Taiwan · growing
The night market is a plot, not a checklist.
Taipei 101 is punctuation. The sentence is transit that behaves, food that refuses to be a side character, and rail math you run before you buy unlimited.
Money spine
Entry first. Then THSR vs single tickets.
BOCA for visa-exempt rows and footnotes. Official THSR Pass: 3-Day NT$2,200 · Flexible 2-Day NT$2,500 (adult, checked 15 Aug 2026). No invented EasyCard fares.
Entry + THSR Pass
BOCA visa-exempt + official Pass NTD.
Tainan
First capital. Breakfast is the plot.
Top 10
Days that earn the HSR seat.
Seasons
Heat, typhoon windows, lantern light.
Base like you mean to eat
Ximending / Main Station if you want first-timer gravity. Zhongshan for cafés and a softer volume. Xinyi if malls and the tower are the point. Sleep near an MRT interchange — future-you will send a thank-you text.
3–5 days unsmashed: soft landing · one city day · one day-trip (Jiufen cluster or Beitou–Yangmingshan) · then HSR south if “not only Taipei” is the itinerary. It can also just be eating. That counts.
Essays