Fourth day began with Shakadang Trail. I felt like we could have spent a whole day here, trekking to the top and have a nice picnic but time was of the essence if you wanna explore Taiwan in a nutshell (so to speak). If I remembered correctly, we had about an hour or so for the track which was very little time but being in a group, we have to be fair to everybody. Perhaps not all enjoy a long trek and whatnot. It was a very beautiful trail, especially with the chilly air and amazing scenery.. If I were to come back to Taiwan, I would spend my entire day here forgetting what reality was all about and indulge in what I would imagine heaven on earth to look like (nature style). It was like a scene from Lord Of The Rings where Arwen protected Frodo from the Nazgul by summoning water of horses to drown them in the first movie. I do admit of course, I haven't been on many nature hikes as I liked and none as beautiful as this but it was a beautiful place nonetheless. I tried to walk fast and take photos at the same time. As you walk deeper, there'll be stalls selling souvenir and a place to finally touch the waters. Along the trail, it is prohibited to climb over the railing and walk to the waters. We only made it to the first pit stop and could not go any further as we ran out of time.
Each lion statue has different characteristic :) |
This one was a lion with its front paws on the ground but hind legs in the air |
There were many but due to lack of time, I could only take 3 photos |
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Our next destination was to Swallow Grotto. It is composed of marble cliff faces covered with small holes, the result of long-term erosion by river and ground water. House swifts and Pacific swallows often forage and nest here, giving the place its name. I was highly expecting to see swallow birds although that was hardly the case. Our bus dropped us at one side where we can either continue to ride the bus which would stop at the other end or walk for about 10 minutes and enjoy the scenery. The place is also known to have landslide or rocks to spontaneously fall and hit somebody. Thus, we are required to wear helmets that are provided by the people. Be warn, however that previous people have obviously wore it and you can definitely smell it! I wore a plastic bag over my head before wearing the helmet for hygienic purposes of course
After the Swallow Grotto, we make out way to Tianxiang Tourist Center. We had our lunch here. As everybody took their toilet break, I was admiring the flowers and trees in the park. They planted rows of trees with a pathway in between them if I remembered correctly. It was very beautiful. There were several stalls selling food but we just picked one and went in. The thing about Taiwan food is that it is quite a healthy concept with it being less salt and with less salt; less taste. The moment my father asked for soya sauce, the waitress passed him some and told him that he should eat less salt as it is unhealthy. I didn't add salt to my food for the most part but I do agree a little salt wouldn't hurt :)There were quite a few dogs roaming about and one of the owners of the stalls had a cardboard bed for one of them. It was interesting because there is some kind of unspoken rule where the dogs would not enter the stalls to ask for food. In fact, they just nap and walk around outside the stalls and wherever, very peaceful and I like it :)
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