http://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8262
The gay scene in Taipei is not nearly as in your face as Bangkok or Pattaya but it is certainly there. I was delighted when one poster here, encouraged by my posts, decided to find out for himself. He has since made quite a few visits to Taiwan and has many friends there. The apps are particularly busy as my friends all tell me there is a shortage of older westerners on the island. There are bars, saunas, a major gay area at the Red House in the Ximen district - and my favourite of all, the hot springs. There is one that is predominantly gay where you will see up to 100 mostly slim and toned young Taiwanese happily walked around totally nude. Another has a larger area and is particularly busy with many gay guys especially on Friday evenings. These are not saunas, although it is often possible to exchange phone numbers for a later hook-up.
Taipei: Part 1
At GB’s request, this was the first of two articles on the reasons why I so enjoy my regular trips to Taipei. There are lots of photos of both the city and just a few from the Gay Pride Parades of recent years (I have been to four) which I shall intersperse throughout the text in the hope of keeping it more interesting – but will avoid those in the recent reconstituted post with photos of various Pride Parades.
http://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8590
In view of the length, I am splitting it into two posts.
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/h5z9xv/TPE_Pride2_lr.jpg)
My first visit to Taipei was in 1986 when the island was still under martial law. There was hardly any gay scene then and those who wanted to hook-up would make their way to Peace Park behind what was a few blocks behind the Hilton hotel (now the Caesar’s Park - across from the main station).
Peace Park
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/j8zEVF/Taipei_228_Park.jpg)
Christianpfc made his first trip to Taipei last December and wrote about the Park and other more recent gay areas in his blog. With the city now boasting a large, flourishing gay scene, the number of cruisers in the Park has dropped to a fraction of what it used to be, but it still remains active.
http://christianpfc.blogspot.com/2017/0 ... aipei.html
One reason I love my now regular visits to Taipei – 4 or 5 times a year – is that I find Taiwanese guys the most handsome of all Chinese in all of Asia. Those I have met are always exceedingly polite, most are tall and gym fit, perhaps because all guys must go through a period of military service, and there is clearly that shortage of older westerners on the island. So apart from the friends I have made over the years, when I switch on the apps on arrival at my hotel, within 30 minutes I have several guys wanting to arrange a hook-up. Even at my advanced age, there are always more guys than I can possibly meet.
These are not money boys, merely guys who really do enjoy being with older westerners. In recent years, I think only two guys said they would be seeking money. One of my regular friends comes in from the airport area. Even though this means taking an hour’s trip by train and subway, he refuses to accept anything to cover his travel costs.
The Red House Gay area
Gays in Taipei can now gather together en masse at the Red House in the Ximen District. Get there on the Blue subway Line to Ximen station – one stop from Taipei Main station, take Exit 1, cross the road and it opens up on your left. The Red House is an arts centre. Surrounding it on two sides are gay boutiques and shops selling sex aides, around a dozen cafes and restaurants, mostly open-air, and some specialist bars including a Bear Bar and leather bar.
MRT Ximen Exit 1
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/dszbcv/MRT_Exit_to_Red_House_Complex.jpg)
The Narrow Entrance through to The Red House Bar and Restaurant area
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/mwYf4a/Red_House_Entrance.jpg)
The Red House Cafes and Bars in early Evening waiting for Customers
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/c2uyqF/Red_House_Bars_Evening.jpg)
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/j4tPVF/Bear_Bar.jpg)
This all gets packed with mostly handsome young men on Fridays. Saturdays and holidays, but less so during the week.
Saunas
Taipei has several male saunas. Less than 50 meters from the Red House is the small Hans Mens Sauna. This is an older facility catering to all types, mostly over 35s but with a reasonable sprinkling of students especially at week-ends. Entrance is NT$350 and the facilities include an open shower area, a mildy hot pool, completely dark steam room, tepid sauna and private rooms and a maze up stairs.
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/ghe9xv/Hans_Mens_Sauna_Sign.jpg)
The nearby Rainbow Sauna has recently closed – not a problem I feel as the couple of times I went there many of the boys there generally had a fair bit of ‘attitude’. A new sauna named Soi 13 took its place earlier this year. I have not yet been and it is hard to work out what it is really like. Some reviews say the management has an anti-foreigner bias but this is because a discount available to Taiwanese is not available to non-Taiwanese. But since the discount seems to apply only between 6:30 and 7:30 pm, it doesn’t bear worrying much about. The crowd seems to be mainly younger in their 20s and 30s and there is a mandatory nude area.
By far the best sauna is Aniki-WOW. All the guides claim this is one of the three best in Asia, on a par with Bangkok’s Babylon and Tokyo’s 24 Kaikan in Shinjuku Ni-chome. It is often jam-packed with handsome young Taiwanese. The problem is that it is expensive. Non-members have to pay NT$1,000 for up to 16 hours. Consequently there are not many westerners there. I have heard that the management is now offering discounts as attendance other than at week-ends has been dropping.
Other Bars
There are several other gay bars around the city in addition to those at the Red House. The oldest is probably Funky not far from the Sheraton hotel. Another is one my friends took me to for the first time last October. Commander is a small basement leather bar only a few blocks from The Red House (not to be confused with Commander 2 which is located on the second level at the Red House). This has a seating area, a long bar, a small stage for shows which I’m told start around 12:30 am and, the biggest surprise for me, a dark room. This opens around 11:30ish and is totally dark. Inside I’m told anything goes! Commander is located in a residential district and it is typical of the politeness of the Taiwanese that the young men manning the door at the pavement warn everyone to be quiet on leaving.
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/kUgNHv/TPE_Pride3.jpg)
Currency
A note on currency. The New Taiwan dollar currently hovers around 30 to US$1. The currency floats but has seen little change over the last couple of years. There are few moneychangers around town and so it’s best to change at the airport on arrival. Unlike BKK and most other international airports, the bank’s exchange booths at Taoyuan don’t have ridiculous rates. Almost the only difference is that you pay an NT$30 fee per currency changed. Credit Cards are accepted virtually everywhere.
Getting Around
Taipei has one of the best, most recent and widespread MRT subway systems. If you are happy to walk for 15 minutes or so, you can get almost anywhere in the city by the MRT. Short rides cost NT$20. Even long ones are rarely more than NT$35. You can also purchase a stored value ticket that is easily replenished which gives you a 20% discount on most rides. There is an excellent bus service and taxis are plentiful and relatively cheap. Always take note ot the last bus and MRT times. If you are out of the city at one of the hot springs and miss the last bus and subway back to your hotel, a taxi will cost you around NT$350 - $400 for a journey of around 30 minutes.
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/nc8zVF/Taipei_Pride_2013_lr16.jpg)
Transport options from the main international airport are excellent. The subway from the airport to the main station is finally open and for many this will be the most ideal. Fare cost is BT$160 one way with 10 or 11 stops depending on whether you get on the train in Terminals 1 or 2. There are buses to the main railway station, the edge-of-town domestic airport (still called domestic although it now has a few international flights) and a couple of other destinations, some of which will stop at hotels. Costs vary but should be around NT$150. You can also take a bus to connect with the high-speed train to the main station. This costs around NT$200 total. I have done it once but it can be a bit of a hassle as there are sometimes queues to get on to the buses and you might have to wait 30 minutes at the train station. Taxis to most of the city are fixed at NT$1,000. Most of the less expensive hotels (i.e. not 5-star) will organize a limousine transfer for around NT$1,300. This is by far the most convenient. Travel time should be around 40-45 minutes door-to-door.
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/knocHv/Taipei_Pride_2013_lr13.jpg)
Language
The official language is Mandarin Chinese, although the island has kept the old form of kanji rather than the more simplified form used in mainland China. Almost everywhere in the city signs are in both Chinese and English. Receptionists at all hotels will speak English although housekeeping staff not. Most younger guys will speak at least some English; many speak the language extremely well. Older Taiwanese, especially in taxis, may not speak English. So always have the card from your hotel with directions in Chinese, and get the receptionist to write the name and street of any site you want to visit for the driver.
Taipei’s Male Hot Springs
Taiwan sits on a seismic fault between two tectonic plates. So there are not only earthquakes from time to time; there are also areas with a good deal of hot sulphurous water pouring out of the ground. When Taiwan was a colony of Japan, Japanese entrepreneurs developed these areas as hot spring resorts and they can be found all over the island. On the west side of Taipei there are about a dozen such hot springs all concentrated in one small area. Each will have some restaurants as well as the hot springs and if you pay more than about NT$400 for your meal, you get free entry to the springs. If you go only for the hot springs, entrance is usually between NT$250 and $300.
There are two hot springs which are gay friendly – Huang Ding and Huang Szu. In the former you can be sure that at least 90% of the guys will be gay. But you always have to remember that some straight guys may also be there, occasionally with their young sons. So you have to exercise caution. The culture is simple. As you enter, take off your shoes and put them in the shoe rack. Pick an empty locker, put in your bag and disrobe. The lockers in Huang Ding are free but note that they are tiny. Don’t even think of taking a large backpack with you on a popular evening. The lockers in Huang Szu require NT$20 to be inserted before they can be locked. Make sure you have brought a small towel to dry off once you are finished and keep out of your locker a small bottle of water which you should also bring. It can be thirsty work sitting in 42C degree heat!
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/ee3f4a/Taipei2014_Pride_Parade_lr15.jpg)
All Taiwanese happily walk around totally nude. Occasionally you will see someone with a small towel covering his front. That’s a sure sign these guys are probably from somewhere like Singapore where guys are much more shy! As you walk in, you must shower and rinse yourself thoroughly before you dip in to one of the pools. I like Huang Ding but it annoys me that it is split into three separate areas (now reduced to just two I am told). So if you see someone you like, keeping tabs on him can be tricky, especially when parts of the floor can be slippery. Walk carefully in that hot spring.
On a Friday evening last October friends took me to a hot spring I had not visited before – Huang Szu. I was again staggered. At least 100 mostly slim in-shape handsome guys mostly in their 20s and 30s. What a lovely sight! And despite my being virtually the oldest and the only foreigner there everyone was very friendly. No feeling whatever of age discrimination. Since then I have returned to Huang Szu on each visit. In May I met a delightful 19-year old philosophy student with whom I have kept in touch on Line and hope to see again in October.
Huang Szu has a much larger open area with 5 pools, a steam room and sauna and guys regularly saunter from one to another. It is now the first place I hit after arriving in Taipei and dropping my bags at my hotel. Like Huang Ding it is busiest on Friday evenings and a little less so on Saturdays and Sundays. Don’t be worried if you arrive around 6:00pm and find not many there. A lot from the afternoon shift, as I call it, will have left to go off to dinner whilst the evening shift will not yet have arrived! Huang Ding’s steam room has a frosted glass front and it is obvious when there is a bit of mutual action going on – as it is most of the time. On my visits to Huang Szu, though, I have noticed almost no action at all. These are not saunas where anything goes.
To reach these springs, take the MRT to Shipai station on the red line.
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/kAQcja/MRT_Showing_SHipai_Station.jpg)
The springs are about 4 kms up a hill to your right. The first time it’s probably best to take a taxi from the rank located on the front right side as you get off the train. Show the driver the name card and he will get you there for about NT$150. When you return to the station, several buses stop at a bus-stop on the other side of the main road going past the station and the cost is just NT$15.
Huang Ding Hot Spring
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/bwEjxv/Huang_Ding.jpg)
Huang Szu Hot Spring
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/cguHHv/Chuan_Tzu.jpg)
Caveat
Taiwanese tend not to go to bars, saunas and the hot springs on their own. You will usually see them with at least one friend, and more often with a group of friends. As such, it is less easy to go up to a guy to say Hi or offer a drink. You may be invited to join a group, but that does not happen often, So on your first visit it is best to try to make a Taiwan friend from the apps who can help show you around.