MATSU
Matsu consists of two islands, Beigan and Nangan. I came here during the summer of 2021. We were at a Covid alert level 3. That meant masks on at all times and using your LINE app to document every time you enter a store. All social gatherings were closed and forbidden; no bars, clubs, movies, gyms, etc… Restaurants were open but only to take out. The government said to stay home, but it wasn’t required. So, this hermit went to work. I knew that no one was going to travel, so Matsu was on my list, and I am so glad I went. I went with NY Chen. Going to the airport was easy and they gave us free Covid tests. I figure I'd take this as an educational experience. Lines were small and we got to Beigan in like 40 minutes. I loved it here. It was empty. While the other islands didn’t have many sandy beaches, Beigan had strips of sandy beaches ALL TO MYSELF!
NY Chen was doing online teaching while I was at the beach swimming, taking photos and relaxing. Matsu is also famous for its Blue Tears; bioluminescent sea creatures or plants that glow blue. They usually come between April and May. I searched both islands, and barely found any. Not enough to capture footage. I talked to a guy in one of the villages, and he said even during April and May it's a hit or miss. Every…single…night…we went out late at night and would literally drive around the islands looking for beaches and hoping to see them. I guess I was too late. Matsu also has the largest statue of the Sea Goddess Mazu, which is an impressive sight. Matsu actually has towns, unlike the 3 islands mentioned above the above section. They are more like villages to me. There's a lot of military here.
To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have liked Matsu as much if it wasn’t for Covid. The fact that it was empty made it a paradise. I would hate to see the high season. As much as I loved Matsu, it can get boring really quick unless you like hiking, in which case it will still get boring quickly. Matsu is like Maldives. They are both beautiful but there isn’t really much to do. In the Maldives I scuba dived every day, if I didn’t, I would have been bored. Matsu is a good place to relax with your significant other, chill at some cool villages, do some hikes, see a couple sites, and if you’re lucky see Blue Tears, then bounce. With that said, you should still go regardless. I gave a couple spots for you, but the islands are so small, you will find things to do.
馬祖包含兩個島嶼，北竿跟南竿。我是在2021年夏天去的。那時候是三級警戒。也就是說你隨時要戴口罩，去每個地方還要實名制。所有的社交群聚活動都取消或被禁止。沒有酒吧，夜店，電影或是健身房。餐廳有開但只能外帶。政府建議待在家，但不是強迫。我知道沒有人會去旅行，所以馬祖在我的清單上，我也很高興我去了。我是跟NY CHEN去的。機場人不多，它們為我們做免費的肺炎檢測。航線很短，我們到北竿大概四十分鐘。我喜歡那裏，很空。其他小島並沒有太多沙灘，但北竿有沙灘，而且都是我的。NY Chen上線上課程時我就在海灘游泳，拍照跟休息。馬祖以藍眼淚聞名。一種生物發光的現象。通常在四五月出現。兩個島嶼我都找了，但沒有發現。有一點點但不足以拍照。我問了當地人，他說是藍眼淚的出現是偶然，無法預測，每天晚上，我們都出去環島到很晚，搜尋各個海灘。 我猜是我去的時間不對，馬祖有最大的媽祖像，滿驚人的。馬祖可以真的是有城鎮的，不像上面提到的三個小島，對我來說比較像村落。這裡有很多軍事設施。老實說，如果不是新冠肺炎我可能不會那麼喜歡馬祖。島上都沒人簡直是天堂。旺季來的時候我一定會超討厭。儘管我愛馬祖，但如果你不是喜歡健行的人，很快的你會感到無聊。但其實還是會很快地覺得無聊。馬祖就像馬爾地夫，都很美，但沒有甚麼事情可以做。在馬爾地夫的時候，我就是天天潛水。如果我沒有，我會覺得超無聊。馬祖是一個可以跟你重要的另一半放鬆的好地方，在某些很酷的村落休息，去健行，看一些景點。如果你夠幸運可以看到藍眼淚，那就去吧。 但無論如何你還是應該要去。
NANGAN
NY Chen and I arrived here first. The airport was small, and we moved quickly. We got picked up and the first thing I noticed was that the landscape was so different from the other islands like Orchid and Green Island. It was also hilly, though similar to Kinmen in some ways. I liked it already. It was a new place and different. Nangan is small. I will share some locations, but like the rest of the islands, get a scooter and explore.
南竿: NY CHEN跟我一開始就到這裡。機場很小，我們可以快速移動。我們被民宿接走，我也第一次發現，景色跟蘭嶼綠島完全不一樣。起起伏伏的路，某些部份很像金門。我已經喜歡這裡了。很像一個全新的島嶼，而且很不一樣。南竿很小，我會分享一些地方，就像去其他小島一樣，租 一台機車去探險吧。
Our first stop reminded me of Italy with a Taiwanese twist. It was like those hilly, cliff coastal towns you might find in Italy. I have been to Italy, but I have never seen these towns in person, but I have seen many pictures. Either way, this place gave me that feel. NY Chen got me to eat fish noodles. They were gluten free. That's mostly what I ate in Matsu. I was fine. This cute little village had interesting architecture and a small beach. I managed to capture some beautiful sunsets and wander the village. Locals were ok. They didn’t seem to mind that I was there. I was a bit worried that locals would be mad that I’m traveling because the government said to stay home. I would totally recommend staying here. It can be a romantic getaway, solo, or just friends.
津沙:我們的第一站，讓我想起了義大利，帶有台灣味的。他就很像那些義大利的濱海小鎮，蓋在靠海的懸崖上。我去過義大利，但我沒親自看過那些小鎮，我看過很多那樣的照片。反正這個地方給我這樣的感覺。NY Chen帶我吃魚麵。是無麩質的。這也是我在馬祖大部分吃的東西。還不錯。這個可愛的小村落有著有趣的建築，跟一個小海灘。我想要拍美麗的夕陽跟逛逛村莊。本地人還可以。他們似乎不在乎我到那裏。我有點擔心當地人會很生氣，因為政府已經說待在家我還跑出來玩。我完全推薦來這裡住。可以是兩人的，一個人，或是朋友間小旅行
There are a lot of military ruins here. Back home we also have lots of unused bunkers and we use to skate on them, play tag, or explore. As a grown man, I prefer to explore them now. I find abandoned buildings interesting even if I don’t know the history and enter them any chance I get. This particular one had its gate locked but it wasn’t hard to get past it.
這裡有很多軍事廢墟。舊金山也有很多廢棄的碉堡，我們會在那裏滑滑板，玩鬼抓人或是探險。現在我長大了，所以我比較喜歡探險。我覺得廢棄建築物很有趣，即使我不知道歷史，只要有機會我都會進去看看。這個特別的據點，大門是鎖上的，但不會很難跨過。
This was another fort that was interesting to explore, it was almost like a mini-island. This location as well as the one above was walking distance from the village, at least for us.
鐵堡:這是另一個有趣的碉堡可以去探險。很像一個小島。這個地方跟上一個都是可以從村落走到的地方，至少對我們來說。
Probably the biggest attraction and I mean that literally as well, except for maybe the Blue Tears is a colossal statue of the Sea Goddess Mazu. It’s impressive, not only the statue but the whole surrounding area. You have a great 360 view of the surrounding area. There's a beach below with a temple. It’s a must see!
媽祖像: 大概是最大的景點，我是說大概除了藍眼淚之外，就是這個巨大的媽祖像了。不只是雕像本身，整個區域都很令人印象深刻。你可以有360的視野。有一個寺廟在海灘旁。這裡必看!
BEIGAN
After a few days it was time to go to Beigan. I REALLY LIKED BEIGAN...ALOT! It’s small, so it's easy to get everywhere, it was empty because of Covid, and the villages were equally awesome if not better. Beigan was more remote than Nangan.
幾天之後，就是去北竿的時間了。我真的很喜歡北竿。很小，所以很容易到達每個地方。因為新冠肺炎，所以沒有人。村落也很棒。北竿比南竿要荒涼一點。
This is where we stayed, and I was happy we did. I loved everything about this village. The guy who let us stay at his homestay was super cool. It was beautiful, on a hill overlooking the ocean, with a fairly large sandy beach. Beyond was the OTHER Turtle Island, which was actually a large rock but still legit. While NY Chen was doing her online teaching, I explored the village extensively. I was fascinated with it and spent a lot of time wandering the village taking pictures. There were small temples, and pathways leading higher up into the hills. I didn’t go all the way to the top but explored a lot of the higher reaches. This place has the COOLEST 7-11 I have ever seen. What made it cool? Well, it was built like the other buildings here with a 7-11 sign. The clerk was nice, and I made sure I was buying things from her. There was also a bomb ass pizza place. I made an exception here. My reasoning was, I wanted to try pizza in this small village on a small island that's part of a small island country called Taiwan. I was glad I did. It was good…now I might just be saying that because of its location, but I remember it being legit good. I also took pictures at the beach and swam to Turtle Island. There were some stones there with writing. I didn’t understand any of it. I walked all over the rock. Every nook and cranny.
芹壁村: 這是我們住的地方，我也很高興我們選擇了這裡。我喜歡村落裡的每樣東西。民宿主人超酷的，這裡很美，蓋在山坡上，可以俯瞰整個海，並且有一個大的沙灘。在前面是另一個龜島，其實只是一顆大石頭，但很可以。當NY Chen在做他的線上教學時，我就開始探索村莊。我深受吸引，並且花了很多時間在村莊裡閒晃，拍照。有一間小廟，然後路徑會一直往山上走，我沒有往山上走，但我看了很多位在高處的地方。這個地方有最酷的7-11招牌。店員很友善，我確定我會跟他買東西。也有一個超好吃的披薩店。我破例吃了披薩。因為我想試試看小島上的小村莊的披薩，我很慶幸我這麼做了。很好吃，也許是因為它的位置所以我才覺得好吃，但老實說他是真的不錯。我也在海灘拍了照跟游向龜島。有一些石頭上寫了字，我看不懂，我走過了每顆石頭，每個角落，每個裂縫。
This was a long sandy beach where I looked for Blue Tears to no avail.
塘後沙灘:這是一條長的沙灘，也是我找藍眼淚的地方。
It was hot, but we did it. This was a beautiful trail.
螺蚌山自然步道，很熱，我們還是走了。是一條美麗的步道。
We even went up in the cuts of this place. All up and down and around. I was in heaven taking photos.
我們甚至走到一些秘境。所有的起伏，我覺得身在天堂拍照。