JSLALALAND

CITY & ITS PEOPLE

A day in Taipei × a day in LA

Same 24 hours, but Taipei and LA run on different clocks: a Taipei day ends with a late-night snack, an LA day starts with a smoothie. Not which is better; just hour by hour, from wake-up on, what time feels like in each city.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Key points

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  1. 6:30 | Wake up

    In Taipei, you hit snooze for the third time, and outside the scooters are already lined up at the red light; in LA, the sun's up before you need an alarm, and people are already walking dogs and jogging in the neighborhood. 'Angelenos get up with the sun.'

  2. 7:30 | Breakfast

    In Taipei, at the breakfast shop on the corner, 'turnip cake with egg, large iced milk tea,' and the owner's frying before you finish; in LA, you blend a smoothie at home or line up for an iced matcha, and first you have to choose oat or pistachio.

  3. 8:30 | Commute

    Taipei's MRT averaged about 2.1 million trips a day in 2025, and scooter riders wait for the green light together in the turn box; in LA County, the average one-way commute is about 30 minutes, spent alone on the 405 singing, taking calls and touching up makeup.

  4. 10:00 | Work

    In Taipei, you clock in at the office, there are LINE groups, and coworkers ask what's for lunch; in LA, a lot of people WFH or camp at a coffee shop all morning with a laptop, on video calls in yoga pants, with the camera only catching the top half.

  5. 12:30 | Lunch

    In Taipei, at noon sharp the whole building heads downstairs, and halfway through the buffet line you realize you've taken too much; in LA, it's a salad bowl, poke, or packing your own box at the Erewhon hot bar, and some people eat it in their car.

  6. 15:00 | Afternoon tea

    In Taipei, one 'anyone want to order drinks?' in the group chat wakes everybody up, and half sugar, less ice is the topic for the whole afternoon; in LA, you go buy yourself an iced coffee or add an electrolyte packet to your water bottle.

  7. 17:30 | Working out

    In Taipei, after work you hit the gym or sports center, and along the riverside people bike and dance; in LA, it's Pilates, yoga, spin or a run by the beach until sunset, and after, you go straight to dinner in your workout clothes.

  8. 19:00 | Dinner

    In Taipei, stir-fry joints and hot pot don't get lively until 7 or 8, with dishes in the middle for everyone; in LA, plenty of people eat dinner at 6, and popular restaurants need an app reservation. OpenTable says 4–5 p.m. seatings nationwide grew 13% in 2025.

  9. 21:00 | Nine at night

    In Taipei, night markets and late-night snacks, do you want basil with your popcorn chicken, and the second half of the day is just starting; in LA, most people are already home: couch, blanket, Netflix, quiet outside the window.

  10. 23:00 | Before bed

    In Taipei, LINE's still buzzing, and by the time you've answered the elders' good-morning graphics and 'you asleep yet?' it's midnight; in LA, plenty of people are getting ready for bed after 10. People living in both places are always answering messages from Taiwan before bed >_<

  11. Convenience store × Target

    Taipei had over 7,200 7-Elevens in 2025: pay bills, pick up packages, microwave a bento, all in one stop; LA has no corner convenience store, just Target. 'Just going to grab shampoo,' and you come out with a full cart.

  12. The weather

    In Taipei it's sunny in the morning with a thunderstorm in the afternoon, so there's always an umbrella in your bag; in LA, it's a jacket in the morning, short sleeves at noon, and back on at night, and May and June mornings are often gray. 'Angelenos keep a jacket in the car.'

  13. On your own × a crowd

    In Taipei there are people the moment you step out: the breakfast shop, the MRT, the night market, so alone rarely feels alone; in LA a lot of time is spent alone driving, working out, going to coffee shops, but alone doesn't have to mean lonely.

  14. The time difference in between

    Taipei is 16 hours ahead of LA, 15 during daylight saving time from March to early November. When one city's asleep, the other's still awake; someone's always up on one side.

  15. One last line

    This isn't about who wins: Team Taipei, Team LA, Team Both are all welcome. 'Neither one is better; time just looks different in each.'

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An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).