A Gong Hotel Resort
Just to sit on a beach
In the morning I checked out of my hotel. It was a nice hotel, but it wasn’t near the beach that I had come all the way to Taiwan for. This was a relaxing vacation, not a sightseeing one. I wanted to just lie around on a beach and not do anything for a week.
Most buses are group tour buses
I asked the ladies at the counter for the best way to get to Baisha. They acted like this was a very near to impossible thing to do. “You have to take a bus into town, and then take another bus to Baisha. It could take a long time. Buses don’t come by very often.”
As we were talking, the owner of the hotel overheard our conversation. “I’ll take you for 300TWD.” I don’t know if this was way too much to pay or if it was a deal, but I was willing to pay it. I would rather be sitting on a beach instead of standing at a bus stop.
He took me to the Ipanema Surf House, which is run by a surfer named Max. He used to live in Brazil and is still quiet in love with everything Brazilian. It cost me 400TWD per night for a room.
my private room with TV and a/c
The rooms can be rearranged to fit many people. There were four beds in my room before I got there, but most were moved out to make it a one person room.
The amenities were: free wireless internet, free internet when Max isn’t using his computer, free usage of a huge washing machine, and I think Max gives surfing lessons, though I don’t know how much it costs.
The hotel I slept in the previous night cost 1300TWD a night. That hotel came with a pool. Most of the hotels along the Kenting road cost about 800TWD for the low-end hotels to way more money than I care to think about for the high-end ones. The closer you are to the populated beaches the more the hotels will cost.
my scooter
Scoot on Over
I was able to rent one of the two scooters that Max owned for 400TWD a day. This was great for me because I had budgeted 800TWD per night for a hotel and 500TWD per day for a scooter. The scooter cost about 80TWD to fill up with gas which I did 1.5 times while I was there and gave it back to max with roughly the same amount of gas it had when I got it.
Why don’t more people ride scooters? Funny you should ask that…
Just like Erik Estrada!
Max just handed me the keys for the scooter. He only asked if I had a driver’s license. He never asked to see it or whether or not I could drive a scooter. He gave me a 10 minute lesson only after I nearly rammed his scooter into the side of the guest house.
Baisha
All by Myself…
Baisha beach was not what I was expecting. I wanted an isolated beach and that is exactly what I got. But it was a bit too isolated. There were no nearby restaurants or convenience stores. Every time I got hungry I had to scoot into town.
At the start of my mini-vacation I wished I had gone to Paradise Beach Resort in Vietnam. There I never left the beach. It cost 20USD per night and included 3 meals a day. But I purposely chose not to go to Vietnam because I had already seen Vietnam and I had never been to Taiwan.
Doc Let beach in Paradise Resort in Vietnam
TaiwanThe Republic of China
(中華民國)
(Zhōnghuá Mínguó)
How to get there:
Taiwan is an island so you can enter this country by plane or boat.
I got my ticket paid for by S.M.O.E. Most ESL jobs will pay for your ticket home if you finish your contract. Some, like SMOE will pay for both your ticket there and your ticket back.
Phone:
- Emergency Numbers:
- Police 110
- Ambulance and Fire 119
Website:
Videos:
- China Uncensored: The one China Policy
Books:
Notes:
- It is a known fact that cheaper flights are to be found on websites that are written in the local language. You might be better off getting a Korean co-worker or friend to help than searching sites in English.
- If you ever visit Taiwan, write some address and phone number on your landing card, even if it’s for a Starbucks. Never leave the section for hotel’s address blank.
Baisha
(白沙)
(白沙)
- 21°56’02.9″N 120°43’04.4″E
You can take
- a taxi.
- a bus from Kenting to Hengchun and then a bus from Hengchun to Baisha.
- a scooter.
Driving directions:
Go north on the Kenting road. Once you pass Nanwan beach look out for a 7/11 on the corner of a big intersection. Turn left there. The road will end at a T-intersection. Turn left onto that road. Stay on that road until you see signs that say Baisha.
Cost:
Notes:
- There is more than one beach in Taiwan with the name Baisha. This is the one near Kenting.
The Ipanema Surf House
- 21°55’53.2″N 120°43’56.1″E
- Go north on the Kenting road.
- Once you pass Nanwan beach look out for a 7/11 on the corner of a big intersection. Turn left there.
- The road will end at a T-intersection. Turn left onto that road.
- Stay on that road until you see a temple. There are several little shrines, but you are looking out for a temple.
- There will be a traffic light a few meters from the temple and a road between the light and the temple. Turn left on that road. The Ipanema Surf House is at the end of that road.
Cost:
Notes:
- The name of the owner is Max.
- He used to live in Brazil.
- He loves surfing.
- This place is popular among surfers.
- Max offers surfing lessons for a fee.
- You can use the kitchen and store stuff in the fridge.
- You can do laundry here for free.
- Laundry detergent is free too.
- The rooms have air conditioning.
- The showers come with free shampoo and body wash.
- There is free wi-fi.
- There aren’t any restaurants nearby (within walking distance on a hot Taiwanese summer day).
- There is a corner shop that’s about a 10 minute walk away from the house. It’s really just an old guy sell snacks from his garage.
Map:
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