One thing that’s hard to miss anywhere you go in Taiwan is 7-11. Little more than your average convenience store in the states, 7-11 is a surprisingly (to me at least) major social foci in Taiwan, serving as much more than a simple convenience store. 7-11 stores in Taiwan of course carry snacks, but also carry full and hot meals, household supplies, clothes, alcohol, and just about anything you might find you need at 2 am on a rainy winter night. You can also grab tickets to your entertainment event of choice, from sports games to concerts, 7-11 carries their own digital box office service to make getting tickets a quick and convenient affair.

But 7-11’s benefits don’t end at what it sells, you can also pay your bills, taxes, and even tickets at 7-11. If you’d rather not make the trip to a post office, 7-11 will also receive packages, and will also ship and receive packages between 7-11 locations around the country. Taiwanese 7-11’s also offer a stamp-rewards system, where you receive stamps for every 66 Taiwanese Yuan you spend, and can trade them for promotional items and products during the ongoing rewards campaign. If you save your receipts, you also have a chance to win some money, with each receipt coming with a lottery number.

One great perk of the rewards system is that you can use your rewards at other shops affiliated with or owned by the company that runs 7-11 in Taiwan. Which means some free coffees at Starbucks if that’s your cup of tea. Though while 7-11 is open 24/7, some locations will close for certain holidays. Though luckily when they do there’s usually one nearby that will remain open to ensure the remarkably broad services and products they offer are always available!