hojacat
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Posts posted by hojacat
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12 hours ago, PeterRS said:
There used to be a light show on the Island which you can see from the Kowloon side starting at 8:00 pm.
It still happens though it felt a b it underwhelming from what I remembered.
12 hours ago, PeterRS said:During the week, I'd suggest Hutong as your best bet
I only went there on a Saturday during my last trip to HK in May. Arrived there around 8PM. There were already plenty of people. I think the peak was reached by 9PM and then around 10:30 people start leaving. The sauna keeps being as clean as I remembered and its facilities are top-notch. However, the crowd is much mixed-aged than when I was there almost 9 years ago. There are still a good number of twinks, but gone is that allure of exclusivity that Hutong used to have (A local twink I met and hanged out with, when I mentioned Hutong, just said: "Haven't been there in awhile, too many uncles now") Messed around with three guys, plus the dark rooms are quite fun at Hutong, both for group fun or for seeing people doing it as, one of them has actually two beds inside.
One thing to notice though, is the steep price. I paid 260HKD (aroound 33USD), which probably makes it the most expensive gay sauna in Asia (though I don't remember exactly how much I paid in Tokyo and Osaka). It's even more expensive that in some European cities known for high prices like London, Amsterdam, etc. They offer a discount for local guys under 25. I know there is at least one day when they can go for free as there was a big sign inside advertising it. I thought that day was Saturday but this guy I met on a Monday, told me that is actually Monday, the free night for under-25. As I was already with him, I couldn't tried it out. Next time, I'll do a bit more research and maybe visit on a Monday.
12 hours ago, PeterRS said:The one problem with Huang Tzu is that while it is easy to get there - take the Red subway line to Shipai station and then a taxi from there (around NT$160 now - just over US$5) - getting a taxi back is really difficult and without one, you are stuck with a long steep uphill trek to the main road to get a bus back down to the station. But then all the buses seem to stop around 11:15 pm or so and that would enable you to get the last subway train back to the centre of teh city.
Have you tried taking Uber from that location @PeterRS? I've used Uber all over Taiwan and it's been pretty reliable. A bit more expensive in Taipei, but still way less then I would pay in the US or Europe. It's also pretty popular in HK. I took it a few times and the price is not bad. Took it one time late at night, at around 1:00AM to meet this guy, from Jordan where I was staying to Kau Pui Lung for around 110HKD (14USD) round-trip. Still cheaper from what I would pay in LA or NYC.
12 hours ago, PeterRS said:In hot weater there s a gay beach west of Tamshui at the end of the Red Line. I did try to find it once but got lost. My friends tell me it is actually quite easy to find and there are usually a lot of gay guys there at the week ends.
Do you plan to give it a try and see if you find it this time on your incoming trip @PeterRS?
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On 7/15/2023 at 10:34 PM, Pantherz said:
Does Taipei offer a better experience than Hong Kong for a gay visitor?
They are both great cities which deserve to get visited again and again. Both are safe, modern, easy to navigate and most importantly have lots and lots of very cute friendly twinks. I guess one thing that goes into Taipei's favor is price. Pretty much in every category, Taipei is cheaper than Hong Kong and sometimes quite considerable so. As for the other things:
Bars and clubs: Even though HK is a more compact city than Taipei, its gay venues are actually sparse all over HK island and the Kowloon peninsula. On the other hand, most of Taipei's are concentrated in Ximending (around the Red Theater which can rightly by called Taipei's gay street) and the nearby Zhongshan area. It's true also that Taipei has more bars on the "hardcore" side like Commander D (a fetish bar where you can find slings and gloryholes) and Hunt (a bar with theme nights, like underwear and towels and which has a small dark room).
Saunas: I guess you don't more posts in this forum to convince you of how great of a gay sauna is Soi13 in Taipei. Hong Kong has a very good number of gay saunas (probably even more than BKK), though I would say Hutong sauna in Kowloon is the most valid competitor of Soi13.
Apps: In both cities, there is plenty of activity and a very high number of profiles. In Taipei, I would say it's mostly Grindr and Hornet (I feel for some reason Blued is going down in popularity). In hong Kong, it's definitely Grindr, Blued and Jack'd.
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14 hours ago, PeterRS said:
TAIWAN FAST TRACK IMMIGRATION
For those who have visited Taiwan no less than 3 times during the last 12 months, there is a special one-year fast track certificate you can apply for from the Taiwan government. As with all fast track procedures, it makes Immigration a breeze.
The certificate is available when clicking at the bottom of this link. It does not matter how many days you have stayed on each trip as it only asks for the dates on your arrival stamps. Nor does it matter if you used more than one passport. My passport changed in March. I had two visits in November and February and another in May. There is space on the form for both sets of information. When getting my new form this morning, I forgot about it being essentially for business purposes and just clicked sightseeing as the reason for visits. But it was still approved!
The certificate is primarily for countries with visa-waivers for Taiwan. So there are special conditions for those from China, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as a few other countries.
https://oa1.immigration.gov.tw/nia_freq
After competion just click Apply. On the next page click Print which will send the completed certificate to your downloads box. It took less than 30 seconds to process sending it to my computer!
Great info @PeterRS. the immigration line at TPE tend to be pretty slow (sometimes even more than at BKK) so this is definitely good news. Planning any trip soon?
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On 7/14/2023 at 7:54 PM, PeterRS said:
This is very typical in Taipei. I think @hojacat will agree that it is relatively rare to see guys on their own. I certainly find this at the gayish Huang Tzu hot spring.
Yeah, definitely true. I've had quite a few encounters at Soi13 where I started chitchatting with a guy, some touching and even kissing and then when offering to go to a cabin, he would say: "Oh, but I'm done for the night...just waiting for my friend to finish".
On 7/14/2023 at 7:54 PM, PeterRS said:A note about Soi13in - you will not find it on Utopia Asia even though it has been open for several years now! I wrote to the webmaster around a couple of years ago to ask why it is not included. I can't recall what he replied but I think it was something to do with his having asked the sauna owner for some details and did not get a reply.
That used to be my go-to website for my first couple of trips to Asia. From around 2013 though I started using more travelgayasia.com (now just travelgay.com) as I felt that it had more info and user reviews than utopia, plus the website layout was much better. Once that website decided to go global and not just focus on East and Southeast Asia, around 2018-2019, it started missing a lot of places and saw that the number of reviews went also down. (like the Nadam spa in Saigon that i mention in my other post which is not listed in there, even though it's the most popular sauna atm).
As for utopia-asia, I rarely visit it anymore. The UI feels prehistoric (it hasn't changed since I first visited it in 2008). I imagine their website traffic is way below their peak years.
On 7/14/2023 at 7:54 PM, PeterRS said:Whatever the reason, it makes one wonder if other facilities in other cities are deliberately omitted from the Utopia-Asia site.
If we are talking about Taipei specifically, according to my Taiwan friends, Soi13 is still pretty much the only player in the area (including New Taipei and Taoyuan) and that's why they could raise their price. What the international gay travel websites are missing in Taiwan is the info about the outdoor cruising areas, which even with the high number of love hotels and MTVs are still quite popular in there, including with the young generation. You find them only on local websites (in Mandarin) or from local guys.
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On 7/1/2023 at 4:04 AM, PeterRS said:
With luck, perhaps a cruise or two might be the gay cruises which you can persently obtain in the Mediterranean and out of Fort Lauderdale. These might regenerate interest in the gay bar scene.
There is already an Atlantis cruise (the biggest gay cruise organizer in the world) scheduled for November. It starts in Singapore and ends in Laem Chabang. I think it will be operated by Norwegian. Surprisingly it will be a bit long, 10 days and not just 7 like most of their cruises are, especially for a region where people can't get too much time off from their work. I know the CEO of Atlantis, Rich, is a next-level rice queen. He goes to every cruise his company organizes, has usually one of the biggest suites and throws every an after-party/orgy inviting only Asian twinks, though they can invite other guys.
They announced the Asian cruise in early March, in two weeks almost 80 percent of rooms were already booked, including the most expensive suites. By now probably is fully booked. The demand is definitely there.
I also went to a supposedly gay cruise this May from/to Laem Chabang. It was organized by a Thai group under the name XXOParty. 3 days with stops in Sihanoukville and Koh Samui. The advertisement implied that it was an exclusively-gay cruise but on the day of embarkation we realized that the gay crowd was only 300-400 and the rest, 1000+ people were straight families. Plus there were plenty of organizational and logistic issues, but those were mostly attributed to Costa cruise, which tends to be subpar compared to other lines. Overall wasn't the best event I've had experienced but I still went to an after-party, had fun with a couple of guys in my cabin and befriended a few people.
I don't think there will be a second edition of it though. they just can't compete with Atlantis.
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20 hours ago, joizy said:
Hi guys. I just decided I want to go to Ho Chi Minh City in December. It will be my first time in Vietnam, and after peeking around a bit, I'm very excited. Grindr looks promising, and I can't wait to eat! There doesn't seem to be any current information here on the scene, however you interpret that (your personal scene). Can anyone share any information, tips, or whatever?
I know it's a vague request, so if it helps, I'm interested in any tips about district to stay (I'm looking at an Airbnb in District 1), safety of hiring MBs from Grindr, massage venues, and anything else you consider a must-do (or must not do) while there.
Excellent decision. I've been to Vietnam a few times and it's always so much fun. Since it's so your first time, you might get a bit overwhelmed with traffic., but the food and the guys make it totally worth it. Just follow the locals when you're crossing the street and use Grab as much as possible, since it's affordable over there.
The guys are really and especially in HCMC, pretty wild. Plenty of action on Grindr and Blued, but Hornet also has a good number of profiles. Can't help you much with massage places and money boys as I don't do transactional sex, but I have seen quite a few mb in the apps and I assume the rate should be lower than Thailand.
Republic Lounge used to be very popular as a bar and club, but I was told it closed last year. the only other place I used to go to is Thi Bar, right by Bui Vien St. (the Kao San of Saigon). It's a bar and actually the crowd is pretty mixed, as a few straight backpackers go there, but at night there is plenty of local eyecandy. It's owned by this French guy who I think has a local bf though all my Saigon friends know him pretty deeply, if you know what I mean.
There is also a relatively new sauna called Nadam spa. I actually never been but read it on another forum where it said that the crowd was really good. So I suggested it to one of my Filipino friends visiting HCMC last month. He and his Aussie bf went there on a Sunday afternoon and said they had a blast. Probably around 80-100 people in the crowd, mostly locals and mostly twinks and in-shape young guys. It closes pretty early , I think at 10:00pm, so the best time is usually from 4-8pm, especially on a Saturday and Sunday. Another friend of mine is going to Saigon at the end of August and I will see what will be his impressions of that place but since I'm a sauna lover I already plan to visit it in October before heading to Taipei for pride or if not then in December.
Now a few words about accommodation: guest check-in is strictly enforced in Vietnam, so no matter if your guy goes straight to your room or you go pick him up downstairs, his ID will be checked and his name written down. Some locals don't like that because they're shy or they say they get bad looks from the font-desk people, so an Airbnb is a good solution, especially if you want to have 3+ action at your place, which at least in my experience happens much more often even then in Thailand (plenty of times the guy I'm chatting with have asked if it was ok to bring over a friend of his, something almost unheard of in Thailand, where local guys frown upon when you suggest a threesome with another Thai). If you stay in an Aribnb, I would suggest getting an older place but that has been remodeled inside as those usually don't have a doorman, where newer high-rises usually have a reception and they also will ask for checking-in your guests.
Another peculiarity in Vietnam is that the front-desk people at some boutique hotels just go to sleep after a certain hour at night like 12:00 or 1:00 AM. They will just lock the door, turn off the light and sleep right next to their desk, so if you come back late at night or you're just in your room but you want to go down to pick up a guy you will need to wake him up and then he needs to register your guest, and then he goes back to sleep, so if your guy wants to leave after you're done he needs to wake up the receptionist again. Pretty awkward and uncomfortable for all parts involved. Now this doesn't happen in all independent hotels, but it happened to me both in Hanoi and Saigon during my first times in there, so after that I usually go for a big international chain if I choose to stay in an hotel in Vietnam.
Some Airbnbs have the same issue, as some of my fwbs usually have to leave before a certain hour since the doorman goes to sleep and they will be locked out if they get home later than that. So if you decide for an Airbnb, double check with the host that reception is opened 24hr.
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I haven't read the owner's online reviews but on those two times I went there didn't notice or was exposed to any rudeness or lack of manners from the staff.
I've had much worse, especially in some gay saunas in Europe.
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7 hours ago, PeterRS said:
This one is totally adorable.
Here is the naked guy I was referring to. He definitely got lots of attention.
Some other pics also of guys you can say are partly naked. (Sorry for the quality of some of the pics).
- Ruthrieston and vinapu
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On 7/3/2023 at 7:43 PM, floridarob said:
I've been to Taiwan several times, but have had more sex with Taiwanese guys in Boston 😲
Maybe you're doing something wrong but I agree that Boston is a great place for meeting Asian twinks cause of such high number of colleges and dorms packed in a relatively small space.
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On 7/3/2023 at 10:57 PM, Tomtravel said:
What about beaches in Taiwan? Its an island but somehow the itineraries seems to ignore them…
The Penghu islands, which are a groups islands around 50 kms from the main islands, have beautiful beaches and according to my Taiwanese friends became the main beach destinations when borders closed during Covid.
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On 7/3/2023 at 7:46 PM, PeterRS said:
Both spectators and marchers! But let's be clear that there is no full nudity in the Taipei Pride Parade - at least not that I have ever seen in the many Parades in which I have taken part. A small number of young and fit guys wearing their latest skimpy swimwear are often to be seen. But then the weather at the end of October will almost aways be very warm so that marching in briefs must be very pleasant.
Well, I actually saw once a few years ago a guy going fully naked at Taipei pride. I have a posted a pic of him in another post under the "Taiwan" topic.
Beside guys wearing mini swimwear, in the 2019 parade saw also quite a few guys wearing open butt pants, something similar to: https://www.ebay.com/itm/353618185001
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2 hours ago, vinapu said:
I'm not shy or prude but if we want to be treated as part of mainstream we should behave and present ourselves like that part. And parading naked is not (yet?) part of mainstream.
Sure I'm for exception for fit , smooth young Asians but reality is , at least in overweight and hairy Western world we can't hope much for such esthetics
Well, maybe it's pointless going around naked at SF, NYC, Berlin or Madrid pride cause even if you do it another another day, people won't really get shocked and you wouldn't be much intro trouble anyway. however, I think it's different for Taipei pride. As the Latins used to say: semel in anno licet insanire ("once in a year one is allowed to go crazy") and for the gay population of the biggest continent that place and that day is Taipei pride. It's the day when guys can do stuff, even the wildest one, without having to worry about what others think or being punished for it. Many of my friends in other Asian countries get surprised from the pics I show them of Taipei pride.
It's pretty much a relief valve and me and some other people in this forum are happy spectators of it
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Glad to see @TotallyOz joining the club of people having a great time in Taiwan and considering it one of the best, if not the best destination in Asia. Both my Western and Asian friends, including Taiwanese themselves, gets always so surprised when I mention how often I visit Taiwan. My short answer has always been: it's the people.
Kinda had a similar experience on my last visit to the Beautiful Island. After spending a week in southern Taiwan, I had planned to spend Saturday and Sunday in Taipei. Mostly going to Soi13 and hanging out with some of my friends in there. However, this cute student I first met at the Hi-Men sauna in Kaohsiung and then hanged out twice more during my time in there texted me and said that he missed me and wanted to see me again before I leave. I agreed and offered to pay for his HSR but he said that wasn't necessary.
We spent two great days and he even came with me all the way to the airport and said goodbye at the airport security check. Yes, probably would have had more guys and sex if I had spent that weekend by myself, even though he was 100% my type. However, these type of encounters though are much more valuable and memorable than even good sex.
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6 hours ago, vinapu said:
not that I mind but I wonder what kind of statement about gays and gay life are trying to drive those who would be parading naked
What kind of statement they trying to make? No idea. I would never do it, so can't really imagine what's going on someone's mind that they decide to go out naked on the streets. I would also be a liar If I say that I wouldn't like watching if that person going around naked is a young smooth twink, preferably Asian.
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Some pics from the event:
- vinapu, Ruthrieston and PeterRS
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it was a very fun event. The parade stretched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar square. Lots of eyes candies among the people parading and the spectators. There was no one fully or partly naked though, so in a way Taipei pride is more transgressive than the London one.
Hard to give an estimate of the audience as people would just look for a while and then go their way. Definitely more than 30K people. Enjoyed the after party events.
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21 hours ago, PeterRS said:
Although this trend has been happening in several Asian countries for many years - e.g. Japan and Singapore - the problem in Thailand in the 1970s and 80s was too many births. In the early 1970s the high birth rate of 3.2% was simply unsustainable if Thailand was to become a more developed country. In stepped Meecha Veeravaidya, a half Thai/half Scottish economist trained in Australia, who realised that the first step had to be making birth control a subject that was not hidden under the carpet, as it were, but openly discussed. Through his Population and Community Development Association he made condoms not merely acceptable - but popular! He staged all sorts of stunts around the country including condom blowing contests and filling condoms as much water as possible and then dropping them from a great height. He had T-shirts distributed with stick figures involved in various sex acts and the message "condoms please". His original Cabbages and Condoms restaurant remains a fixture on Sukhumvit Soi 12 in Bangkok (excellent cuisine incidentallyl). Now there are a dozen more around the country and even two in the UK.
With his relentless advocacy, Meechai soon became known as Thailand's Condom King. And in many parts of the country, people still call condoms "meechais"! When HIV-AIDS came along, he intensified his efforts. For two decades he has been concerned that the younger generation is no longer taught about safe sex and the increase in the number of young people having unsafe sex. It was the first Thaksin government that reduced the funding for sex education in schools, something Meechai believes was a huge mistake. As he wrote some years ago, teenagers need to know that sex is natural, but “to master it rather than to let it master you.”
Reversing the population downward trend is unlikely to be easy. As the country and individuals become richer - and as has been seen in other countries, young men and women are putting off marriage till much later. They are also having fewer children. My partner's brother who lives in Myanmar got married aged 16. That used to be quite common in Thailand. No more.
On the other hand, isn't Thailand one of the easiest place in Asia to get Prep for free or by paying very little thanks through some sort of royal-family supported schema? most of the guys I meet in Thailand make use of it and say they get it for free. That's in contrast to even much richer places in Asia like Singapore and HK when guys complain that getting Prep is quite expensive and most who use it buy it online, usually from Thailand.
Wonder if that has helped push down HIV infection rates in Thailand, which once were one of the highest in Asia?!
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I've had guys in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Manama and Muscat. Most of them either Thai or Filipino, though I had an African guy probably from Madagascar in Doha.
Got quite a few hits from locals too but they either don't want to show their face, are too hairy or don't have a good approach when communicating.
No question asked when brining guys to your room, though I tend to stay in big international chain hotels. Might be different in smaller hotels.
I would suggest you get a local SIM card or use roaming as sometimes the hotel's Wifi block some of the apps.Dubai has definitely the most guys on apps. There is even a Filipino guy living in Dubai that I follow on Twitter. He seems to be pretty busy.
I remember in Doha that beside the African and a Thai guy I met this American, in his mid-50s, a physical therapist for the US Athletics team as there was a big Athletics competition in town. He just wanted to give me a massage and then jerk me off. It was actually a pretty good massage.
Also in Doha, twice when I was walking out at night, a car stopped by and asked me if I wanted a ride. I kindly declined. Then I remembered that when in college, a Filipino friend told me the same thing had happened to him in Dubai, though this were at a time when apps were still not popular. Seems like that pickup method might still survive in that area, though I think way less than before because of apps.
- vinapu, dscrtsldnbi, eurasian and 1 other
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Soi13 has set the bar too high for any other sauna in Taiwan. If you thought it was good and a busy on a normal weekend, during pride it has almost double the crowd.
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10 hours ago, 12is12 said:
On a Monday - when would b the best time to go?
Probably around 6-6:30. Don't expect anything like Soi13 though both in terms of facilities and crowd. If you read my post, I went twice there on a Friday and on a Saturday and only on Saturday the crowd was half decent. I don't expect many guys on a Monday, unless they have free entrance for younger guys like some did in HK.
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11 hours ago, 12is12 said:
Someone wrote here that it's the best sauna in Asia. I'd say maybe it's the best sauna in the world (Brazilian garoto saunas excluded)!
Welcome to the club @12is12
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Wonder who makes up the majority of the clients of African escorts in Bangkok? Locals or foreigners?
While I know there are quite a few white escorts, mostly from Russia, Ukraine and other ex Soviet republics in Bangkok and that they mostly target locals or other Asian travelers, it's more difficult to say it about African mbs. I remember showing the Twitter profile of an African escort in BKK to one of my Thai friends in January. He was surprised to know they were African mbs in BKK and said something along the lines of: probably not very popular in here and this is from the same guy that usually hires 2-3 escorts for his birthday parties.
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On 4/2/2022 at 6:50 AM, Lotusleaf said:
And Blued is as bad... If not worse👎
I would say it's probably the worst.
One Week in Gay Taiwan
in Gay China, Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macau
Posted
Yeah, they stopped doing that around 2018. Was it because of what in a contemporary idiom would be called "embracing inclusivity" or just because they were in need for cash and was more profitable to let anybody in? I'll let you be the judge.
Have been to at least 3 different saunas in Tokyo and at least one in Osaka. Didn't go to any in Kyoto and Kobe. Don't remember the names but looking at the pics of 24 Kaikan, I've definitely been in it. Big, clean, with a lot of amenities inside. I remember perfectly the room with pillows and tatamis were people slept or pretended to sleep and do some light fun instead.. It was at the end of a row of cabins, but you had to pay extra if you wanted to have one if I'm not mistaken.
The highlight was definitely the big room filled up with rows of bunk beds. It was quite dark in there and the atmosphere around was definitely worth experiencing. There were people sleeping or just laying down , others talking, there was the unmistakable squeaky noise of box springs and a few people moaning loudly with their legs up in the air. and between all these , you had people walking and cruising around for a partner.
Once you found one though, the bed turned out to be not that practical. First, it's smaller than most mattress you would find in a cabin. Then you would have a group of people around you who would not only watch , something that never bothers me, but as I would always go for the lower level bed, they would also touch you, sometimes quite firmly when you were in the middle of the performance. The people on the bed above you could also be a cause of disturb. One time this guy I was with stopped because the people that had climbed up the upper bed started being noisy and making the whole bed shake.
The sauna in Osaka had the same format, though I think the cruise room with bunk beds had more of a maze-like layout which I think it made it even better. Anyway, I really think Japanese gay saunas should be on the "To Do At Least Once" list for gay travelers in Asia. I'm surprised they aren't more famous or known.
Does it mean you aren't going to be there for Taipei pride this year @PeterRS?