Taipei for The Thrill Seekers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

Six hundred stone steps in twenty-five minutes to the rock platforms; Taipei 101 stands in the frame, and the stairs are packed with runners doing it twice.

Thirty-seven seconds to the 89th floor in the fastest lift in the world, then the 660-tonne tuned damper ball that swings to calm the tower; book a post-sunset slot.

Fat beef soup in a steaming bowl with a pot of pickled greens on the table; a fast, cheap refuel where the cooks do not stop moving.

The 1,120 metre volcano: an hour up the ridge from the Xiaoyoukeng car park through grass and steaming fumaroles, with the whole basin laid out below by 8.

A public sulphur pool in a Beitou stone building; swimsuit, cap, a rinse first and a very hot dip, then a long cold shower. Best medicine for quads.

Thick pork-intestine and oyster vermicelli standing on the pavement with a crowd, strong with garlic and chilli, a cheap, fast recovery before the night market.

Three falls in a five kilometre mountain loop on a creek-side trail, ropes on the steep stretch; take the 08:00 train from Ruifang and carry spare socks.

Write the wishes on four faces of a paper lantern and release it from the railway tracks; a freight train still comes through, and people move off the line for it.

Start at the temple gate with a peppery black-pepper bun blasted in a clay oven, then pork rib herbal soup and fried chicken cutlet; sweaty legs eat well here.

A flat, car-free dawn run on rented YouBikes along the river toward Dajia and back, past fishermen and joggers; be back in time for breakfast before Huashan opens.

A converted rice-wine factory of 1914 with brick warehouses and a lawn; read the sculptures and the posters before the exhibitions open and hear the old chimney hum.

The braised pork rice in a tiny bowl, a plate of greens and a bowl of soup; a few queued minutes and a very cheap, very good carb stop before the airport.