Cow Tipping in the Grasslands

Last Sunday, I took five of my friends on a gentle (some may argue this point) stroll up to Yang- mingshan National Park just north of Taipei. The beginning of the hike traced the Tienmu trail I described in my post "The Stairway to Hell Valley". Yet for some reason, I still managed to miss this stunning view of Taipei 101 on my first ascent up the 1,400 stairs to the land of monkeys.

However, instead of taking a bus down from the Yangmingshan Bus Depot this time, we took a minibus up to the National Park and onto the back side of the mountain. We got off at the waterfall trail- one which was, of course, not devoid of more startling and strenuous stairs- and made our way to a precious little waterfall. The likes of which do not compare with Wulai, but it nevertheless had it's own enchanting qualities.

Once past the waterfall, it was a straight shoot up to Yang- mingshan Grass- lands, and one of the most stunning views offered around Taipei. This area of Yangmingshan is the highest point on the Jinbaoli, or Fisherman's trail, that stretches all the way from Jinshan to Shilin. It was a popular place to rest during long trips in the Qing Dynasty and was also the same time that the God of Earth was moved her from the tea fields. It has rested here for more than 200 years. Let these panoramic shots stand for themselves! Be sure to click to enlarge...



In addition to it's commanding scenery, the Grasslands were also used as a popular location for herding wild cattle. Today, surprisingly enough, wild cattle still roam this heavily populated tourist attraction. While we didn't see any cattle that day, there were plenty of cow pies around to remind us who were the real owners of the grassland. One sign read "Attention: you are located at Yangmingshan ranch now. The incident of cattle attacks have happened before. The security fence is for your own safety and to avoid over trampling on the Grassland, you are not allowed to cross over the fence." Security fence? What security fence? Oh, do they mean this two foot high piece of rope not strong enough to stop a rollaway baby carriage let alone a wild charging bull? RUN KIDS!!! RUN!!!! YOU'RE NOT IN THE SECURITY ZONE YET!!!! RUUUUN!!!!


At the end of the day, we relax and went to the secret hot springs. For about US $15, we got full spa treatment in the hots springs and an enormous gourmet feast including fried rice, fried noodles, two servings of sashimi on ice, a beef sizziling iron plate and a tofu sizzling iron plate, in addition to orange juice, coconut juice, mango smoothies, and Taiwan beer- a necessity after any hot spring excursion.


In the end, the day was a major success. People arrived on time, and despite seeing no monkeys, everyone was simply just glad to be outside and being active.

So until next time, you cow tipping friend of Taiwan, Michael.