The Bear(Shaun) relaxes at cave 2 with a bottle of Japanese tea and a view of "Old street" midweek before the weekend hordes.
A fine riverside view of this fair town!!!
Ah yes, the town of Shen Ken, nestled in a valley on the southeast fringe of Taipei County boasts the best "Chou Dofu" in Taiwan and every weekend half of Taipei comes to sample their wares. But Shen Ken also has some fine mountain scenery including the "four dragons waterfall" and the "White horse general cave".
My first trip was alone and I tackled the back route to the waterfall.
A map of the area that didn't help much once I was up scrambling through the undergrowth.
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This clip is from the top of the mighty falls....well ok the little stream that trickles over the rock.
The path worked for a while though various natives did keep telling me I was going the wrong way. Anyway, I did manage to take this snap which is notable for the top of "Taipei 101" poking its head above the mountains. Roll the mouse over to get a closer view...
At one point there was no path at all and I just had to fight my way upwards...wondering if I was anyway near going in the right direction. Luckily there were 1 or 2 mountaineering ribbons tied to trees which gave me some hope.
Once I was over the ridge a path miraculously reappeared and I found my way to the top of the waterfall.
So after negotiating this tricky log bridge I finally made it and had the falls to myself......only problem was I had 1 hour to go before the start of class
First stop was the motorcycle man for some urgent oil infusion
The hills above were where we were headed. Apparently, 100 years or so ago a group of Taiwanese soldiers hid in these hill after the Japanese occupation and lived in some of the caves dotted about....
Now, when you check out the caves below you will wonder exactly how many soldiers were involved.....I think we are talking about half a dozen here!!
The first cave which you might just be able to see behind me was nothing more than a shelter under the rock.......and that's me with my guide book.
The bear takes a rest in cave number 2 utilising the chairs and tables hewn from bare rock by the soldiers
At cave number 3 the bear gives encouragement as I set about exploring the interior.
At the top of the mountain there was a big rock outcrop and a group of Taiwanese learning how to absail.....here they are at the top.....click on the picture to see them slide down!!
After trying to follow various trails on the peak without much success, we headed down and tried to take a shortcut through a graveyard......and got ourselves lost
The bear couldn't handle it anymore and with classic disrespect, passed out on the grave of an old village chief......much to the anger of this nearby diety
Finally back to "old street" and there was one building that did actually look......old
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Now, as I said before Shenken gets a little busy at the weekends.......
