moon cake ice cream can be a great choice in a hot day.


Unlike Chinese New Year or Dragon Boat Festival, there are not too many public events going on for tourists in Taiwan. If you are invited to a BBQ, we recommend you to join your local friends in Taiwan to observe the holiday. 


If not, you can still enjoy it with the moon cakes and moon worship. In 2015, the forecast is predicting a super supermoon (blood moon). Don’t miss out if you are travelling to Taiwan in September! 


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Saturday, September 5, 2015

A beginner’s guide to eating hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan




Taiwan travel information: foodie hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan
Certified Taiwan hairy crabs. Photo: Miaoli Crabs
Autumn is a season of crabs, especially hairy crabs. From September to November, crabs can be found everywhere from the seafood market to restaurants in Taiwan. 

If you like crabs, you won’t want to miss it. If you haven’t tried one, it is definitely worth trying.



How to pick a crab

Wild is better than farmed. Local is better than imported.

Hairy crab is originated from China. Like all the seafood, we are facing a shortage of wild crabs. Hairy crabs’ origin, Yong Sheng Lake near Shanghai, only produces 13,000 crabs per year. But Hongkongers consumed 13,000,000 crabs last year. It is not easy to get a real wild crab from Yong Sheng Lake. That said most of crabs on the market are farmed.


Taiwan travel information: foodie hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan
Certified Taiwan hairy crabs. Photo: Muniuhu Crabs
When selecting the farmed crabs, it is the best to select from the local farms in Taiwan. 

A. It is the freshest to eat locally grown food. 
Crabs from Taiwan are delivered live overnight. Crabs imported from China are delivered within 7-9 days. In order to keep the crabs live during the shipment, mainland Chinese farms often inject antibiotics in crabs before they are shipped.


B. Taiwan has more strict food laws to protect consumers. 

According to the Next Magazine HK, mainland Chinese crab farms use two types of feeds: 
  “vegetarian” feeds that contain of estrogen and antibiotics or “meaty” feeds consisting of dead animals, such as dead dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, rats, or shrimps. And these dead animals are likely killed by poisons such as Potassium cyanide. Due to loose to none restrictions in China, these crabs are sold everywhere in China. They may be exported to other countries if the custom inspections fail to catch these crabs.

If you are eating crabs in Taiwan, it is safer to choose locally grown crabs in Taiwan. It is slightly more expensive. But it is worthy for your health.


How to eat hairy crabs

You basically go through the same process as you would back home. But there are some customs eating hairy crabs in Taiwan.

Taiwan travel information: foodie hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan
4 parts of crabs to avoid. Photo: coolsforza at youtube
Tips 1: Crab parts that you should avoid

Crabs may not be born the same. 

When consuming hairy crabs, we recommend you to avoid the heart, stomach, lung, and intestines. They are believed to be too “cold” for your body in the Chinese medicine’s perspective.


Tips 2: Starting with legs

Crabs legs are quicker to turn cold then the body. Starting with legs can ensure you to consume all parts of the crab in the right temperature.


Taiwan travel information: foodie hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan
Crab butter. Photo: Miaoli Crabs
Tips 3: Tasting the crab butter

It is THE point of eating hairy crabs! 

It may look disgusting… but it tastes really good. If you haven’t tried it, close your eyes and try a bite. Let us know what you think.


Tips 4: Drinking ginger tea or rice wine after crab eating


Crabs are considered “cold” food in the Chinese medicine’s perspective. Most of the restaurants serve hot ginger tea after the crab meal to balance your system. 

You can also “warm up” your body with rice wine or any types of hard liquor.  If you are taking a cab home, try Taiwan’s special liquors such as Kinmen Kaoliang sorghum wine or Matsu Shaohsing rice wine.


Eating crabs in Taiwan is a fun experience. Schedule some crab time when you travel in Taiwan in the fall! Happy crabbing !



Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)