Episode thirty takes us along Taiwan's wild east coast highway to Chenggong and Changbin — one of the most dramatic stretches of coastline in Asia, where the mountains drop straight into the Pacific and the road clings to the cliff face. We stop at Sanxiantai, where a curved arch bridge crosses to a small coral island, and drive through fishing villages where the boats come in at dawn. We eat daylily stir-fry and sit watching the waves crash on volcanic rock while we hear about the moment when everything in the story falls apart. The demon wears the princess's face. The monk walks into the trap. And the only one who senses that something is wrong cannot speak.
Location: Chenggong Township
Food: Daylily Stir-Fry | Indigenous Barbecue

Episode twenty-nine arrives in Taitung City — the unhurried capital of eastern Taiwan, where a former railway yard has become an arts village full of murals and studios, and a chain of coastal lagoons has been turned into a sprawling forest park of boardwalks and herons. Over bowls of dark, warming Beinan pig blood soup and stretchy handmade Chen Family mochi, we hear the story of Princess Baihuaxiu — the most quietly determined person in the entire novel — who kept her father's letters for thirteen years, waiting for a monk to come from the east and save her kingdom. When Tang Monk finally arrives, she acts immediately. The rescue, however, is only the beginning.
Location: Taitung City
Food: Beinan Pig Blood Soup | Chen Family Mochi

Episode twenty-eight takes us to Luye Township in Taitung — a wide grassy highland famous as Taiwan's best paragliding spot, where colourful gliders drift above rows of tea gardens and a view of the Rift Valley stretching below. We stop at Chulu Ranch for legendary fresh milk ice cream and a delicate oolong tea jelly, and we sit on the hillside watching paragliders launch while we follow Sun Wukong back to the mountain he called home — and find that even home can be damaged beyond recognition when you've been away too long. Meanwhile, Tang Monk keeps walking forward alone, and the forest ahead of him is darker than it looks.
Location: Luye Township
Food: Chulu Fresh Milk Ice Cream | Luye Oolong Tea Jelly

Episode twenty-seven takes us across the county border into Taitung — to Chishang and Guanshan, where the East Rift Valley opens into a patchwork of emerald-green rice paddies stretching from mountain range to mountain range. We ride bicycles along Brown Avenue, the famous unpaved road with not a single telephone pole in sight, and climb to the Luye Plateau for a view of the whole valley. Over hearty Guanshan lunchbox dishes and refreshing Chishang rice ice cream, we hear one of the most controversial chapters in all of Journey to the West — the White Bone Demon, who fools everyone except Sun Wukong, and who ultimately succeeds not by fighting, but by making Tang Monk believe Sun Wukong is the real monster.
Location: Chishang Township
Food: Guanshan Lunchbox Dishes | Chishang Rice Ice Cream

Episode twenty-six brings us to the most dramatic stretch of Taiwan's east coast — the Qingshui Cliffs in Xiulin Township, where white marble mountains rise two thousand metres straight out of the Pacific Ocean along the old Suhua Highway. Nearby, the Zhang Family Tree Garden offers a hidden oasis of rare tropical trees. We eat fresh seafood grilled at the Jiqiwan fishing harbour and crispy sweet potato fries from a roadside stall, and follow Sun Wukong on a desperate quest across three immortal islands — begging immortal after immortal to revive a tree that he destroyed — until finally Guanyin herself comes down from her island with a willow branch and saves the day.
Location: Xiulin Township
Food: Jiqiwan Fresh Seafood | Sweet Potato Fries

Episode twenty-five takes us to Fuli Township in southern Hualien — the heart of daylily country, where the hillsides of Liushidan Mountain turn completely golden every summer with hundreds of thousands of blooming flowers. We eat a fresh daylily stir-fry from a farmer's stall on the mountain and the legendary Chishang lunchbox on a bench beside the rice paddies, while Sun Wukong attempts three escapes, visits three celestial sages looking for help, fails spectacularly every time, and finally learns that cleaning up a mess requires more than strength.
Location: Fuli Township
Food: Daylily Stir-Fry | Chishang Lunchbox

Episode twenty-four heads south to the Ruisui and Fengbin area — where the East Rift Valley meets the Pacific coast. Ruisui is famous for its dairy farms, its hot springs, and the Tropic of Cancer running right through it. We eat Ruisui fresh milk ice cream so clean it tastes like the mountain grass the cows grazed on, and a hot spring egg custard — silky and warm from the naturally heated mineral water. And we follow Sun Wukong as he discovers the most extraordinary fruit in the universe... and immediately decides to steal it.
Location: Ruisui Township
Food: Ruisui Fresh Milk Ice Cream | Hot Spring Egg Custard

Episode twenty-three takes us to Shoufeng Township in Hualien County — home to the tranquil Liyu Lake, the largest landlocked lake in eastern Taiwan, and the colourful Farglory Ocean Park perched on a hillside overlooking the Pacific. Over a plate of Shoufeng's famous golden clams and a sizzling dish of Liyu Lake dancing shrimp, we watch four Bodhisattvas set an elaborate trap — and see which of the four pilgrims has the least self-control.
Location: Shoufeng Township
Food: Shoufeng Golden Clams | Liyu Lake Dancing Shrimp

Episode twenty-two takes us a little south of Hualien City to Ji'an Township — a quiet place that hides two treasures: a stunning Japanese-colonial-era temple and a farm where you can dig your own clams straight from the mud. Over a crispy Hualien fried egg scallion pancake and slippery Ji'an rice noodles, we reach the Flowing Sands River — the most dramatic obstacle yet — and watch as a monster who has been living in shame at the bottom of the river finally finds a way to come home.
Location: Ji'an Township
Food: Hualien Egg Scallion Pancake | Rice Noodles

Episode twenty-one brings us to one of Taiwan's most beautiful beaches — Qixingtan, a crescent bay of smooth grey stones on Hualien's Pacific coast. Over steaming bowls of wonton soup from the East Gate Night Market and juicy Gongzheng Street pork buns, we follow Sun Wukong as he faces his toughest enemy yet: the Yellow Wind Monster, whose magic wind can blind anyone who breathes it. The solution? A tiny pill and a very convincing disguise.
Location: Hualien City
Food: Wonton Soup | Pork Buns