let's get lost

無論是否自認鐵道迷，南投集集車站都絕對值得一訪。五年級生與準二十一世紀新人類當能各得其樂，或緬懷，或想像。

Jiji Station in Nantou County deserves a visit no matter if the traveler is a railway fan or not. Sheer fun awaits the 50-something generation and teenagers alike as one can either reminisce or imagine.













當然，集集綠色隧道更是不容錯過。車行至此，滿眼的綠，且不妨停下來信步片刻，舒暢滿足不在話下。

Of course, the “Green Tunnel” at Jiji is neither to be missed. Bathing in a sea of green, motorists are invited to stop awhile and stroll a bit. It promises to be a totally relaxing and satisfying moment.









坐上集集支線的小火車，彷彿穿越時空回到在台灣老山線上搖晃的歲月，可是這種遐想迅即嘎然而止，終點車埕到了。

Upon getting aboard a train running on the Jiji Branch Line, you will readily have the impression of being taken back in time to days when passengers swung away long hours on the old North-South Rail. But there’s little time being carried away. It’s time to get off at the terminal, Checheng.









上網搜尋後才知道，遠在日治時代的車埕一度是重要的蔗糖轉運站，今日的的車埕站則是經歷921地震的嚴重毀損後，由日月潭國家風景區管理處使用原木重建而成。走到好似一條台北舊巷的車埕老街，旅人可以隨意在街上的小飯館坐下來歇息片刻，或者就是胡亂走走，走回從前。

I learned of the following after some surfing on the Web: Checheng used to be a sugarcane transshipment point when Taiwan was still a Japanese colony; today’s Checheng Station was a timber reconstruction by the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration in the wake of the devastating earthquake on September 21, 1999. The old, and seemingly only, street at Checheng looks just like one of those timeworn lanes in Taipei. You can either sit down and have a bite at one of the small eateries there or just walk around and probably go back to the past.











求學時代就到過溪頭不只一回，舊地重遊，並不覺得有甚麼太大的改變，除了上大學池拱橋竟然要排隊，以及偶爾可以察覺陸客的身影，這在當年自然難以想像。

I remember going to Xitou quite a few times during my student days. But I did not seem to detect many changes in my latest revisit. Maybe except for the need to stand in a queue for crossing the landmark arch bridge that stretches across the University Pond and the occasional appearance of some tourists from the China mainland. The latter is surely a sight unimaginable just a couple of decades ago.















空中走廊當然也是新熱點，人的位置換了，截然不同的視角成為可能，仰望慣了，何妨試試俯看。

The Overhead Corridor is another new attraction. A new perspective is now made possible as the spectator is given a new vantage point. While we have been used to looking up, maybe it’s not a bad idea to look down sometimes.