{"id":143,"date":"2026-05-14T23:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/syakiersalleh.com\/home\/?p=143"},"modified":"2026-05-15T00:22:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:22:32","slug":"test-blog-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/syakiersalleh.com\/home\/test-blog-page\/","title":{"rendered":"Test Blog Page"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\u2014 BREADCRUMB \u2014<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Five nights, four days \u2014 and why it wasn’t enough<\/em> for Taipei<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
I came for the food. Stayed for the mountains, the rain, and a cat at a temple in Jiufen.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Syakier Salleh<\/strong> – 12 min read – November 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014 A field of silver grass on Yangmingshan, just after the rain stopped. \u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There’s a particular kind of light in Taipei that you only see if you stay long enough. It’s not the postcard glow of Taipei 101 or the neon spill of Ximending. It’s the soft, almost grey light that arrives after the afternoon rain \u2014 when the streets are still wet, the air smells like soy and gasoline, and the city briefly forgets it’s a city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had five nights and four days. It wasn’t enough. It never is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the slow itinerary I wish someone had given me \u2014 built not around the must-sees, but around the moments worth waiting for. The 5pm light. The empty alley. The stranger who looks like a film still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jiufen at dawn<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Everyone tells you to visit Jiufen at night. They’re not wrong \u2014 but they’re also not telling you the better secret. Go at dawn instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I caught the first bus from Taipei at 6:40am. By the time I arrived, the old street was empty \u2014 just shopkeepers sweeping, steam rising from the first pots of taro soup, and a cat sleeping in front of a closed teahouse. For two hours, the town was mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some cities you visit. Others, you keep returning to in your head long after you’ve left.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Field note, day three<\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Gear used on this trip \u2014<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Fujifilm X-T4<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Fujinon XF 23mm f\/1.4<\/em><\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Peak Design Travel Tripod<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Where I stayed<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Star Hostel Ximending<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Total budget<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
RM 2,800 (5 nights, solo)<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Written by<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Syakier Salleh<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A Malaysian travel photographer based in Melaka, documenting the slow parts of Asia, one frame at a time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014 Continue reading \u2014<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More from the journal<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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