Regent Taipei

AsiaAsia / Taiwan

Conversational murmurs and tinkling piano rise through the atrium, shouts of laughter accenting the melody. Joy understood in any language. There’s a sense of intrigue here that is impossible to place, much like Taipei itself: a melting-pot metropolis infused with Chinese, Japanese and Western influences, where Taoist temples stand next to gleaming skyscrapers and hot springs steam the base of the Tatun volcano group, a mere 15 km. (9 miles) north of the city.