A few suggestions for a future trip (of course, I could give you a zillion more suggestions, but I’m focusing on places slightly off the beanten track for foreign visitors) are:

- Visit the old town of Houtong (this can be combined with either a trip on the Pingxi train or, if you’re willing to hike for a few hours, with the very popular tourist destination Jiufen)
- Visit the Lalashan Forest Reserve
- Hike the western section of Nenggao Trail (this is a relatively easy high mountain hike, is gorgeous in good weather, has an important place in Taiwanese history, and you only need a single permit)
- Go on the entire road from Taichung to Hualien, which has many highly scenic sections
- Visit Maolin in winter (though not during Chinese New Year or weekends) to see the purple butterflies and learn about the Rukai people.
- Get Richard Saunders’ book ‘The Islands of Taiwan’ and then visit some of those islands (if you don’t speak Mandarin, that guidebook will be essential, since English is not so widely spoken in the outer islands). I particularly recommend Lanyu (for beautiful scenery + local culture), Matsu (ditto), and Kinmen (lots of history and beautiful architecture). Both Lanyu and Kinmen are candidates for World Heritage Sites, and if they ever are inscribed, you might want to beat the crowds. In fact, if you’re going to follow only one of these suggestions, it should be this one.