I was in Bitan Sunday and kept hearing clapping coming from a group of boats. I never saw anything. After about the fifth time I looked really hard and saw a guy up on the cliff. They were clapping to get him to jump (I don’t think he did the other times before.) I decided I was going to watch until he jumped or went away. I caught him jumping.
They have a diving board and stuff over there too that i never noticed. I think I may have to head back one day with a swim suit (and balls big enough to take me off the cliff )
[quote=“Josefus”]MM:You ever get out there?
MTK:You ever go back?
I haven’t been there yet, but I’d still like to go.[/quote]
No. The rats haven’t been on a hike in a month or more so I have no one to give the water sample to for tesing. They are thinking about coming along this weekend so we’ll see.
[quote=“hannes”]as far as I know it’s illegal to jump off the cliffs there, as is swimming in the ‘lake’.
so, watch out for the cops, the undercurrents, and the “Bitan Beast” (that attacks from beneath…) :p[/quote]
I haven’t heard of the illegal thing before but it wouldn’t surprise me. Plenty of swimming goes on there though, and people hang out at the diving boards all day in nice weather.
There are some currents under the cliffs, but nothing to worry about if you know how to swim. The Beast of course is real, though. You have to be careful of her.
MM, you cross the bridge and take the first left you come to, go up the hill on the tarred road until you get to the open area with the big concrete structure in front of you (less than a 10-minute walk). Facing the concrete building and the pile of junk in front of it, look to your left and you’ll see some steps going down into the woods. Just keep heading down and working your way left (back along toward the suspension bridge) and you’ll eventually come to the water. The whole hillside is covered in trails so its a bit difficult to give more precise directions.
[quote=“sandman”][quote=“hannes”]as far as I know it’s illegal to jump off the cliffs there, as is swimming in the ‘lake’.
so, watch out for the cops, the undercurrents, and the “Bitan Beast” (that attacks from beneath…) :p[/quote]
I haven’t heard of the illegal thing before but it wouldn’t surprise me. Plenty of swimming goes on there though, and people hang out at the diving boards all day in nice weather.
There are some currents under the cliffs, but nothing to worry about if you know how to swim. The Beast of course is real, though. You have to be careful of her.
MM, you cross the bridge and take the first left you come to, go up the hill on the tarred road until you get to the open area with the big concrete structure in front of you (less than a 10-minute walk). Facing the concrete building and the pile of junk in front of it, look to your left and you’ll see some steps going down into the woods. Just keep heading down and working your way left (back along toward the suspension bridge) and you’ll eventually come to the water. The whole hillside is covered in trails so its a bit difficult to give more precise directions.[/quote]
That’s clear enough. Thanks. Maybe I’ll see you down there one day.
[quote=“hannes”]don’t want to be a fun spoiler, but…
the white characters on the cliff face translate as: “Water is Deep. Dangerous. No Swimming.”
I guess that means no diving as well?
[/quote]
Please read the article. Lots and lots of people are doing it.
[quote]Chen Hong-rong,48, travels from the Taipei Wanhua District most weekends, usually with his wife and two daughters in support. He is currently practicing on the five-meter springboard ?a permanent feature of Bitan courtesy of the lifeguard association that trains on the river on summer weekends whose flexibility makes it difficult to control the angle at which the diver hits the water.
The scene at Bitan is very egalitarian, with bystanders encouraged to join in and advice being shared liberally. The nearby lifeguards leave the swimmers and divers pretty much alone, just sailing over to warn of approaching lightning or to admonish swan-boaters who pedal too close in their enthusiasm to encourage the divers to climb to ever greater heights.[/quote]
The wife has asked me not to swim there before as she says there are usually two to three people drown there every year due to strong undercurrents. Be carefull anyway!
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