“...I COULD HAVE STAYED FOR MUCH LONGER…”
I’ve left Kinmen now but it has enchanted me during my month there. I remember hitchhiking, after being on the small island for about a week. The car that picked us up was filled with people from Tainan who were surprised that we were staying here for a month - and I recall having the impression that they thought it would be boring to spend such a long time here. In Kinmen, time passes very slowly but there is so much to do. After leaving it simultaneously feels as though I was there forever but it was all a dream. I still feel as though I could have stayed for much longer in order to do and see everything which I did not had time for.
“...THIS PLACE IS SLOW AND FULL OF POSSIBILITIES…”
It is a place with a slow rhythm of daily life while being full of possibilities. However I fear that change will come to Kinmen in the coming years. Now it is easy to find empty beaches, peaceful landscapes as well as many places for exploration but a wave of tourism is coming to roll over the little island in coming years, ruining and corrupting those qualities which make it enchanting. There is a mysterious quality of the spaces on Kinmen; they are haunted and full of history which cannot immediately be seen. Slowly, slowly the old buildings and places inhabiting the small island so far away from Taiwan will be replaced by new ones, constructed to look old. When that happens; the magic, ghosts and adventure which currently occupy Kinmen will be stripped away.
“...FIND THE HIDDEN PLACES WHERE NO TOURIST DARES TO VENTURE…”
For the time being, Kinmen still holds on to its mystery. I would advise any would-be travelers to come before it is too late and not to leave any trace that they visited the island so that the ones who follow can feel the thrill of mystery and adventure as they peer into the unknown. Travel around the island on a scooter or a bike, stop where your intuition tells you to stop, get lost, find the hidden places where no tourist dares to venture and meet some interesting people along your journey. I personally look forward to returning to Kinmen in order to complete unfinished business, seeing those things I didn’t have time for and discovering the unanticipated.
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