Penghu: The Hawaii of Taiwan?

Lonely Planet Taiwan calls the Penghu Islands the “Hawaii of Taiwan.” Might Penghu be like an old-time Hawaii? And as a place known for its fishing industry, Penghu seems like a destination far from the tourist trail, a place with a major Matsu festival and therefore a tantalizing prospect for exploration.

In search of the festival and the Matsu temples, we set off to a temple and to the Fenggui Blowholes by bus. Several soldiers from Taipei and other cities are onboard but looking for “hot girls in bikinis” at the Shanshui beach. After saying dooh shiah or thank you, and Wan ahhn or good evening, we have to rely on their English; our few measly words in Taiwanese hardly suffice for a conversation.

We plan to get dropped off on Shuli Beach and walk to the next patch of sand at Shanshui, but greatly underestimate the gigantic size of the island. Thank goodness we are traveling by bus and not bicycle! Further adjusting our itinerary, we decide to walk around the grand Matsu temple. The soldiers are no longer nearby but I know they will find us on Facebook.

In the old town, we wander cobblestone streets and find the “first-class historic site” of the Empress of Heaven Temple, the oldest Matsu Temple in all of Taiwan. At this site many people are burning paper money for luck. Searching for the formal pilgrimage, we explore Aimen and Lintong Beaches, both of which are lovely and clean. Everywhere in Taiwan, the locations are spotless and the people friendly and quick to offer assistance if we seem lost; one man even turns his motorbike around in traffic to stop and chat and help us find our way, clearly inconveniencing himself to make sure we are assisted. The people are interested in us as tourists and as English-speaking Americans. They are just plain friendly; this place almost rivals the Bulas of Fijians!

Video: Exploring Penghu Islands in Taiwan

Article first published as Penghu: The Hawaii of Taiwan? on Technorati.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: We are ready for a BIG CHANGE!!  We are leaving Blogger and Weebly for the vast ocean of WORDPRESS!! Our site will be evolving and we can't wait to share it with you! Please be patient with us and check back for the upgrades. We chose to publish TODAY since we aren't sure we will be live on SUNDAY when we normally post a new article for you.

Coming soon: more videos from Samoa, Tonga, Memphis and an article about Lisa's recent trip to NEW YORK CITY!!

Lisa's article on Magicopolis posted to LACOT today--It's enchanting!
and there is always more at www.wesaidgotravel.com

Luxury Spiritual Quest to Bali, Special Savings!

Special Travel offer for friends of We Said Go Travel

Visit BALI in APRIL or SEPTEMBER 2012 for a luxury spiritual tour to Indonesia. See the sites where Elizabeth Gilbert found love and adventure!

Book by March 17th and mention We Said Go Travel for this incredible discount:

The Eat Pray Love Bali:

Dates: April 17-23, 2012 
           Sep 25-Oct 1, 2012 
sign up by Saturday March 17, and take advantage of these unbeatable prices -

Deluxe room normally $2,995, double occupancy, at $1,997

Pool Villa normally $3,995, double occupancy, at $2,597  
(Add $995 if you want single occupancy on either offer)

Here's what people have been saying about the last trip:

"Thank you.  You saved my life!"

"I had the most powerful experience in Bali - it rocked my world."

"Spirit Quest Tours is da bomb!"

Ready to book:
Call toll-free (877) 406-5206 from anywhere in the world, to sign up!  All payments are due in full on March 17 when the trip closes!

This could be you!

Questions:

Spirit Quest Tours

(877) 406-5206

Check out the video on YouTube!

Lisa is a L.E.A.N Traveler!

Staying Fit and Lean

Recently I was interviewed for L.E.A.N. Traveler about staying fit while traveling. I lost sixty pounds from when I first met George to when we got married!

Here is part of the L.E.A.N. Traveler interview:

What are your top three tips for staying lean while traveling? My top three tips for staying lean while traveling are:

1.  Don’t let yourself get too hungry. Take a snack or have a piece of fruit in the afternoon so you can say “NO!” to the breadbasket.
2. Walk everywhere you can. I personally lost weight while traveling in Asia for a year because we walked all the time.
3.  Portion control: if you are traveling with someone, share a entrée since portion size in the USA has gone haywire and restaurants serve enormous quantities of food.

Read the entire interview

Look for photos to come in the March 26 glossy magazine: First for Women!

Our YouTube channel went over 10,000 views! Which of our 35 videos is your favorite?
The most recent one Exploring Penghu Islands in Taiwan or Taipei with over 3300 views?

There is always more on our website: www.wesaidgotravel.com

International Educator: Lisa Niver Rajna

Dr. Jessie Voights interviewed me for the Profiles in International Education Section on her site Wandering Educators. Read about me on Wandering Educators!


Here is the beginning of the Interview:


Lisa Niver Rajna is our Geography Awareness Editor, a world traveler, and a science teacher in Los Angeles, California. Think that science isn't international? Think again! I'm impressed with the work that Lisa does with her students - exploring the world, and the people in it. She's the publisher of two websites that combine her love of travel and teaching science - We Said Go Travel, and Science Isn't Scary. She embodies the true meaning of international education - and practices it every day. 

Want to read the full interview and see the photos? Click here! 

Drama: My Personal Samoa Survivor (Video)

Enjoy this article and video about Samoa and my personal Drama at Virgin Cove--right where they filmed SURVIVOR SAMOA!

Drama at Virgin Cove:
Face-Planted on the Ground
At 1:30am as I lay on the cement step outside the bathroom. I thought, “Hmm, why am I on the ground? How did this happen?” Leaving Los Angeles for a summer of sun in Samoa and the South Pacific, I had no idea about the Survivor Stories that would unfold so quickly. 

I had eaten the chicken at dinner, apparently a mistake that night.

During the dark hours before dawn I fainted at the edge of the bathroom steps and there I regained consciousness, scraped and bruised on both arms and chin. I guess when I needed to run to the bathroom again and again I should have woken George, especially after falling, but I was so stunned that I ended up face-planted on the ground.  Once back in our room I lay on the mat, moaning. George woke up and asked what was wrong. After hearing my tale of woe he offered to help. Because of his concern, and despite the many eariler explosions, I was finally able to rest.

This video shows some of the gorgeous beauty of Virgin Cove, our nighttime arrival and the many steps to the bathroom. All aspects of travel are not beautiful but some of them do make us appreciate better the postcard days!

Video: Drama at Virgin Cove  

Article first published as Drama at Virgin Cove on Technorati.

In Los Angeles? Join us TODAY at JetSet Extra Social!
Not in Los Angeles, Join us online with JetSet Extra Social at  http://jetsetextra.com/
More info on our website: http://www.wesaidgotravel.com/los-angeles.html

Travel Events in Los Angeles

Oh… What a night!
I joined a gathering of travelers at Luxe Hotel on Sunset. Chef Olivier from France treated us to delicious delicacies and the bar team shared their incredible cocktail creations all in the relaxing and beautiful outdoor garden lit up with twinkle lights in all the trees. The audience included people from LACOT, and We Said Go Travel as well as PR mavens, travel bloggers, foodies, newbie travelers and travel junkies were inspired by Johnny Jet from the Travel channel sharing his personal journeys.

Anyone who has wondered, “Can I do it?” will relate to his stories of overcoming obstacles and now wandering to twenty or more countries a year. I particularly liked it his comments; “the world would be a better place if everyone would see it.”

He had fears about travel but he faced them and now leads viewers around the world with his new travel show, Hot Spots 2012.

His program features eight destinations including: New Zealand, Richard Branson’s Necker Island and Space port in New Mexico, Belize, England, Toronto and Lower Manhattan. Johnny also spoke about how the news media make far-off places sound as if they will be full of danger, but often he arrives and realizes how similar are the world's diverse cultures and how safe vastly different countries can be.

I hope that you can travel even a fraction of his 150,00 miles a year and create your own journeys to share! Don’t worry if you missed him last night---he will be speaking on February 26, 2012 as part of JetSet Extra’s amazing event at Union Station.

Meanwhile, If you are looking for 360 degrees of serenity, look no further than the Luxe Hotels! They have incredible packages with breakfast, an ipad for use while in the hotel, Shiraz wine and their incredible food, service and locations! We heard incredible live jazz in the lounge and were delighted to find out that the group is there every Tuesday and Thursday night. We will return soon for more of the great treats, drinks, music and experience!

Look for all four Luxe hotels: Luxe Rodeo Drive, the only hotel on Rodeo Drive, Luxe City Center, near Staples Center, in Dallas the historic Stoneleigh Luxe or where we were last night with seven acres and a pool right on Sunset Boulevard! As they say, “All that you want. More than you expect!”

Article first published as LACOT in Conversation with Johnny Jet on Technorati.

TWO TRAVEL EVENTS THIS WEEK:

February 26, 2012 JETSET EXTRA SOCIAL at Union Station

The globetrotting panel includes travel expert Johnny Jet of JohnnyJet.com, Jeff Greif owner of TravelSquire.com, Stacy Dreyfus Founder of Orchid Worldwide Resorts and Escapes, go to travel guy of CTS Travel, James Densmore, Global adventurer Lee Abbamonte, and Ashley Colburn of Take Off with Ashley Colburn; Amy Swift Founder of SMARTY will moderate.

“It was really important to me that the panel speakers be in the travel trenches today,” says Mary Anne Been of Jetset Extra. “With communication and content moving so fast, our audience needs to hear directly from the people who are forging these new paths between the old and new media."

Register Now!  This event is from 4-8pm at the Fred Harvey Room at Union Station

---

---

February 22, 2012 roadmonkey: Adventure Philanthropy

Roadmonkey…Pronounced “rohd-muhnkee,” is a curious individual who finds joy in exploring the unknown, breaking a few rules & working hard to create positive change for people in need.

On Wednesday, February 22nd, join Roadmonkey, Hostelling International and We Said Go Travel to learn more about adventure philanthropy and traveling with a purpose. Hear Paul von Zielbauer share the stories of expeditions that combine physically challenging adventures with sustainable volunteer projects. The event will take place at HI-Santa Monica, 1436 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401.
Join us at 7:30 pm, Refreshments and wine will be provided.
Limited space is available. Please RSVP to shanec@lahostels.org

OPTIONAL: the evening continues with a Pub Crawl for Charity at 9:00 pm.  

Aitutaki--a jewel in the South Pacific

My first trip to Aitutaki was for our honeymoon two years ago. George and I had wanted to visit there before but it was the first time the dice of price allowed it to happen! Our two weeks in the Cook Islands included kayaking, hammock swinging and two trips to the incredible jewel- toned Aitutaki Lagoon with Teking Tours.

Kit Herring of the Backpacker's Handbook was recently there for a glorious third time and offered to share his historical knowledge of this spectacular location. Enjoy!

A Concise History of First Contact in Aitutaki and the South Pacific

The area near Arutanga today

When Captain William Bligh let go the anchor of the Bounty off the west coast of Aitutaki a few days before the famous mutiny, he beheld an island and a culture far different than we can possibly understand today.  He did not visit the whole island, but rather only the area loosely termed Arutanga.  Always a meticulous diarist, he recorded some interesting facts.  Of the natives in Tahiti he had written, "Inclination seems to be the only binding law, marriage in this country for a woman will get her a husband if she pledges..."


He continues about the inhabitants of Aitutaki, "The people are just the same as those of the...Isles...  but are more docile and inoffensive."
The account from his logbook of the discovery reads as follows:
"At daylight however we discovered an island of a moderate height with a round conical hill...A number of small Keys were seen from the mast."

Maungapu, the tallest hill on the island

"They were all around with trees and the large island had a most fruitful appearance.  The shore was bordered with flat land, with innumerable Cocoa Nut and other trees.  I saw no smoke or any sign of inhabitants."


He writes that, "(T)hey called this island Whytootackee, " and that upon his first meeting with the natives, "I was however agreeably surprised by a visit from four men in a single canoe... Two of the men had each a large Mother of Pearl shell hung on their breasts... On being told I was the Erree (chief), the principal person immediately came and joined noses with me and presented me his shell and tyed it around my neck... Notwithstanding they said there were no Hogs, Yarros, of tarrow... they called them by name, and I rather inclined to believe they were imposing upon me... The Chief of the canoe took possession of everything I had given... a knife, some nails, Beads and a looking glass."


He goes on to say that two locals wished to overnight on his ship.  Apparently some of his crew took the idea of immediate friendship in a rather liberal sense.  "After the natives were gone I heard that some of my johns had engaged to bring women off in the morning, and it was therefore the reason perhaps that two of them designed to sleep on board."

Modern cultivation of yarrow (manioc)

We have no reason to disbelieve his observations.  Any navigator who sailed in an open boat, as Bligh did after the mutiny, over several thousands of miles of the unexplored open Pacific to safety at the nearest European settlement, Batavia, now the capital city of Jakarta in Indonesia, deserves respect and validation. Regardless of the circumstances that resulted in his being tossed from the Bounty with scant provisions by a crew that had become enchanted with the terrible beauty of Polynesia, he was a man who set forth to record all he saw.

But life on this tranquil outpost of Oceanic civilization received the first of its death blows at his hands, although Bligh could not have understood the tragedy about to unfold when he touched shore. The story of the coming of the missionaries in 1821 is well known and does not need to be repeated here.  The tales of forced conversion, the bringing of diseases and epidemics that the "Christians" blamed on the Polynesian gods, the later blackbirding of the population and the relentless efforts of the Europeans to stamp out the old ways -- these stories are horrific and yet accepted today as a matter of course.

With their bodies' physical beauty covered by the whites in heavy nineteenth-century civilized clothing, the essence of the pre-contact natives was smothered irrevocably.  Today no oral traditions remain of that first contact, and the missionaries did nearly a complete job of eliminating the old spirituality and the old ways.

Sydney Harbour from Montagu Roadstead;
Cook missed it but found Brush Island and Botany Bay

Photo by: John Porter

The author Jared Diamond has noted that perhaps the biggest mistake humankind ever made was to quit the hunter/gatherer way of life and settle into towns and cities, where manipulative leaders were then able to force stifling societal rules and repression on hapless clans of formerly free people.

Whether or not this generalization holds much truth is still a matter of debate, but in Aitutaki the answer is painfully obvious.

Perhaps the wisest response we have to First Contact comes from the log of James Cook. Upon encountering the indigenous inhabitants of Australia for the first time, he recounted that they shouted at the English sailors an incomprehensible phrase. At the time no one in the explorers’ party understood the meaning of the words.  Later they were found to impart a simple message: “Go away!”


Thanks for reading and for all your comments on our blog! 
Tell us: Where do you want to go next?


More from Lisa and George Rajna at: http://www.wesaidgotravel.com/