Where can "public showers" be found in Taiwan?

Question

I've been travelling on foot and by hitchhiking and sleeping in a tent in many countries and now I'm doing so in Taiwan.

But in some countries it's really easy to keep fresh.

In Turkey I was often told I could wash with the taps for worshippers beside the prayer room or small mosque that many places including truck stops and petrol stations sometimes had.

In Thailand I would often meet people at a roadside restaurant and there was always a bucket shower they would point me to. Roadside police stations also offered me use of their showers, some of which were specifically public, and others I began asking permission to use.

In several Southeast Asian countries I've asked or had a local I met ask on my behalf if I could pitch my tent on the grounds of a Buddhist monastery/temple. I was always shown where there were showers or bucket showers.

In Japan and Korea there's always a sento or jjimjilbang where you can have a cheap and great bath and sauna.

In some countries showers were common in petrol stations or in public restrooms at parks and beaches.

I've even seen in some countries facilities provided for cyclists that include showers and walkers have also been welcome to use them.

So far in Taiwan I've made pretty miserable attempts to wash a little bit in public restrooms, but they're not common and often have a female attendant or cleaner, so you can't be very thorough. Until I move back from roughing it to hostelling.

Is there something I don't know about Taiwan that would be good for showering or similar? Hiking and cycling are very popular here. I don't know if people do those on overnight or multi-day trips. If they do there might be something they use.

Or are there any other ideas?

Answer 1

This will be very difficult, I think, if you want an actual shower rather than a wash. Some suggestions would be:

• Find a local swimming pool (these are not common outside big cities); pay for entrance and use their showers. Many pools will require you to have a bathing cap. Hot Springs are another option.
• Some schools allow people to use their grounds as a public park outside school hours; this can include the toilet facilities. I have seen one which also had a shower but I think this is quite rare.
• Find a hotel that allows room rental by the hour (colloquially referred to as a 'rest') for... some reason :). Rent a room so you can use the shower.

Taiwan is not really geared up for backpackers; locals who want cheap travel will stay in the cheap local hotels that are hard to locate if you can't speak or read Mandarin, and the ones who want to flaunt their wealth will stay in flashy big hotels. You're already seen the state of most public toilet facilities so I won't mention those here...

Answer 2

Where I have been staying for over a week now on the east coast, Dulan village, Donghe township, Taitung county, the police station basically has a full camping setup intended for cyclists.

It includes several "bivouacs" which are basically well built low lean-tos with floors and roofs but no walls. You could sleep in those or probably set up a small tent in there. There'll be protection from rain as long as there's no typhoon.

There's also free filtered water and a bathroom. The bathroom is even supplied with laundry soap power so you can hand wash clothes in the handbasin.

And I didn't realize it because there's no sign in English, but when I met a western couple cycling around the country, they told me you had to register inside the police station and you would be given the keys to the shower!

The couple told me it's like this all down the east coast. I never saw the bivouacs on the west coast but I also never thought of going inside to ask if there was a shower.

Now I had been taken to two or three police stations on the west coast weeks ago late at night by a couple of young local guys who didn't speak any English. None of the police offered me any amenities but the guys were only asking them about finding a park for me to camp in, so there is a possibility the police station on the west coast may provide some things and I just didn't ask the right questions or go to the right police stations.