By the time we reached Liye Lake Park, it was dark. If we'd cut out either the wetlands, sugar factory, or preferably both, we could have gone pedal boating. But really, even if we had...why would we want to?

This day was extremely disappointing, especially when the guidebooks list so many beautiful & interesting sights between Taitung and Hualien. There is good reason this stuff isn't in guidebooks, and it's not because it's so special and undiscovered—all the local and Japanese tourists were VERY excited to visit that damn sugar factory.

Motorcyles in Hualien

FRESH magi is extra-soft and incredibly delicious!

We arrived in the city of Hualien at night. Since we didn't get to explore caves, waterfalls and temples as I'd dreamed, I was more than happy to see a bustling Taiwanese city instead...still better than the random wetlands. We were given some time to explore but since it was limited (again running late...why was our schedule packed with such unnecessary stuff?), we focused on snacks. Of course, we had dinner coming up, but when we spotted a lovely shop that sold handmade magi and a wide variety of magi-related items, we knew we'd hit the souvenir jackpot.

To Japanese, mochi simply means a gooey rice cake; to Taiwanese magi specifically refers to rice balls with a sweet filling, known to Japanese as daifuku. The neighborhood we were dropped in was magi crazy; Chester noted that even in Tokyo people did not seem to be so obsessed. At the most famous shop in Hualien (called simply Magi), we stocked up on more roasted pumpkin seeds, more shi-ja-flavored magi cookies, as well as scrumptious packaged magi like seaweed-infused balls with peanut filling. Perfect for gifts, these packaged magi would last 3 months. We bought several of the fresh ones for eating immediately. My first taste of handmade magi was incredible...so soft and delicately flavored. Magi's website is beautifully-designed, but difficult to navigate for non-Chinese readers.

It's magi heaven! This store was stuffed full of all the possible sticky rice treats anyone could want.

After we'd had our fill of glorious magi, we had the oddest dinner ever. Almost the entire meal revolved around the sunfish, or mola mola, which apparently is quite a delicacy in Taiwan and Japan.

We started well, with some veggies and a delicious panko-coated fried tofu that was oddly reminiscent of turnip cakes (which is always a good thing).

Too much sunfish makes Chester sad

The first fish dish was the incredibly thick skin cut into chunks to dip into soy wasabi sauce. Next we got slices of the fin in XO sauce. The actual meat was in teriyaki sauce, served alongside pieces of intestine. Bony pieces from the cheeks were made into a gingery soup. For dessert, gelatin made of the skin was served in a bowl, and also served in a fruit-flavored unnervingly green drink.

None of it was particularly appetizing, although the presentation was impeccable. I've never even heard of this fish, and am quite sure a meal like this is pretty expensive...but once was more than enough for me.

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