前两天的行程都在深山里，无论是南投的日月潭还是嘉义阿里山，交通都极为不便。在日月潭，我们住在伊达邵。一开始还以为和日本武士家族伊达家有关，后来才知道是一个名为伊达的邵族部落。到达的第一天，日月潭雨很大。但第二天一觉醒来，伊达邵居然云散天晴。这不由得使我懊悔，错过了壮丽的潭水日出。
The first two days of the trip were deep in the mountains. It is a long journey to both Sun Moon Lake in Nantou and Alishan in Chiayi. In Sun Moon Lake, we stayed in Ita Thao. At first, I thought the name was related to the Date clan (shared the same Chinese characters, “伊達”), a famous Japanese samurai family. But later after, I learned that the name was from a Thao tribe named Ita. The first day of arrival, it rains heavily in Sun Moon Lake. But when I woke up in the next morning, the sky was all cleared in Ita Thao. I kept regretting the miss of a magnificent sunrise over the lake.
白天的日月潭不是很好玩，阳光不大不小，一开始天还算蓝，但到了中午，便慢慢开始起雾布云。长焦拍摄的照片随着太阳西移，开始慢慢朦胧。日月潭的水上巴士船程很短，山间的步道也没有什么特别的意思。看了几个不那么好看的寺院，我们便打算离去。
Sun Moon Lake is not very fun during the day, the sunshine is not burning but still warm. The sky was blue in the morning, but slowly fogged up at noon. The photos taken by telephoto started to be hazy as the sun moved west. The boating tour on Sun Moon Lake is fleeting, and the trails in the nearby hills are dull and boring. After visiting a few of the stereotypical temples, we planned to leave.
中午离开这一汪潭水，先乘巴士到台中，在台中吃寿司和汉堡，稍微逛了逛车站附近，我们便匆匆启程去嘉义，希望能赶上嘉义到阿里山的公车。虽然时间看似有些紧，但拜台中嘉义简单的不益迷路的火车站所赐，进出站的时间比我们要想的短得多。而且由于公车站紧邻嘉义火车站，下了火车我居然还有半个小时的时间在周遭闲逛。
After leaving the lake right after the noon, we hurriedly departed for Alishan. This is a complex commute route, we first took a bus to Taichung train station, where we ate sushi and burgers and strolled around the station for a while. Then we need to take a train there for Chiayi, and then catch the latest bus from Chiayi to Alishan. Although the schedule seemed to be a bit tight, thanks to the simple and unproductive train station in Taichung and Chiayi, the time to get in and out of the stations was much shorter than we expected. The Alishan bus station is right next to Chiayi train station, I actually had half an hour to hang around after arriving the small city.
然而一旦上了去阿里山的公车，一段神奇的旅程便由此开始。这里山路十八弯，离开嘉义城区，看着城里的学生上上下下，不知不觉间，夕阳落下，公车上山。阿里山属于台湾玉山的附属山脉，台湾西部的山群虽然不及东部的陡峭高耸，但也着实崎岖。山路弯弯曲曲，上上下下，却又不同于北京西边的山路。这里的山路相对较窄，两边也不会有一些特别现代的房屋，驶入深处后更是如此。坐着坐着，我突然感到一阵恶心，大约是我中午还吃了太多寿司。这一刻，我突然意识到，我大约是晕车了。
However, once you get on the bus to Alishan, a magical journey begins. Roads going up the mountains has plenty of twists and turns. After leaving Chiayi downtown, we watched the students in the city getting on and off the bus. The bus wobbled up, with the sun set quietly.
Alishan is part of Jade Mountain in the western side of Taiwan. Although not as steep and high as the eastern island, the hillside is still rugged and hard to elevate. Curving up and down, the road is pretty different from that in the westside of Beijing. These roads are relatively narrow, and there are no modern style houses on the side, even more so when you drive deeper into the mountains. As I sat, I suddenly felt a wave of nausea, probably because I had also eaten too much sushi at noon. I suddenly realized that I was about to get the carsick.
从没有晕车如此厉害，到最后半个小时的山路，公车每拐一个弯，对我来说就是一个很大的挑战。窗外的山灯闪动，加上我好久没有擦过的眼睛，我总是感觉眼前有一个可怕的磨人的小妖精在一动一动。胃里翻江倒海，伴随着好几次恶心的干呕。在那时，我竭力不让自己吐出来，同时心中默念“嗡嘛呢叭咪吽”以平静自己的内心。到了最后，索性两眼一闭，双手合十祈求尽快到站。
Never have I felt so bad before, and by the last half hour of the trip, every turn the bus took was a big challenge for me. With the flickering lights outside the window and my blurred wet eyes, I always felt like there was a horrible annoying goblin jumping on my face. My stomach turned over, accompanied by several nauseating dry heaves. At that time, I tried my best not to vomit, while silently repeating some powerful Buddhist mantra to calm down. At the end of the day, I simply closed my eyes and prayed, hoping to reach the destination as soon as possible.
也不知是多久，终于抵达了龙头坪站，我们的民宿就在这附近的深山中。定在这里，一是为了方便看第二天的玉山日出，二则是为了夜里拍银河看星星。那天是上弦月过后一天，月落大约是凌晨一点多，基本上月亮进入山边，银河就可以显现。民宿名字叫当归，老板是一个打扮很武士化的台湾人，看起来很欣赏织田信长。他将我们载到民宿以后，指给我一条车道，说向上走拍星星正好。事实上，在他民宿中没有光的院子里，天上的星星已经极为明亮，尤其是猎户座的恒星，伴着若隐若现的银河，闪耀半天。当时，月亮正在中天，因为群山之内没有光害，仅仅上弦月就足以将整个山头照亮，与繁星争辉。
I don’t know how long it was, but we finally arrived at Longtouping Station, near where our hostel is located. Reasons for settling here is to make it easier to see sunrise of the Jade Mountain, and also for a better view of the winter dark sky. The day was a day after the first quarter moon, and the moon set around 1:00 a.m. Basically, when the moon is close to the horizon, the winter Milky Way could be visible.
The name of the hostel is “Danggui” (in Chinese, it means “to go home”), and the owner is a Taiwanese gentleman who dresses like a Japanese samurai and seems to admire Oda Nobunaga, an ambitious ruler 400 years ago. After he picked us up and drove us to the hostel, he pointed me to a driveway and said it was perfect for shooting the stars. In fact, in the lightless courtyard of the hostel, the stars were extremely bright, especially the Orion, which shone halfway up the sky along with the faint Milky Way. At that time, the moon was on the top of the sky. There was no light pollution here in the mountains and the half-moon alone illuminated the entire sky and brightened the remote hills.
小跑上那条长长的坡道，到了半山，才发现开阔之景一览无余。天边的星星，尤其是背向月亮的北斗，很明显地画出了一个勺子的形状。这比京郊百花山的星空还要绚烂许多，突然，我开始期待月落后的冬季银河。
Trotting up that long ramp to the half of the hill, I realized that the view was unobstructed. The stars in the sky are gorgeous. Especially, the Ursa Major on the other side of the moon were clearly drawn in the shape of a spoon. It was much more astonishing than the starry sky of what I saw in the suburbs of Beijing. And suddenly, I began to look forward to the winter Milky Way after the moonset.
为了拍摄到冬季美丽的银河，那伴着重山的美丽的淡雅的银河，我12点就架好架子等待。此时月已西斜，慢慢掉向山边。我想着，山的主人们应该都睡了。可忽然，远处传来一阵野狗狂吠，仿佛来自山路之上，又仿佛来自远山深处。清寒之中，我突然有了一些惧意。没有路灯，而山坡也相对较暗。我的手里只有一个电筒，万一突然冲下一只野狗，我也无法预测会发生什么。
In order to capture the beautiful winter Milky Way, accompanied by the endless undulating mountains, I set up my tripod at 12AM and stayed there. The moon was already slanting in the west and was slowly falling towards the ridge of hills. The animals in the mountain have already slept, I thought. But suddenly, there was a distant wild dog barking, as if from above the ramp road, or maybe from the deepest area of the mountain. Feeling the chill, I was suddenly worried. There were no streetlights for sure, and the hillside was dim. There was only one flashlight in my backpack, so I couldn’t predict what would happen if a wild dog rushed down.
仔细想了想，我关上了可能带有敌意的手电，静静等在路边。野狗依然在不住地狂吠，声音越来越大，此起彼伏，交相辉映。声音来源也更为多变，仿佛四面八方都有数不尽的疯狗，交杂着远山的回声，显得尤为令人惧怖。这一刻，仿佛草木皆兵，仿佛四面楚歌。
After careful thought, I turned off my possibly hostile flashlight and waited quietly on the side of the road. The wild dogs were still recklessly barking, getting louder and louder, and one after the other. The source of the sound is in different direction, as if there are countless mad dogs here. The sound was mixed with the echoes of the distant mountains, which feared me after several minutes. It seems all the grass and trees on the hillside are hostile to me, playing horrible music and laughing at me.
也不知道是过了多久，东边的一家人亮起了灯，然后走出一个人，好像是拍了拍什么东西。其中一个狗吠转为呜咽，然后压低，渐渐平息，而其他方向上的声音依然不见变小。手持长杖的我依然在路边纠结。
I don’t know how long it was, but a family in the east lit up and then came out as if they pat something. I felt a barking dog turned to discontinuous whimper. The sound became lowered and gradually ended, while the sound in the other direction still did not disappear. I held on to the hiking stick in my hand, and hesitating what I should do.
西边逐渐布起了低云，月亮慢慢向云的方向移去。银河悄然间升至中天，同时已经慢慢有了大致的轮影。我看了看时候不早，便下定决心，上去闯一闯。拿出三脚架倚在身前，我时刻看着路边的草丛，以防有动物突然窜出。轻轻地走上坡顶，我可以看到整个山谷的全景。民宿还亮着小桔灯，点缀在漆黑的山谷里，正好作为星空的前景。银河就在我的正前方，北斗七星拱卫在我的背后。那一种感觉，是一个城市少年所很难见到的。曾经看过东海之滨与百花山顶的满天繁星，就算没有月亮也没有这里来得震撼。完全没有光害的深山之中，抬头望去，即便在月光照耀下，我也能看见众多恒星。这是我所从来没有感受到的景象，康德说的话果然不假。
Low clouds were gradually covering the west, and the moon slowly moved towards them. The Milky Way crept up on the top of the sky, showing a rough contour. The time was late, so I made up my mind to visit the top of the hill. Taking out my tripod and holding it crosswise, I kept an eye on the grass at the side of the road in case any strange animals came out. Gently walking up the slope to the top, I could see a panoramic view of the whole valley. Our hostel was still lit up with small orange lights, dotting the dark valley, which served as a perfect foreground for the starry sky. The Milky Way was directly in front of me, and the Ursa Major was on my back side.
It was a feeling that is rare for a city boy. Before this trip, I had seen the starry sky on a beach by the East China Sea and the top of Baihua Peak near Beijing. But those were not as shocking as here. Deep in this mountain where there was absolute no light pollution, heading up, I could see innumerable stars in the less intense moonlight. This was a scene I had never seen before. As Immanuel Kant said, “two things fill my mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, one is the starry heavens above me.”
开阔的平台上面，还有一个被树横栏的斜坡。我柱着杖子，又慢慢爬了上去，原来是满山的茶田，田塍间铺了满满一地的草杆与碎木。茶叶已然很老，远处有一个人形的东西，大概是一个稻草人。想想也有趣，我居然在在这么一个偏远的地方和一个草人一起看星星。
Above the overlook, there is another slope blocked by trees. I held my hiking stick, and slowly walked up. It turned out to be full of tea fields, with weedy grass and broken wood all over the narrow paths between the fields. Tea leaves were in their adult stages, an unfavorable situation for harvesting. There is a human-shaped shadow in distance, probably a scarecrow. It is also interesting that I’m actually stargazing with a straw man in such a remote place.
然而当我就打算在这里等待月亮落下，银河清晰之时，远处的山渐渐变得朦胧起来。熟悉一点山里天气的我突然意识到，可能会有山雾。一开始，雾还在山脚，离我很远；但才过了一两分钟，雾线便没过了民宿，然后不断上升。
However, when I was waiting for the moonset and a clear Milky Way, the mountains in the distance became hazy. Knowing a little about the weather in mountain, I suddenly became aware of the possibility of night fog. At first, the fog was still in the bottom of the valley, far away from me. But only after a few minutes, the fog line passed our hostel, and then kept rising.
果然没几分钟，山雾就将我给吞没，我已经看不到接近地平线的星星与月亮。抬头，接下来消失的是高悬着的北斗七星，最后是正天顶的星星。愤怒的我用手电筒照了照远方，但除了预料之中的丁达尔效应，什么也没有看到。我悻悻地走下山去，不愿意接受事实却又不得不接受这不幸的一切。
Within a few minutes, the thick fog engulfed me, and I could no longer see the stars and the moon near the horizon. Looking up, then disappeared the Ursa Major, and finally the stars right at the zenith. I shone my flashlight in the direction of the valley and saw nothing but only the expected Tyndall effect. I walked down the hill resentfully, unwilling but had to accept the misfortune.
大概明天早上还能看到日出吧。我下坡时还不断安慰自己，早上早些起来，看看雾散没散，趁天还没亮也许还是有银河的，拍完去看日出正好。
Perhaps I can still see the sunrise next morning, I kept reassuring myself going downhill. If I get up earlier in the morning and the fog is gone, there might still be a chance for a light Milky Way. It would be just on time to watch the sunrise after the photoshoot.
然而这个天真的孩子还不知道，在几个小时以后，他醒来，看到的将会是是漫天的乌云，以及云中偶尔透出的耶稣光。雾在夜里的确散了，而且一度露出了星星和他梦寐以求的冬季银河，然而那时的他，依然深深沉浸在梦乡。
The naive boy did not know, however, that a few hours later he would be facing a sky full of clouds and the occasional crepuscular rays. The fog did disappear in the late night, and for a time showed the stars and the winter Milky Way he had dreamed of, yet at that time he was still deeply immersed in his dreamland.
第二天的阿里山爬行，也因此变得意兴阑珊。
As a result, I was dispirited in the Alishan hike the next day.
2016.1.31 杭州
Written in Hangzhou