Josh Ku is a Sydney surfer more known for his barrel antics at places such as Cape Solander and various ledges on the NSW South Coast. Not one to fall into stereotype Josh recently returned from Taiwan where he found plenty of great waves and a bustling little surf scene.

Swellnet: You're known as a slab-chasing rock jockey, why go to Taiwan? Josh Ku: Ha ha, I like that name...well as much as I love getting tubed nothing's better than exploring another culture. Last year I was lucky enough to go on a surf trip to India and had an amazing time. It was honestly the most rewarding trip I've done. It ticked all the boxes and this year I kinda wanted to follow that direction and choose somewhere a little different.

It's not known as a surf destination, does it have much potential? The potential is huge over there. On the east coast there is pretty much a highway that runs from the top to the bottom and due to signs being in Chinese and very poor info of waves on the 'net not much is known about the place surfwise. However, for the adventurous this is a goldmine due to cobblestoned points, dead coral reefs and rivermouths, there is an endless amount of quality waves to be found.

What sort of waves did you find? All the waves we surfed were pretty much lefthanders - stoked as im a goofyfooter! We surfed points, beachies, rivermouths. All the waves were quite soft and playful, great for a retro board or a small stumpy board.

Taiwan can be hit by the odd typhoon, did you eye any potential big wave spots? We went in Winter which we found out is the most consistent time to get waves. We were lucky enough to have swell the whole time we were there. In Winter they cop the East to North-east swell accompanied by north winds which is fine for the lefthand points. We were told the typhoons come in the Summer, however that can be a risky time to go as sometimes they can have no waves for weeks and when a typhoon does come it can be too big and windy to surf.

There are plenty of big wave spots over there, however you'd have to wait a long time to get a swell which is accompanied by good winds. As the locals told us and a few ex-pats, you only score them if you live here.

How were you received on land? I was blown away by the welcoming we got by all the Taiwanese and ex-pats over there. I think they were just stoked to see some foreigners looking to score some waves. It was so funny too as my quiver was a mini-Simmons and a weird wakeboard-looking surfboard, it was such an icebreaker to get chatting. We made some really nice friends.

And cost of travel - cheap, expensive? It's the cheapest trip once you get over there. The most expensive thing was the hire car which was $1000 for two weeks. Split between two it really wasnt too much. Accommodation is roughly $10-$15 a night on the coast in hotels with WIFI and TV. And food is nothing - I'm talking cheaper than Bali.

Lastly, away from the topic of Taiwan, let's talk a bit about the double-ender that Nigel Annesley shaped for you. OK, well I'm calling the wakeboard-looking surfboard that was inspired by Stu Kennedy's board the Double Ender, however I think Nige is calling it the KU model or something. I told Nige from Annesley Surfboards to make me a board that is going to fly in mushy onshore conditions and punt. That's all I wanted it for - no carves, just air. But what I got was the complete opposite. The board, to my surprise, went unreal in glassy, neat conditions, I could still bury the rail, and get in the air. I actually put a front grip on the thing too, it was so much like a skateboard I loved it. So the thing went good in all conditions, however it didnt go good when I pulled into a barrel and snapped it.

You can keep track of Josh and read more about Taiwan on his blog - joshku.com