單車環島日記

Some things in life - if you don't do them now, you'll never do them, ever.

That's the message that hits home after watching "Island Etude" (練習曲), a film from Taiwan by En Chen (陳懷恩).


It is a simple story of Ming, a young man who decides to embark on a solo 單車環島 journey before he graduates from college.

With nothing more than a rucksack and a guitar on his back, the young man sets off on his racer bike from 高雄, and braves the weather to cycle east-to-west (counter clockwise) round the island of Taiwan.

His destination: 高雄, where he started.


Although he can speak a little, we found out that Ming is actually hearing-impaired since young. Through his eyes, the film captures slices of countryside life and scenery around the island during his soul-searching trip.

Through his earnestness for life, we are introduced to the various idiosyncratic and zany people he meets during the 7-day round island trip. From each encounter, we learn a little about life and its philosophy.


As he cycles past 漢本 train station, he encountered a European tourist from Lithuania who missed her train to 花蓮. From her, we got to know that her country has no mountains as she appreciates the beauty of the Taiwanese mountains. As her train finally arrives and they bid farewell, the audience is let into her thoughts as she contemplates: "We all come into this world, traveling alone. Even with a companion, we would go our separate ways."

My friend Autumn who shared with me this DVD, he also shared with me the words of Czeslaw Milosz, a Polish poet who received a Noble Prize in Literature. In "Temptation", the poet wrote (translated):

每個人都是獨自的旅行
即使有人相伴
也將會各分東西
遇到你不是必然的結果
即使沒有遇見你
我也會和其他人相遇

A rather gloomy and pessimistic outlook in life, don't you think? :)


When Ming arrives at 宜蘭, I learnt a little about the origin of Sayon's Bell (莎韻之鐘), a bell structure built there. According to history, during the Japanese occupation at Taiwan in 1930s, a little Japanese girl drowned after she fell off the bridge in the mountains amid treacherous weather, as she was helping her teacher to carry his luggage. Touched by the story, the Taiwanese government built a bell tower as remembrance for the little girl called Sayon.


Have you heard about Jonathan Livingstone? Jonathan is not afraid to be different from the rest. He got tired of fighting over food with the others, so he decided he will not conform - he decided to fly alone to pursue his ideals, despite ridicule from others. His only hope is to be able to fly higher and farther. Jonathan Livingstone is the name of a seagull. This is the inspiring story that Ming learns at 八斗子 near 基隆, where he met a day-tripping family. Incidentally, 八斗子 is apparently the only place in Taiwan that you can get to see sunrise and sunset!



To set the backdrop of the story, the director Chen takes his time to create the atmospheric serenity of the scenic locations. Stretching almost 2 hours, this film boasts of breathtaking coastal scenery around the island, a part of Taiwan not many get to see. There were several awe-inspiring landscapes that look better than postcard photographs!

During Ming's journey, although speaking little, he shares with the audience his thoughts as words from his journal are flashed on the screen at different chapters. For example, on the start of day 5, we see a shot of peaceful waves lapping on the shores at the break of dawn. Accompanying journal entry on the screen:

第五天：林口

海潮聲 像一種和我對話，一種呼吸 。。


In the "making of" feature in the DVD, the writer-director shares that the Ming character is inspired by someone he met some years back. He also explains that the odd chinese title was actually the working title of the film, but stuck after he realized how oddly apt it becomes during the course of writing it.

練習曲 refers to the tune that Ming practises regularly on his guitar. Although hearing-impaired, he embraces the beauty and sound of music and attempts to weave the symphony of life into his silent world.

To a teacher he met in a small town, he scribbled these words on a piece of paper to share his passion for music:

“彈吉它，就像是一個箱子裡面敲敲打打，像是一個還沒組合好的音符，任我彈彈音樂，我自己就不會寂寞。。。”

Life's a journey of constant learning and living to the fullest, limited only by one's own perception. Like the director says, every travel opportunity or every trip forms part of our life's journey, and provides a valuable opportunity for 學習 and 進修.


I feel that the film has spoken to me on many levels.

Besides the coincidence that my middle name is also Ming, the picturesque landscapes during the road trip captured my mind instantly. And although I am a little hard of hearing myself and do feel frustrated for it sometimes, I feel fortunate that I do not need a hearing aid like Ming does.

I love traveling. And I enjoy music. I often look back on the days that I did not treasure the opportunity to pick up piano as a little boy. I have all these years harboured the thought of picking up piano or guitar or even a third language, or pursuing my passion for photography, but never really got around to doing it.

Yes, indeed...

有些事現在不做，一輩子都不會做了。。。

不是嗎？