Biking Blog: Remember that scene in 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly' with the cemetery? It was like that...

After the peril of my post-sunset biking trip conclusion the weekend before,  I made sure the week after I started a bit earlier.  But I wanted to try another mountainous path if possible,  since I think the payoff is worth the trouble (and after all, my objective is to get exercise more than anything else!)

This time instead of the hills to the east of Taipo, I tried the hills to the west, with the thanks of Google Maps I found a route which looked like a good prospect.  Even without checking the elevation map you can tell its going up the side of a hill.  It looked like it connecte to another road on the opposite side of a ridge or valley.  I assumed there must be some path connecting these two routes (assuming there wasn't a giant cliff separating them!)

On the way to the bottom of the routeI got some nice scenery already -

here's the actual start of the path.  I wonder if anyone ever tries to drive their car up one of these things...

As you ascend the view starts to reveal itself. That's Taipo behind the hill and Ma On Shan in the distance.

Oh no, what's this?  As there have been several big storms in the previous weeks I wasn't TOO surprised to see a number of fallen rocks and fallen branches, but at one point about 3/4 of the way up I found this.  This is actually the back side after I crossed over it.  As you can see it pretty much blocks the whole road here. I had to climb over it w/ my bike.

So I knew the path from here up would be even less maintained.  Finally getting some use for my mountain bike!

You can guess what kind of monsoon it took to get that much crap washed up around this fence.

Finally I neared the top.  There was a rest stop shelter below the ruins of some old building, I'm guessing a military outpost (to spot the invading Reds or perhaps even the Imperial Japanese Army back in the day!)

The view from up here is much better. You can see the Tolo harbor finally!

Here's the zoom in.

OK, so now what?  the path went up a bit more to where it ended on the map... I was a bit disappointed to see it just... ended!

Turns out it actually connected to a foot path going up to the actual top of the hill I was on.   This wasn't too bad to walk my bike up (there were some flat parts I could actually ride on, even though technically I think that's forbidden since this is a government park)

Finally I got to the other side of the hill and could see the other side (to the north). Fanling, Sheung Shui and ultimately across the border to the Mainland stretching out before you in the distance.  

There's the skyscrapers of Shenzhen.

But wait,  what was that on the nearby hillside in the previous pic? Let's just keep going down and see what it is...

(i walked on these parts, it would be suicidal to try and ride down!)

so a short distance down you get the big reveal... which brings me to the title of this blog:

Remember the scene in 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' where Tuco finds the cemetery?

Well this is the HK version:

Yikes!  yes, those are all grave stones...

Covering the entire hill side! Needless to say,  Ennio Morricone's "Ecstasy of Gold"  (the song in that scene) was ringing in my head the entire time.

(note: I never found where Arch Stanton's grave was...)

I'm not really up on my Chinese burial rituals and customs, but for some of these grave markers, people come on occasion and leave offerings and burn incense. Most of the stones have a picture mounted on them (I won't post any close ups cause I'm too lazy to mosaic out all the private info)

Anyway, I'm not at all a superstitious person... but I imagine some people would find this place kind of creepy...  I felt a little creepy for being here just for the sake of sightseeing. :-P

This place is actually the government run 'Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery (和合石墳場), the largest cemetery in HK, in use for over 60 years.

The sections are divided up by year.  This is a new addition. Eventually all of these will be filled. Pretty morbid actually!

Anyway, it was an interesting trip to say the least.  a good workout going up and because of the roads leading through the cemetery, a quick and smooth ride down.

Here's a map of my final route,  10+ km,  380m elevation change, not as bad as the week before! ;-)

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3955280