India, Dec. 7 -- Our only rule: an offbeat honeymoon. Mongolia called, but the rugged wilderness seemed too extreme for romance. So we turned to the trusty Atlas, and that's how Taiwan found us.

Twenty minutes later, the boarding pass was sitting in my inbox, a journey that was going to be impulsive from the get-go. This volcanic island country was ideal for flying from Kolkata. Two stopovers, a delayed flight, a missed flight, and a business upgrade later, Gerald (my husband) and I found ourselves bracing the nippy Taiwanese evening in Taipei. Leaving the immigration officer wide-eyed at my henna designs and the information desk attendant who couldn't take her eyes off my hands, we exited the airport. The cold, crisp evening welcomed tw...