Bao Island Storyteller: Journey to the West

Local Guys in Taiwan
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Stories for Kids

Three friends, one car, 100 episodes around Taiwan. Street food meets the Monkey King — an epic road trip retelling of Journey to the West.

  1. Apr 22

    EP35 Pingtung Hengchun Township / Manjhou Township | Laozi Claims His Disciples

    Welcome to Local Guys in Taiwan: Journey to the West — where three friends road-trip Taiwan, eating street food while listening to the story of the Monkey King. Today we've driven to the very tip of Taiwan — Eluanbi, the southernmost point, where the Bashi Channel begins and the Philippines lie just across the water. The lighthouse here has been guiding ships since the Qing dynasty. Heading east into Manjhou Township, the Jialeshuei coastline offers wind-sculpted rock formations shaped by centuries of Pacific waves. Over Hengchun onion pancake and a bowl of Checheng mung bean soup, we hear the most surprising twist in the whole arc: Laozi — the great celestial sage himself — descends from Heaven to reveal that both demon kings were his own servant boys who stole his legendary treasures and caused all this chaos. And Sun Wukong has to sit with a very uncomfortable question. Location: Eluanbi / Southernmost Point Food: Hengchun Onion Pancake | Checheng Mung Bean Soup

    24 min

  2. Apr 21

    EP34 Pingtung Hengchun Township | Tricks and Treasure

    Welcome to Local Guys in Taiwan: Journey to the West — where three friends road-trip Taiwan, eating street food while listening to the story of the Monkey King. Today we've reached Kenting National Park — Taiwan's first national park, at the southern tip of the Hengchun Peninsula where three oceans converge: the Pacific, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea. Coral reefs thrive offshore, grey-faced buzzards pass through each autumn, and the whole peninsula feels like a living ecological museum. Over braised Wanluang pig knuckles and the freshest catch from Houwanbi village, we watch Sun Wukong pull off his most outrageous trick of the entire journey — disguising as the demon's own mother to steal back the gourd, then using that same gourd to swallow the Golden Horn King and the Silver Horn King one by one. Location: Kenting National Park Food: Wanluang Pig Knuckles | Houwanbi Seafood

    22 min

  3. Apr 20

    EP33 Taitung Lanyu | The Magic Gourd

    Welcome to Local Guys in Taiwan: Journey to the West — where three friends road-trip Taiwan, eating street food while listening to the story of the Monkey King. Today we've taken a boat from Taitung's Fugang Harbour and sailed two hours across the Pacific to reach Lanyu — Orchid Island — a volcanic island home to the Tao people, Taiwan's only oceanic indigenous group. They build tatala canoes by hand, live in semi-underground houses, and follow the rhythm of the flying fish season. We're eating Hengchun onion pancake (bought before we sailed) and sipping fresh clam soup while Sun Wukong makes one of his most embarrassing mistakes: ending up trapped inside the very gourd he was trying to steal. Location: Lanyu (Orchid Island) Food: Hengchun Onion Pancake | Clam Soup

    21 min

  4. Apr 19

    EP32 Taitung Green Island | The Two Demons

    Welcome to Local Guys in Taiwan: Journey to the West — where three friends road-trip Taiwan, eating street food while listening to the story of the Monkey King. Today we've taken the ferry out to Green Island — a small volcanic island off the east coast of Taitung, ringed with some of the healthiest coral reefs in Taiwan. The lighthouse here is one of the most photographed in Taiwan, and the Xiaochangcheng trail gives you a 360-degree view of the Pacific. We're eating freshly grilled seafood while we hear about two of the most dangerous demons in the whole Journey to the West — the Golden Horn King and the Silver Horn King, who have five legendary treasures and a gourd that can swallow anyone alive. Location: Green Island Food: Grilled Seafood | Taro Sweet Potato Cake

    20 min

  5. Apr 18

    EP31 Taitung Taimali Township | Pigsy Tricks Sun Wukong

    Welcome to Local Guys in Taiwan: Journey to the West — where three friends road-trip Taiwan, eating street food while listening to the story of the Monkey King. Today we've arrived in Taimali — the final stretch of the Taitung coast before the mountains close in, home to fields of golden daylilies on hillside slopes and the most breathtakingly placed train station in Taiwan. Duoliang Station is a small, unstaffed platform perched on a clifftop, with nothing below it but the Pacific Ocean. Over a sizzling plate of stone-grilled fish fresh from the sea, we follow Pigsy on the most ridiculous rescue mission in the whole story — where he deliberately says the wrong thing to get the right result. Location: Taimali Township Food: Stone-grilled Fish | Fresh Seafood

    23 min

  6. Apr 17

    EP30 Taitung Chenggong Township / Changbin Township | The Beautiful Station

    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

    24 min

  7. Apr 16

    EP29 Taitung Taitung City | Rescued by a Princess

    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

    23 min

  8. Apr 15

    EP28 Taitung Luye Township | Sun Wukong Goes Home

    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

    25 min
See All (100)

About

Three friends, one car, 100 episodes around Taiwan. Street food meets the Monkey King — an epic road trip retelling of Journey to the West.

Information