Michella Jade Weng 翁郁容ミシェラ・オング: Info on episode 18: Neiwan by train 搭火車到內灣

Time for Taiwan 2015-2016, Episode 18: Neiwan by Train

2015-2016年「台灣好好玩」第十六集：搭火車到內灣

Transcript 文字稿:

Today we’re walking around Neiwan, an old Hakka mining town in Hsinchu.

今天我們要到內灣逛逛，內灣位於新竹縣，是一個客家小鎮。

I'm Michella. I grew up in the Silicon Valley and was a journalist in Taiwan for ten years. I like to try new things, play with new toys, and visit old places in a new way. 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，喜歡嘗試新東西，玩新玩具，用新的方式體驗旅行。台灣好好玩，到底有多好玩，讓我和你分享。

To get to Neiwan, you can take a train, which you can pay for by tagging on and off with an Easypass or iPass. Neiwan is on one of the smaller lines, which in the beginning was built mostly for transporting coal and timber out of the area.

大家可以搭火車來內灣，上下車可以刷悠遊卡或一卡通付費。內灣是一條支線，當初是為了運送內灣的煤礦和木材而舖設的。

This is Neiwan Station. Coal used to be loaded on that end of the platform, and timber on the other side.

這裏是內灣站。以前煤礦在月台那頭裝車，木材則在另一頭。

The station house is really small and really cute, and I think quite nostalgic. Oh we have to remember to tag off.

車站的建築很小，很可愛，而且很懷舊。喔對，我們要記得刷出。

When there was still mining and logging going on here, this town was really, really busy. The elementary school had about 1,200 kids then, and now, less than 200. This is the downtown area, there are a lot of tasty Hakka snacks here.

當年還在採礦和伐木的時候，內灣非常熱鬧，那個時候，小學大概有1,200個學生，現在只剩不到200。這裏是內灣老街，有好多客家小吃可以吃。

Look at all of this. There’s so much food. Dried persimmon, ginger candy, dried fruits and vegetables, tomatoes, oh taro cakes, sausages! Who’s hungry? I’m hungry!

哇，好多東西，好多食物喔！柿餅，薑糖，蔬果乾，番茄，哇，還有芋粿，香腸？有人肚子餓了嗎？我餓了！

They use ginger in a lot of the food here in Neiwan. This is a “caibao” with ginger powder in it. Oftentimes ginger powder is used instead of chili peppers or black peppers. Ah there’s a hole in it! So the ginger powder still makes it spicy, but not too unbearably so.

內灣人用很多野薑花。這是菜包，裡面加了野薑花粉。野薑花粉經常會被拿來取代辣椒或胡椒。啊，破洞了。野薑花粉還是會辣辣的，但比較溫和。

This is Neiwan Theater. It’s a restaurant now, but in the old days. They used to play movies, hold Hakka opera performances and even cabaret shows sometimes. Let’s go inside.

這是內灣戲院，其實現在變成餐廳了。以前這裏會播放電影，有時候有客家歌仔戲，有時候還有牛肉秀。走，我們到裡面去。

None of these tables and chairs used to be here. People used to sit on rows of benches. There were rows down here and rows up there on the second floor. Kids liked to stay here right by the bathroom. Towards the end of the movies, right before the end of the show, they would go and hide inside. I’m sure you know why. Movie hopping!

現在這裏都是桌子和椅子，但以前這邊都是長凳，一樓二樓都是長凳。小朋友喜歡坐在靠廁所這裏，每次電影快結束的時候，他們就會跑到廁所裡面。為什麼呢？大家應該都知道吧。這樣就可以偷偷繼續看下一場啊！

That’s a character out of a comic book drawn by a Hakka artist. She represents the typical Hakka woman, hard working, frugal and stubborn. My husband is half Hakka, he is pretty stubborn.

這位大嬸是一位客家漫畫家的作品，她代表典型的客家女性，認真，節儉，硬頸固執。我先生是半個客家人，的確很固執。

Neiwan was very, very quiet for a long time and started to pick up again just a few years ago.

內灣有一陣子非常蕭條，最近幾年又開始熱鬧起來。

Neiwan’s a nice place to walk around, eat, and then find some place to sit down and just relax. That is exactly what I need right now. You should come.

我覺得內灣是個很適合散步，吃小吃，然後坐下來放空的地方。我現在正需要好好的放空。大家要來喔！

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Michella's notes 米雪拉的筆記：

“Neiwan” means “inside bay,” but there really isn’t a bay here. There are lots of camp grounds in the nearby mountains but Neiwan isn’t by the ocean and there isn’t a bay. Apparently the “wan” in Neiwan was the character for “bend,” but over time, people thought it would be cool to add the water radical to the character, since there is a river flowing the town, and the character turned into “bay.” Fun trivia, just in case you wanted to know.

內灣的灣在哪裏呢？其實內灣沒有灣。以前這裏叫做內彎，沒有三點水的「彎」，不過有人覺得因為這裏有河，那就加個三點水，讓他變成「灣」吧。我猜這三點水跟招財有關。

Neiwan’s a place that popped up on the tourism map not that long ago. You can drive here, but I think it’s best to take a train because parking is really limited. This train line was planned and started during the Japanese occupation but wasn’t completed until after WWII when the KMT party retreated to Taiwan. Coal mining, forestry and cement were the major industries here, but when those died down, the town became really quiet and stayed that way for quite a while until very recently.

內灣是個不久之前才成為觀光景點的小鎮，開車可以到，但最好還是搭火車，因為車子不好停。台鐵這條支線是在日治時代規劃和開始建設的，不過是由國民政府接手完成的。當初這裏有三大產業：伐木，煤礦，還有水泥，但沒落後，內灣經濟蕭條了一陣子，到了最近又以觀光發展了起來。

There’s a street with hawkers on both sides here and a huuuuuge crowd of people on the weekends. To avoid the crowd, go early, perhaps around 0930 or 1000. The cafes and shops off the main street are good too. There are craftsmen in some of the shops and it’s kind of fun to watch them work.

老街上有很多路邊攤，假日有很多很多很多人，如果要避開人潮，可能早上九點半時點來比較好吧。我覺得老街附近的咖啡店和小商店還不錯，有些店家裡面還有匠師在工作，看他們做野蠻有趣的。

For me I found the cafe behind the station to be quite relaxing. There are trees in the cafe itself, and it overlooks the tracks so you can watch trains come in and out. The name of the cafe is “Enjoy You Hakka Life” 品客好客. This is one of the establishments that the Hakka council is backing, and there are more of these types of businesses in the area which are all worth checking out.

車站後面一家「品客好客」的咖啡店不錯，半室內，半戶外，而且有樹和很多植物，也可以邊看火車進出。附近有好幾家客家文化相關的小店，由政府機關輔導，可以看看，蠻不錯的。

There’s an elementary school nearby and its field area with basketball courts and a track is open to visitors. A lot of people seem to enjoy the shade and space under the trees there.

附近有一間國小，很多人逛完擁擠的老街，會來這裡休息。印象中這裏有很多樹蔭可以享受，也有很多空間讓小朋友玩耍。

Nearby you’ll also find Hexing Station, where Lavender Cottage has transformed some old train cars into cafes. Young couples like to visit.

內灣附近有一個「合興車站」，薰衣草森林團隊把幾個車廂改造成可愛的咖啡店，很多情侶喜歡來這裏。

You should come!

大家要來喔！