I was only resident there for a year, so it may be it was just a particularly bad year.
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Life’s great.
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the big advantage with the drier areas of the east, even at 40, is pollution is lower and going to shade is actually life saving we live and work near there and never have had AC. the usual low 30s in western taiwan are actually way less bearable not just because of humidity, but the particles that are in the air and block our pores making gas exchange much harder. it’s a hell no matter what but one can easily live without air conditioning in Taiwan. part way up hualien, mountains close in and rain is much more frequent, so the humidity there is pretty brutal compared to slightly south. I find coastal areas to be like polluted areas. they ocean spray clogs my pores and I start to bake like an oven. bringing a cloth and some fresh water to wash your pores in exposed/important heat release areas is a reeeaaallly good idea!
good to stay safe, and be realistic about the spot we are in. the temperature alone is not half the story.
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Its callled…humidity.
Pouring water on yourself just allows your skin and blood vessels to instantly cool down.
I would bring a towel on my neck like the locals at times.
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Also frozen bottles of water, or ice pack around the neck helps a lot with cooldown… Speaking of frozen bottles of water, if you are going on an outdoor hike where it will be hot, the frozen bottle would have partially melted giving you instant ice water.
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I was referring to the salt. away from the ocean is just as humid. a wet towel is for sure a useful tool. gets kinda punky after a while wiping all the stuff off ones skin. the better half wont let me use white ones anymore.
the Andrew Huberman podcast about cooling was interesting in this regard. he talks about how using things that are too cold, like ice, actually constricting which causes less cooling. it’s better to use cool water, not frozen. I used to bring frozen water bottles to work, still do for emergencies, but now use them to make other bottles cool. or wrapped in a towel for the necks blood. especially useful for hands and cooling that way 
seems to work better, but may be placebo after hearing that.
Closer to the ocean is usually more humid right. Any evidence for this mysterious salt clogging ?
Actually after 10 PM and around 5 AM it’s quite nice outside, fresh breeze at times.
Waiting for the quake to hit.
I have other places to exchange gas.
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You need to drink hot water now as the old locals do, makes you sweat and cool down.
Well I used to live in San Francisco, Bay Area. If I had a cent every time someone said “is this it, the so called big quake??”, I would be the richest man in Taiwan.
that would certainly be true compared to some spots. though for a lot of workers in and around farms, forests and other ultra humid spots with constant irrigation, less so. I guess cities are probably the driest in taiwan?
I dont think it’s super mysterious. particles block pores, off gassing is slowed. if keep sweating, it’s better, but the salt drying in the skin is super uncomfortable. that’s why everywhere has showers at beaches, rinse off the drying salty stickiness that is so uncomfortable. others like air particles, sunscreen, cosmetics etc. same deal. especially in high rh and if your skin has a coating of some kind it’s harder to sweat (eg. sunscreen or oily cosmetics). can literally see sweat buddle and come out way slower than normal with clean skin. I used to think sunscreen was the go to thing here when I moved here, but soon adopted the locals logic of textiles. way better. dry things like talc is good too for sunburn. but I wouldn’t cover my whole body in it for said reason. probably like salt. not oily, so better being a dry substance.
the cloth works great for wiping the skin clean.
maybe someone knows the name. my mom have me a thing a while ago. it’s a fabric tube filled with some form of gel. you soak it and wrap it around your neck. they were sending them to soldiers in Iraq years ago for heat stroke. anyone know the name? uncomfortable to wear, but it cooled down the blood decently for a while.
Crushed tomatoes and cucumbers. In my younger years on a holiday in the south of France I had a serious sunburn and a local advised me to crush up some tomatoes and smear it over the burned skin, really helped a lot.
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*preventing
like an aloe vera kind of feel? I love using aloe. never tried vegetables.
Another tip for frozen bottles of water:
Put in front of your fan it cools the air, 2 large 1ttr will last all night.
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