No gay activities Nov2024 Taiwan

No gay activities Nov2024 Taiwan
More precise 1-15nov2024 Taipei, Taizhong, Sun and Moon Lake, Alishan, Kaohsiung. My first trip to Taiwan after Covid. I didn't have much success in online dating in the past, rather focus on tourism. But many others report good success in Taiwan, details at end of post. Currency NTD = New Taiwan Dollar, at time of writing 1 NTD = 1.04 THB, 1 EUR = 34 NTD, 1 USD = 33 NTD.

Fri1nov2024 Bangkok to Taipei.

Sat2nov2024 Emperor Spa, Soi 13 in sauna.
Huang Ding (former gay hot spring) is no more (closed permanently in 2018 and has been abandoned since then, and now even collapsed). 25.1415, 121.5291.

Emperor Spa (partially gay hot spring, google maps: Emperor Spa 皇池溫泉御膳館 Emperor Hotspring).

I'm going with a German travel companion. We take advantage of their offer of entry of 800 NTD for two including restaurant, i.e. you can eat from their menu up to 800 – and pay extra what's above – and then enter the hot spring for free. A good deal.

16:40 short queue to get into hot spring, and we have to share a locker because they are full. A particularity I observed only in Taiwan is that lockers are payable (coins), and if you open your locker and want to lock it again, you have to pay again. This locker 20 NTD (2 x 10 coin). There are no towels either, but I knew and we brought towels from hotel. No drinking water either.

Steam room is hot and low visibility. Cold puddles on floor. Benches too hot to sit. I observer some groping. Pools are labelled 41/42/43 C but I brought a thermometer and measure 42/44/42 C. Round cold pool has 25 C. Spot only few small tattoos, estimated 1 out of 20 customers. There is one great body, follow him to steam room and touch him accidentally on purpose (to maintain deniability), but he doesn't seem to like it. We leave 18:05.

1000 NTD entry to Soi 13 in 19:07. Locker 133 of 369. Everything as I remember from 2018/19. Free tea, coffee, hot chocolate. Brimming with locals, about 5 whites. Few tattoos. Good light, interesting activities, no clear hit and none interested in me. Leave 20:56.

When I went in 2018, entry fee was 500. In 2019, it was 600. Now 1000 (that's 1040 THB, 29 EUR, 30 USD!) is clearly to much. Local friend says this might be a price for foreigners and locals might get in cheaper.

Sun3nov2024 Taipei.
A local friend told me there can be gay activities at Taipei Da-An Sports Center 臺北市大安運動中心. Entry 110 NTD, I stay 16:17-17:27. Only when I enter shower, I remember I was here before.

Use of locker costs 20 (pay in cash 2 x 10 coins, but locking and unlocking digital, can unlock only once). I go for a swim in their 50 m pool. There is a note that this lane is for fast swimming under 70 s, and maximum 30 s rest at shores. Sauna 62 C. Steam room hot, no thermometer. Pools lukewarm and lukecold. About 50 other customers, some okay looking, no hints at gay activities. Some nudity. Use of hairdryer costs 10. No towel provided. Swimming only with rubber cap, I can borrow one for free at reception.

We (German travel companion, local friend, I) go for a drink in gay bar area at Red House in Ximen. Nothing to write home about. Bye midnight to get last metro to hotel.

One of the sex toy stores in the area has an interesting policy:
As an adults sex toy store, we respect customers' privacy, browsing aimlessly is prohibited. We only take customers with specific needs. Please follow steps below  before entering:
1 Check the product categories on the wall outside.
2 Confirm what you would like to buy.
3 Tell us what you want to buy otherwise we may asked you to leave.
Thank you for your cooperation. Don't just look.

Tue5nov2024 Taipei.
In Peace Park = 228 Park 20:20-40, spot over 10 gays.

Sat10nov2024 Kaohsiung.
Hornet dense with profiles, but I gave up long ago.

It can be generalized, online dating in Taiwan, China and Vietnam is equally poor for me. This is two-sided, I prefer darker skin, and Chinese and Vietnamese show less interest in me than Myanmar, Thailand, Lao, Cambodia. Both factors work to my disfavor and make it about 10 times harder to get a date in Taiwan, China or Vietnam. When coming from or going to one of the easy online dating countries, it's just not worth trying in difficult online dating countries.

I expect similar (poor boy business) in South Korea and Japan, and that's another factor (beside long travel time from Thailand, higher prices than in SEAsia and cold winter) why I might never go there.

Fri15nov2024 Taipei to Bangkok.

There are multiple reports of good success in Taiwan, most recent here: Taipei trip report October 2024 https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthread.php?23284-Taipei-trip-report-October-2024

And my comment there (repost here slightly edited):
Thanks for your report. I have just (two weeks in November) been back to Taiwan first time after Covid. In total 6 trips to Taiwan. My experiences with guys the opposite: online dating so poor that I don't bother any more*. The sauna Soi 13 in is still great, the best I have been to in all my travels, but at 1000 NTD entry (1040 THB) simply too expensive. But Taiwan is still on my list for sightseeing and hiking.

*In 2018, I stayed 3 months in Taipei and had 3 guys in my room. The same year I was in Yangon for a week and had 8 guys to my room. I used to say that online dating in Taiwan is a black hole, nothing ever comes back. Send messages to 20 profiles, not a single reply. And nobody messages me either. Elsewhere, you have at least some bullshit and crap and demands for money, but in Taiwan, nothing. But now with hornet subscription I can see that some of those I messaged read my message and had a look at my profile.

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