A beach without 'lifesavers' near Taipei

Taiwan Where Can I Find...?
1

Where can I find a beach, where you can actually swim, and not being degraded to kid status?

I went to the White Sand Beach, on the north coast not so far from Tamshui, as I heard that it’s quiet and nice.
Too bad that you are only allowed to swim in the closed zone, that means that you can’t swim there at all,
as you still can feel the ground and it’s so small that it’s crowded with people.

My attempt to enjoy swimming outside the ‘zone’ was disturbed by overzealous lifeguards, who seem to think that their
job is not to save people, but to prevent them going into the water. After whistling into my face and splashing
me with water they threatened to call the police if I try to swim again.
I told them to do that, I still didn’t have the experience of being arrested for swimming in the ocean. What would be the crime, lol?
BTW, next to me have been people with surfboards, so it’s not because it’s dangerous and totally forbidden to be there,
maybe I should bring a surfboard keyring the next time to make myself legal?

Anyway, I am a lover not a fighter in my time off, is there any place without freedom restricting wannabe authority
where I can swim (near Taipei)?

2

Walk 200 yards away from the zoned off area and do as you please.

You need to carry a go pro with you to document all the odd shit that happens to you.

3

Those lifeguard guys can be pretty aggressive. Last summer, I saw a foreigner at Baishawan arguing with them for a good 10 minutes or so.

The foreigner refused to go back into the roped-off box and wanted to swim around in the area outside. Every time he tried to swim, a lifeguard on a jetski would physically block him with the machine. The guy tried changing directions many time, but the jetski guy just circled around and blocked him again.

It looked awfully dangerous from my vantage point. That jetski was passing within arm’s length of the swimmer, sometimes at a pretty high speed.

Presumably the lifeguards are all local residents and either surfers themselves or buddies with the local surfers.

4

Same experience here at Baishawan. In fact, I just wanted to walk along the water’s edge–not even swim–but the ever-whistling lifeguards would have none of that. I gave up on Baishawan in frustration, discovered Wai’Ao in Yilan, and have never been back.

5

it’s not about you and the ‘danger’ you’re obviously in, it’s about the idiots who cannot swim who would look at you out there and think, “Hey, thats cool! I’ll go swim out there”, and then promptly drown.

It’s pathetic, and they should let such people drown anyway just to thin the herd somewhat, but this is Taiwan.

You just don’t understand Taiwanese culture.

6

Come ooonnnn, everybody thats been around awhile knows the ghosts and lost souls will pull you down and drown you if your outside a proper area.

7

The jetskis repel the undead. Everyone knows that, n00b.

8

If you take the road past the parking of Baishawan and keep going until you get to a small fishing harbor, there is another lovely beach to the left of that with nobody on it and where you can swim to your heart’s content. There are a few jagged rocks that rip your foot to shreds, but they are easy to spot. No bikini girls though.

9

Let natural selection do his work.

10

Urodacus nailed it with the observation on herd behaviour. Before coming to Taiwan I might have assumed that an innate fear would prevent people doing that but obviously not.

11

Fulong 2005. Typhoon was 2 days away. Wife and I went to Fulong. 2 Days, come on. The guard stopped us and with wildly gestating arms let us now that we were in dire danger.
No problem. We walked uptown and cut down to the beach. We sat on a log, enjoying the waves, our own company and the whole day. It came time to go so we walked back out by the original guard who I thought was going to call CIB.He was so pissed that he was ranting. Not much he can do.
Folks here get weird about 2 days before a typhoon.

12

[quote=“farmingmountains”]Where can I find a beach, where you can actually swim, and not being degraded to kid status?

I went to the White Sand Beach, on the north coast not so far from Danshui, as I heard that it’s quiet and nice.
Too bad that you are only allowed to swim in the closed zone, that means that you can’t swim there at all,
as you still can feel the ground and it’s so small that it’s crowded with people.

My attempt to enjoy swimming outside the ‘zone’ was disturbed by overzealous lifeguards, who seem to think that their
job is not to save people, but to prevent them going into the water. After whistling into my face and splashing
me with water they threatened to call the police if I try to swim again.
I told them to do that, I still didn’t have the experience of being arrested for swimming in the ocean. What would be the crime, lol?
BTW, next to me have been people with surfboards, so it’s not because it’s dangerous and totally forbidden to be there,
maybe I should bring a surfboard keyring the next time to make myself legal?

Anyway, I am a lover not a fighter in my time off, is there any place without freedom restricting wannabe authority
where I can swim (near Taipei)?[/quote]
My favourite beach is in Wai’ao, specifically Twin Lions. There are no lifeguards there, so no whistles, no arguments, no hassle. Of course, if you get into trouble in the water, you’re on your own, but I never had faith in Taiwanese lifeguards to go rescue people. Mostly I just see them harassing people who want to swim in water that’s more than waist deep.

If you’re interested in checking it out, feel free to join us next Saturday. We’re having a First-Day-of-Summer Beach Day there, and it should be a good time. It’s pretty mellow, there are no DJs or organized activities or anything, and it’s free. Click on the link for more details or PM me. :thumbsup:

[quote=“monkey”]Those lifeguard guys can be pretty aggressive. Last summer, I saw a foreigner at Baishawan arguing with them for a good 10 minutes or so. The foreigner refused to go back into the roped-off box and wanted to swim around in the area outside. Every time he tried to swim, a lifeguard on a jetski would physically block him with the machine. The guy tried changing directions many time, but the jetski guy just circled around and blocked him again.

It looked awfully dangerous from my vantage point. That jetski was passing within arm’s length of the swimmer, sometimes at a pretty high speed.

Presumably the lifeguards are all local residents and either surfers themselves or buddies with the local surfers.[/quote]
Yeah, the Baishawan lifeguards are real assholes. I used to go all the way to the west end of the beach, far away from where most of the crowds are, just so that I could swim in peace. Well, now they’ve got “volunteer” lifeguards there, and they piss me off every time. Last time they were yelling and whistling and shouting for me to come back from my swim, but I ignored them. When I finished my swim and came back they started to lecture me, but just then some asshat starts racing his ATV up and down the beach in between groups of people, many of them with children, and the lifeguards did nothing. When I asked why they weren’t doing anything about this obvious danger on the beach, they told me that they didn’t have any jurisdiction on land, only in water. I laughed at them and told them not to bother me any more if they couldn’t even handle something as basic as that. But who needs that kind of confrontation every time you go to the beach? Far easier to just go somewhere else.

13

For an island, its natives are notoriously poor swimmers. I guess most schools don’t even have a pool to teach kids to swim.

At a beach with lifeguards, it is totally “monkey see, monkey do”. So if anyone is outside the very shallow roped area, others will join.

Life guards are employed by the beach to make sure nobody drowns. STill every year at one of those beach resorts at least someone drowns. IT makes for lawsuits and huge problems.

So if you really like to swim. Find a beach with no life guards. And you are totally on your own.

Lots of potential to drown though, just be aware.

An innocent looking little cove near my wanli beach apt was a place I liked to go swimming at. But there is dangerous undertow and many drown there every summer.

It is a popular little cove with zero life guards.

I actually saved one girl who drifted out too far in her inner tube there once.

NEver use an inner tube at the ocean is all i can say, as you will be carried away.

One time, my GF and I and my Mom were about to go there to swim and many students there told us that three of their own are missing in the waters there. No doubt drowned just an hour or so ago.

Taiwanese drown in record numbers each year in the ocean and on the rivers.

So , again, if you really want to swim, stay away from those “official” beaches with guards.

They are required by the beach owners to keep people in the roped area at all times. No exceptions, no excuses.

Used to belong to a tiny Sunfish club in Fulung. And that tiny river with the bridge that you walk over to swim at the beach had drownings every year without exception.

The life guards were not manning the river, only the roped off area of the ocean. At that time you can swim outside of the roped area but only if you were hundreds of feet away.

You can’t swim just outside the roped area. That area and immediately around it are the responsibility of the lifeguards there.

LUng Tung had these ex abalone pools that were deep enough and very large enough to swim in. No beach, just really salt water swimming pools.

Just past Lung Tung is a beautiful little cove called GINSHAWAN. WhIch I used to swim at. NO lifeguards (no real facilities outside of a broken down shower bunker). There was a tiny hotel across the street which was a great place to grab a few beers before and after the swim.

Don’t know how it is now, but worth a look. THe beach itself there was pretty nice and safe as it was pretty shallow till quite far out. Not much undertow usually. Sometimes a LOT of jellyfish though.

Jelly fish is pretty common in taiwan waters, but luckily not man-o-wars or irikanji (sp? the killer , tiny ozzie jellyfish).

Most of the jelly fish stings can be relieved with just wet sand.

14

This beach looks really nice! Thank you, I will go there in the future. It’s even easier to get to by train from Banqiao than Baishawan!
I can’t tell you how happy I am to find an option without kindergarten style harassment, thanks a lot for that!

I’d love to join you but I am not sure if I can find time tomorrow though - If I do, I’ll be the one with urban camo shorts :-).
The weather doesn’t look that great wunderground.com/q/zmw:00000.1.59162
But it’s changing 3 times a day on this island anyway, I wish that you get sunshine!

15

Good idea.

But seriously: At Baishawan having a surfboard with you (you can rent one there) is one sure way to stop the lifeguards hassling you.

At least a few years ago they were even there when there is no swimming season, and no roped off zone. I went there in February with my family to enjoy a quick dip in the ocean, but as soon as we getting in the water, some lifeguard guy came and told us to get out.

The reasoning “Don’t do this in front of Taiwanese” makes lots of sense to me, but that day no one else was there…

16

I have crossed that river at the mouth a few times, but only if I can walk it.
One time, I crossed it and a pick up came out of no-where and demanded the money for the paid beach. Last year, I saw a police officer manning the unpaid side and stopping people from crossing.
Regarding the roped area of the beach. One time I was there and I was floating. An undercurrent started pulling me out. I grabbed hold of the rope.
It’s one reason, I wouldn’t swim outside that area if I could.

17

Lots of people drown. Including a surprising number of foreigners. Be careful, especially on the East Coast.

18

You play with fire, you can get burned.
You play with water, you can drown.

That’s what life is about, actually I’d prefer to kick the bucket through the hands of nature,
while living fully and enjoying every second than to suffer for months in a hospital bed with some disease like cancer.

We will all perish, no matter how careful we live.
Everybody dies, but not many truly live.

19

[quote=“farmingmountains”]Where can I find a beach, where you can actually swim, and not being degraded to kid status?

I went to the White Sand Beach, on the north coast not so far from Danshui, as I heard that it’s quiet and nice.
Too bad that you are only allowed to swim in the closed zone, that means that you can’t swim there at all,
as you still can feel the ground and it’s so small that it’s crowded with people.

My attempt to enjoy swimming outside the ‘zone’ was disturbed by overzealous lifeguards, who seem to think that their
job is not to save people, but to prevent them going into the water. After whistling into my face and splashing
me with water they threatened to call the police if I try to swim again.
I told them to do that, I still didn’t have the experience of being arrested for swimming in the ocean. What would be the crime, lol?
BTW, next to me have been people with surfboards, so it’s not because it’s dangerous and totally forbidden to be there,
maybe I should bring a surfboard keyring the next time to make myself legal?

Anyway, I am a lover not a fighter in my time off, is there any place without freedom restricting wannabe authority
where I can swim (near Taipei)?[/quote]

Go to Wai’ao. It is my favourite beach and you will find some places for you to swim as it’s pretty long. However, mind the waves, currents or whatever you call them in English; I’ve heard that they’re quite strong in some parts of the beach.

If you want to experience the Taiwanese retardedness when it comes to beaches, head to Fulong. At least in the public beach, there’s a bunch of cunts preventing you from getting your nuts wet; apparently to dip up to your knees is already enough and a bit dangerous.

20

[quote=“tommy525”]Just past Lung Tung is a beautiful little cove called GINSHAWAN. WhIch I used to swim at. NO lifeguards (no real facilities outside of a broken down shower bunker). There was a tiny hotel across the street which was a great place to grab a few beers before and after the swim.

Don’t know how it is now, but worth a look. THe beach itself there was pretty nice and safe as it was pretty shallow till quite far out. Not much undertow usually. Sometimes a LOT of jellyfish though.[/quote]

I pretty much only swim there. I take the family there about once a month, and sometimes I go out there for a morning swim on my own. Last time I was at Ginshawan, I was literally the only person swimming in the ocean! It’s probably the nicest beach you’ll find in north-eastern Taiwan without lifeguards, and if you’re driving a car, it’s a hell of a lot closer than Fulong or Baishawan.