Taiwan

The women are mostly Taiwanese, with some foreign hostesses in the higher-end Lin Sen bars. The beer-house staff read as friendly waitresses with an edge of flirtation rather than bar girls; the hostess and KTV side is more structured and more expensive, in the Japanese mould. Across the board the manner is warm but composed — neither the open hustle of Southeast Asia nor the cool polish of Tokyo, but something in between.

Language is the main barrier. English is widely spoken in everyday Taipei, but inside the venues Mandarin dominates and a lot gets communicated through a local fixer or a regular who knows the room. Taiwan is not a place that hands itself to a first-time visitor — but for those who put in the time, it is one of the more genuine and least hustle-heavy scenes in the region.

Taiwan's legal position is unusual. A 2011 reform allowed local governments to designate legal 'sex trade zones' — but no city has ever actually created one, so paid sex remains effectively illegal everywhere, with fines for both worker and client where it is enforced. In practice enforcement is light and the industry runs through the grey-area formats: beer houses, hostess bars and the 'other kind' of KTV, which sell company and ambiguity rather than anything explicit.

Drugs are treated severely. Taiwan has strict drug laws with heavy penalties and no cannabis tolerance, and as a wealthy, orderly society it polices them seriously. The nightlife itself is low-trouble — Taiwan is very safe — but the legal cover for the paid scene is thin, so discretion is both the norm and the smart approach.

Taipei is the obvious base. The Lin Sen North Road and Zhongshan districts hold the densest concentration — hostess bars, lounges and KTVs that have run for decades — and it is the most foreigner-navigable part of the country, helped by the city's excellent transport.

Taichung, in the centre of the island, has a substantial nightlife of its own and a reputation for a livelier, less buttoned-up scene than the capital. Kaohsiung, the big southern port, runs a more relaxed, more local scene to match its warmer, slower character. Both are real destinations rather than afterthoughts, but neither has Taipei's depth or its concentration of venues geared toward visitors. Start in Taipei and branch out only if you are staying a while.

Most Western passports get 90 days visa-free. The currency is the New Taiwan dollar (TWD), around 32 to the US dollar; an EasyCard covers transport across Taipei and beyond, and while cards are accepted in the cities, cash is still expected in smaller venues. Costs land between Southeast Asia and Japan — more than Thailand, well under Tokyo.

Taiwan is one of the safest and most orderly places in Asia, with excellent healthcare and almost no tourist-targeting crime. There is no real scam culture to worry about; the friction is linguistic, not predatory. The main thing to manage is the opacity of the venues themselves — pricing in hostess KTVs can climb quietly, so confirm what a room and its extras cost before you commit, and lean on a local or a regular when you can.