Info on episode 12: Cycling Guanshan, Taitung 鐵馬關山遊

Time for Taiwan 2015-2016, Episode 12: Cycling Guanshan, Taitung

2015-2016年「台灣好好玩」第十二集： 鐵馬關山遊

Transcript 文字稿:

We’re cycling in Guanshan today and getting a taste of their delicious rice.

今天我們來到關山騎鐵馬，品嚐美味的關山米！

I'm Michella. I grew up in the Silicon Valley and was a journalist in Taiwan for ten years. I like to row, cycle, and travel. I’m going to show you around the Taiwan that I know. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.

我是米雪拉，在美國矽谷長大，回來台灣當了十年的新聞工作者，喜歡划船，騎鐵馬，還有旅行。台灣好好玩，到底有多好玩，讓我和你分享。

This is Guanshan Train Station, and right outside the station, that way is a bike rental shop where I usually get my bike.

這裡是關山火車站。車站外面有一間腳踏車租賃店，就在那邊，我通常都是在那邊租的。"

"How do you say “I want to rent a bike?” It’s “wo yao zu tie ma.” 

怎麼表達想租腳踏車？就說「我想租鐵馬」。

This bike path goes around Guanshan, and it’s 12km long. It’s about as difficult as eating a piece of pie.

這條自行車道環繞著關山，大約12公里長。它的難度大概跟吃一塊蛋糕差不多。

There are very few ups and downs, and the scenery along the way is fantastic. There is almost an ocean of rice paddies, several streams, and a big park with a lake in it.

這裡上下坡的路段非常少，漂亮的風景非常棒。關山有稻海，好幾條小河，還有一座很大的公園，裡面甚至有個湖。

This is a great place to watch birds and other wildlife.

這裡是個賞鳥和欣賞生態的好地方。

Guanshan is a township within Taitung County, in southeastern Taiwan. The area is almost completely agricultural, and is well known for its rice, as you’ve probably guessed by now.

關山鎮位於台東縣，在台灣的東南邊。這裡的產業幾乎都是農業，關山米非常有名，不過大家現在應該也猜到了。

These rice stalks have started to bend because the grains inside have gotten big and and heavy. These are almost ready to be harvested. In Chinese, rice is described as being “humble,” because the more they mature, the deeper they bow.

現在稻子已經開始彎曲，因為稻穗已經飽滿，快要可以收割了。中文有個有關謙虛的諺語，越結實的稻穗，頭越低。

Because you can probably count the number of factories here with one hand, the air and water in these parts are very clean. And because Guanshan is sandwiched between the central and coastal mountain ranges, which are not too far apart from each other, the soil is rich in minerals.

因為這裡只有幾家工廠，大概一支手就數得完，關山的空氣和水都很乾淨。因為關山位於兩個距離不遠的中央山脈和海岸山脈，土壤有豐富的礦物質。

The mountains on the east and on the west side of Guanshan block out a lot of sunlight, so the rice takes a month longer than average to mature. All of these factors make a firmer and tastier rice.

關山的東邊和西邊都有山，這兩個山脈在一早和傍晚的時候會擋掉部分的太陽光，所以這邊的米，需要更長的時間生長。這些總總的原因讓關山的米比較結實，好吃。

During the Japanese occupation, between 1895 and 1945, rice from this area was shipped to Japan for the royal family to enjoy. You can say that this is rice fit for a king. It’s that good.

日治時代，1895-1945年，這裡的米都會被送去給日本皇室享用。所以呢，這可是天皇等級的米喔。就是有那麼好吃。

“Wan gong fan,” or “rice bowl” is what farmers used to eat in the fields. They would bring a bowl of rice, salty, greasy meat and vegetables in a basket, and then they would take it out at noon and have it for lunch.

「碗公飯」是以前農民在耕田時吃的東西，他們會把這一大碗飯加上鹹鹹油油的肉和菜放在籃子裡，帶到田園，中午拿出來當午餐吃。

At the “Rice School,” you can still get a taste of this very simple, local and delicious dish. The rice school is also a place where you can learn about how this staple food in Taiwan is processed.

在米國學校，可以品嚐這非常簡單，道地，美味的午餐。來到這裡可以學一下米是怎麼來的。

This is “rough rice,” rice grains that have been dried. These are then sent through sieves that sift out debris, then they’re put between grinding stones, which loosen the hulls and leave us brown rice.

這是稻穀，已經乾燥過的。輾米機會將雜質先篩出來，然後透過擠壓，將米和米糠分開，出來的就是這個，糙米。

High in fiber content, brown rice is super healthy, but the texture sometimes is just too fibrous and most people don't like it, so usually brown rice is further milled until the bran layers come off. And voila, white rice. In Japan, people pickle vegetables with the hulls, salt and water.

因為高纖維，糙米對身體很好，不過就是因為纖維很多，大部分人不喜歡，所以通常會繼續磨，把胚芽也磨掉，剩下來的就是白米。在日本，他們會用米糠，鹽巴，和水做醬菜。

Most rice that you'll find in Taiwan is of the medium length variety, originally from Japan. Compared to say, Indian or Thai rice, Japonica rice is firmer and stickier.

大部分台灣米的長度算中等，是日本米的品種。比起印度米和泰國米，日本品種的米比較Q，比較黏。

This is really healthy - brown rice. But unfortunately my husband hates it, even with some white rice mixed into it. But after I added black rice which kind of pops in your mouth when bite down on it, and some quinoa, and a little bit of buckwheat and pearl barley, he stopped complaining. Maybe he just gave up. But I like it.

糙米超健康，不過我們家好ㄤ超不愛吃，加了白米的糙米也不行。不過再加了點咬下去會有噗吱感覺的黑米，一點藜麥，蕎麥，還有薏仁，他就沒有再抱怨了。或許其實他想開了。不過我覺得很好吃啊。

I have a friend named “Show” who lives around here. Every day she posts pictures of the rice paddies with mountains and fog rolling down them in the background. And every day, I say to myself, “oh I want to go.” Well now I'm satisfied. Look at how the rice stalks sway in the wind like the waves in the ocean. You should come.

我有個朋友叫Show，她住這附近。每天她都po一些「今日美麗的稻田」與「今日漂亮的山嵐」的照片，讓我每天都想來。我終於滿足了。看看那些舞動的稻海！大家要來喔。

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Michella's notes 米雪拉的筆記：

Guanshan is a really nice place to ride your bike. It’s short, so if you’re going with kids and older folks who want to cycle, this is might be very suitable. The bike path is short, but there are a few excursions you can take, and if you stop to enjoy the scenery, it might take more than a morning or afternoon.

關山真的是一個騎腳踏車的好地方，路線不長，所以帶著小孩和銀髮族，應該沒有問題。而雖然才12公里，幾個周邊景點也認真去探索的話，玩起來不只一個上午或一個下午喔～

Guanshan Water Park when we were there was very empty, so if you want to feel like you have an entire park to yourself, come here. I thought it was a nice park with lots of grass and trees. Perhaps the reason it’s so empty is because the population here is just so little. There’s very little industry in Taitung, so for people who want higher paying jobs (especially young people), they go to Kaohsiung, Taichung or Taipei. The tradeoff for a lower income here is quality of life. A lot of people have moved to Taitung precisely so they can have a better quality of life, but they’re mostly people who have worked hard in the city for many, many years, or have had a decent income and some savings. It’s a really nice place to retire, that’s for sure.The headmaster of the Rice School runs a tech company in Taipei but started the Rice School so he can help the economy and share knowledge of how rice is planted, harvested and processed. He’s also working with farmers to help promote and add value to their products through education and R&D. There are a lot of people like this in Taitung and it’s always so nice to hear their stories.

關山親水公園人看來不多，感覺整座公園只有我們。或許因為去的時候不是旺季，或是人口本來就很少，但感覺整座公園都是我們的，超讚～ 這裏很多樹和花草，還有水池，生態池。台東人口真的比台灣西部少很多，除了農業，沒有太多別的賺錢機會，所以為了更好的收入，很多年輕人都離開台東去打拼。不過這裏有一樣很棒的東西：生活品質。人生總是充滿了取捨呀～ 其實一直都有人來台東或回來台東幫忙發展觀光產業，創造工作機會和經濟價值，米國學校校長就是其中之一。

The very friendly cat at Guanshan Water Park.
關山親水公園有一隻超親切的貓咪。

The Rice School was a lot of fun for me. The tour is very interactive. There are various DIY activities you can sign up for. We got to learn how rice is milled, feel with our own hands they look like at different stages of milling, what good they’re for at each stage and even got to use a Japanese supermarket mill to process brown rice to our own liking. That was fun. With that activity, they give you a rice bag that you can reuse for various things, like wine bottles (what the bag was actually originally designed for), other grains or anything else. You can even come back and buy more rice and carry it home in that bag. The bag is small, but it’s a good size. Coming back often to buy new rice keeps the stock low and what you put into your stomach fresh.

我覺得米國學校很好玩，導覽有很多互動的地方，有好幾個DIY活動可以做。我學到的包括白米的製造過程，每一個階段的米長得什麼樣子，摸起來什麼感覺，還有體驗使用有時候會在日本超市看到的精米機（可以自己調精米程度），這部份我覺得特別有趣，米國學校還提供一個米袋讓你把米帶回家，袋子之後可以裝葡萄酒瓶，其他穀類，或者再去裝米回家。袋子其實不大，校長說，這提醒大家，買米不要一次買太多，擺太久會不新鮮～

The rice bowl that we had at the Rice School was quite good, especially after several hours of shooting. Salty and greasy vegetables, meats, and delicious rice - it was guiltless heaven for us.

米國學校的碗公飯還真的不錯吃，尤其經過好幾個小時耗體力的外景工作，油油鹹鹹的菜肉飯，吃起來好吃又沒有罪惡感。真的蠻好吃的。

You can rent a bike at Guanshan’s Giant station, where I’m used to getting mine when I go, but they’re only open Friday to Sunday. Thankfully, the Rice School has a rental partner with high quality and dependable bikes.

租車呢，之前我都是在關山站的捷安特，不過他們營業時間只有五六日，還好米國學校這裏也有品質好的腳踏車可以租。

My partner Charles makes everything seem so easy.
鴨子划水的好搭。

We stayed at a legally registered B&B called “Corner Home.” It’s nothing fancy but pretty clean and the host leaves us alone. I appreciate warm hosts, but after a long day of shooting, I prefer to be left alone most of the time. So I like Corner Home. I don't mind staying there again.

住宿部分，我們這次住在一間合法有登記的民宿，叫做「轉角琴宿」，不怎麼華麗，不過乾淨，老闆娘也不會太夠熱情。我喜歡親切的老闆老闆娘，但往往工作了一天，真的很累，不想講話，想要好好休息。所以我還蠻喜歡轉角琴宿的。

Come cycle in Guanshan. You’ll like it. You should come!

到關山騎車呦！大家要來喔！

Oh there's a pizza place in Guanshan that was better than expected. I was so tired and hungry that day, I ended up buying too much of everything. Only had the sparkling chardonnay and pizza, the rest I took home to Taipei...
關山鎮上有一間賣pizza的店，比想像中還好吃！那天又累又餓，買了好多吃的跟喝的，結果只喝了氣泡酒和吃了pizza，其他都打包回台北...

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Links 連結：

Guanshan Water Park 關山親水公園： http://tour.taitung.gov.tw/zh-tw/Travel/ScenicSpot/265/關山親水公園

Rice School 米國學校： http://tour.taitung.gov.tw/zh-tw/Travel/ScenicSpot/459/關山米國學校

Giant Guanshan Station, open Friday, Saturday and Sundays. 捷安特關山站，只開禮拜五六日 台東縣關山鎮中福里博愛路6號 TEL : 089-814391

Corner Home 轉角琴宿 http://www.cornerhome.url.tw

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Accessories 配件：

Shirt: kotipesä  http://www.kotipesa.com

Watch: Martian http://www.martianwatches.com.tw

Shoes: Rucoline

Gear 器材：

UAV: 3DR Solo http://www.3drobotics.com