Weekend Wanderings: Get Away To Taipei

The Friday night flight from Hong Kong to Taipei is atwitter with excitement. It's full, but not with the factory managers and motherboard sales reps you might expect. Crammed into the aisle seat beside my girlfriend, a young woman is touching up her makeup. Meeting someone special? "I'm seeing friends," says Coco, a 27-year-old clerk in a Hong Kong jewelry store. She snaps her compact shut and leans over to confide with a broad smile, "We're going out."

Taipei's great food, hip nightlife and gritty music scene are attracting young urbanites from across Asia. And no wonder. It has become an around-the-clock...