鹿谷故事館

Day 8 Part 1 Lugu, Shuili, CheCheng, Jiji 鹿谷，水里、車程、集集

This is the hardest post of all. Somehow, it seemed to me that after I finish this post then the journey has really come to an end..

這是我所有文中最難完成的一篇。對我而言完成這篇po文，我的行程就真的要結束了。

 

I woke up later than usual today and did not really know what to do. I wandered aimlessly out to the street. Zhang Mama called out to me as I walked past and she invited me into her hair salon. The place had room for only 2 customers but it is sufficient as she serves regular customers who would call her for appointment. Jerry brought me around the vicinity to show me where the stream used to run across the village behind the block of house. There were also many buildings which used cheaper materials to add additional levels or rooms to existing houses and hence destroyed much of the visual appeal.

我今天比平日起的晚些且不知道要做什麼。我沒目標的在街上遊蕩。張媽媽在我經過她的理髮店前叫我進去坐。這個工作室雖只有兩個供理髮客人的座位，但足以服務那些平時會打電話來預約的的顧客。Jerry 帶我去附近走走，介紹一條位於房子後街道上過往是穿越村莊的小溪流。有很多建築物使用材質較便宜的鐵皮，作為頂樓加蓋的屋頂，但這樣破壞了整體的美感。

 

Modernization seem to be a doubled edged sword. In the attempt to pursue a newer and modern lifestyle in the fastest and cheapest way, much of the beauty and quality that goes into old buildings are lost. Perhaps, we are all guilty of this in one way or another. Seeking a balance between the two somehow seems to be a luxury that could only be afford by countries that have moved beyond development of economy to one which holds art and history in the same regard.

現代化似乎是一把雙刃的劍。以一種快速、便宜的方式，企圖去追求一個較新、較現代化的生活方式，但很多存於老建築的美好與質樸卻消逝了。或許，我們以一種負荊請罪的方式，去尋求兩者之間的平衡似乎是一個妄想，但或許只可能在那些願以同時考量經濟發展與人文歷史藝術並重的國家可實現。

We left the house for a day trip to some neighbouring townships. Jerry decided to stop by a farm so that his son, Brian could see some cows. The car journey was entertaining as it was full of little Brian's chatter. He reads a lot and I dare say his general knowledge is way better than those of the Singaporean kids. Though the common issues of wanting to play with electronic gadgets is also prevalent, both dad and granny do not indulge him and quickly diverts his attention away unlike some Singaporean parents who would just allow the kids unlimited time on the gadget. I think it is important that children do not spend too much time on gadgets as it ruins their attention span and takes away precious time for human interaction which is getting weaker in each newer generation.

我們決定到鄰近鄉鎮一日遊。途中Jerry在一處路邊的養著牛的牧場停車，讓Brian 可以好好觀賞牛。這旅途由於Brian的童言童語變得很有趣。他閱讀很多書且我敢說他比一般同年的新加坡孩子的常識更加廣泛。雖然有著共同的問題想玩電子產品，但父親跟奶奶為了不讓他太過沉迷於這些東西，會儘快轉移他的注意力，而不同於新加坡的父母會無限制的允許孩子玩。我認為別讓孩子花太多時間在電子產品上是很重要的，它會影響注意力且剝奪與人互動的時間，這情狀在年輕的世代日益嚴重。

 

We stopped by CheCheng station and old street and strolled around the exhibits and enjoyed the atmosphere with retro songs sung by the 2 singers playing in the background. Would be a nice place to drink tea and sit down with a picnic lunch if not for the number of people there. Winter holidays and it being a Saturday was the cause.

我們在車埕車站停留，走在老街上，漫步在一些展品中，享受著由兩個街頭藝人歌手演唱的氛圍。如果沒有那麼多人，這會是個坐下喝茶及野餐的好地方。人那麼多應該是正逢寒假也是星期六。

We ended the road trip with a visit to the 灯会 at the local temple. Zhang mama still had to go home and prepare to pray to 天宫. Everyone was pretty tired at the end of the day. Really thanks to Jerry for driving us all day despite being very tired.

我們結束了公路行程造訪了當地廟宇的燈會。張媽媽回家後仍必須準備拜拜。每個人在當天結束後都很累。非常感謝Jerry儘管非常累仍然整天載大家到處跑。

 

Day 8 Part 2 Lugu

I stayed a total of 4 nights at Lugu StoryHouse. Why? You may ask. It is not located near famous landmarks, nor is it full of amenities. In fact, there is no TV in the house nor fridge or bathroom inside the room even.

我整整待在鹿谷故事館四天。為甚麼?你或許會問。它既不位於著名的地標，也沒有很多的設施。事實上，屋內沒電視，且甚至房間內也無衛浴及冰箱。

 

Every night I chat extensively with Jerry (regardless of how tired he was, he still made time to come by and chat) or if he is not around, with his mom. I find that the sharing of experience and ideas is more precious than visiting any places of interest. Through the late night chats we had, I have an understanding of a person's determination to overcome odds and the steps and struggles he goes through to tackle the problems. Just having a dream and not doing anything about it, is plain naive and foolish but when it is coupled with a clear vision and directions, it becomes something attainable. Jerry has all that and on top of that he has deep understanding of people and a highly driven and positive attitude. Nothing cannot be done as long as sufficient hard work and patience is put into it. I think he embodies this sentence.

每個晚上我與Jerry天馬行空的聊著(無論他有多累，他仍仍會找時間過來聊一下)或者他不在時，他母親會過來。我發覺分享經驗與想法比去任何有趣的地方都還珍貴。透過長夜徹談，我明瞭一個人的決心將透過解決問題去克服困難、過程及挑戰。只有夢想而沒有行動，是非常幼稚且愚蠢的。但有了清楚的藍圖與方向，它變得可實現的。Jerry擁有以上的特質，對人性有深層的理解，且具有行動力及積極樂觀的態度。任何事皆可實現只要有十足的努力及耐心地實踐。我認為他能體現這句話。

 

In those sharing sessions, we discussed many things, including tourism, marketing strategies, consumer behaviour, education, religion, life etc. And I must admit I knew far lesser and my train of thoughts sometimes were not complete. This humbling experience enables me to see myself for who I am and inspires me to pick up some books again.

在那些交流的言談中，我們討論許多事，包含旅遊、行銷策略、消費者行為、教育、宗教及生活等等...然而我必須承認我知道的太少，且有時我的思想訓練稍有不及。這個謙卑的經驗讓我再次自省自我的存在，且激發我再次拾起一些書本。

 

Throughout the days here, both him and Zhang Mama kept me engaged, always included me in their activities and ensured that I was well fed at all times! My brain and stomach were the primary beneficiaries. Haha...

在這裡的幾天，他和張媽媽對我照顧有加，總是邀我參加他們的活動且總是確保我不會餓到!我的精神與五臟府都得到充分的滿足啊!哈!

 

The room can be replicated, the services, the food and tours can be replicated but that special human touch which is at Lugu StoryHouse cannot be found anywhere else. I have been to so many hostels before and though I may like the bed or the breakfast or the decos or make new friends but never once I felt so much connection, so much openness in sharing that I actually feel energised and rejuvenated after it. 酒逢知己千杯少， just replace 酒 with 茶，and we have it.

房間可能可議複製、服務、食物及旅程也可能被複製，但在鹿谷故事館，那種特別的人與人的互動卻是其它地方難尋的。我曾住過許多青年旅館，或許我可能喜歡它們的床、早餐及裝飾，或是認識新的朋友，但從沒感受到那麼多的共鳴，如此敞開胸懷的交流，我真覺在這交流後精力活力再次活躍。酒逢知己千杯少，以茶代酒，我們亦已足也!

 

At the start of Part 1, I mentioned that by completing this post, it really does signifies the end of this journey. However, since Jerry is going to write something beyond what I had written, he suggested that it was instead a journey to be continued. Sounds interesting, I can't wait to read it. ：)

在第一部分我所提到的，如完成這片文章，它真的表示已到了這趟旅程的終點。然而

Jerry 將在我寫完這些文章後也寫一篇文，他提及這文就如同這趟旅程的延續。聽起來很有趣，我等不及想讀它。

Cows and calves. 犊 Refers to calves, I learnt this when Jerry was explaining it to Brian. Always

 

heard of 初生之犊不怕虎 but never thought about the word before. Always good to learn something

 

new.

Popular ice cream shop (near the 二坪山古道) which used to serve the needs of the employees of

 

the power station

明谭水库，a much less crowded place to admire a body of water than Sun Moon Lake. It is within

 

walking distance to CheCheng old street. We walked cos there wasn't enough place to park so don't

 

go on weekends & public holidays and winter or summer holidays.

Quite a nice quaint little village centred around the CheCheng station. The smell of wood permeated

 

the air. The odd thing here is the tea shop situated above the restrooms...真是别有一番风味啊! Haha

A sumptuous dinner at 南轩99快炒 at Jiji. Errmmm I forgot to take photo before we started..We

 

did pretty well! 3 adults and 1 kid and we almost cleared out everything. Super full after that.

 

Zhang Mama simply refused to let me settle the bill. I guess I just have to come back again to

 

treat them to a meal.

We went to Jiji 武昌宫 a local temple to see the lanterns which were a part of the Chinese New

 

Year Celebrations. We saw a Sun Wu Kong (monkey god) performing magic on stage. Tough job...

 

Need to do acrobatics and magic but supporting music and emcee was not able to build up to the

 

climax. Very diligent but not very exciting. The children seemed to like it though.