I cracked the gay code in Taiwan. I have just come back from Taiwan and it surprised me to see what a little unknown pearl it was for a gay visitor. I didn't go there to be a Master as I wanted a rest and also didn't want to have to go through customs with a bag full of gimp masks, dildos and ropes. In my years of travel to multiple countries, I have found that Customs Officials have absolutely no sense of humour, clearly only have sex in the dark and in only the missionary position through the pee hole in their pyjamas. So vanilla it was to be. I have to admit it took me a couple of days to work out the scene but once you get your eye in, its well worth the long flight. Taiwan is a very clean and beautiful place, the people are friendly, its not expensive and everything is in English as well as Chinese. They are gay friendly with legalised gay marriage. There is still an air of Asian reticence as you don't often see gay guys walking around holding hands but then you don't really see a lot of straights doing it either. For the foody, it is a mecca of good quality, unique in some cases and cheap food.

The gay scene is mostly situated around the Red House in the Ximen area of Taipei. I didn't visit the other main cities and so I won't cover there situation. The Red house is a collection of around 15 small bars with a large external Al Fresco dinning and drinking area. The bars are gay but a lot of the locals of each sex go there so its not exclusive. As well as the bars there are a few shops which are male fashion orientated and a couple that combine clothing and sex toys. You will not find a lot of sex toys there and there is very little fetish equipment. I think at the end of the day its way to hot for rubber and leather to have a huge following. My trawling of the RECON website revealed there is a small fetish group on the island but they appear to have had limited experience and are fairly tame. At first they may appear a bit stand offish however in practise it is just that they are shy. If you make the first move they will be more than happy to talk to you. I was a bit lucky as there were very few westerners there when I was there and so I was a bit of a novelty even though I have seen half a century pass. Scattered around the Ximen area are a number of gay saunas. There are a number also spread around other parts of the city but I never had time to organise a visit. The Han Sauna didn't have a very enthusiastic write up as most intimated it was mostly for over weight old Chinese guys. I went there on a Friday at around 4 pm and I found it bustling with a broad spectrum of ages and body types. The other sauna I visited was the Rainbow Sauna or on the door it is also called the Light Horse Sauna. I was there on a Wednesday at around 4 pm and I found it had once again a varied selection of clientele. There were less people there but that maybe more to do with the day rather than the venue. I also visited the Royal Spa/Sauna which is much more up market, very clean and very professional. I had possibly the best massage ever which occurred over two hours. You can pick your masseuse from the web site. Mine was very attentive and made sure that each part of the massage was to my liking. It was the only time I have had a massage with an unhappy ending because I was sorry it had to come to an end. As mentioned I found them a bit shy and so I would not recommend that you try and grab one of the locals by his package. They do seem to have a direct nerve that goes from their nipples to their dick and it is so marked that I started to call nipples "Dick Dials". A gentle circling of a nipple will generally result in an erection and an invitation for further action. Another odd thing I noticed was that I would be walking around and all of a sudden I would get an intense look from one of the young locals which lasted for about one second. At first I thought it was because I was the only white gay in the village but I quickly learnt it is some form of come get me look. If you immediately say something to them it invariably ends up in an invitation for some action. All in all I found Taiwan a very interesting and pleasant place to visit. I would highly recommend it for both gay and straight travellers. It is very safe, the population have very good manners and are quite welcoming to strangers. Do your self a favour and go.