|
Traveling solo A blessing overall! 1 So you're ready to travel. Pick a place any place. Let's say you've always wanted to go to China. You've seen pictures of the Great Wall the Forbidden City Tian'anmen Square. You've always been fascinated with Chinese aesthetics and culture with red fragrant temples and venerable statues. You have a chunk of money saved and extra vacation time earned. Now is the time to go! 2 But maybe you haven't traveled much. You've never been to an exotic place where you can't speak the language or read the signs. A place where you'll have to do all the research for yourself find hotels get yourself around buy locomotive or bus tickets order your own food. You must figure all of this out while looking at the unfamiliar notation which you see wherever you look or go. 3 So now you're ready to realize your dream to explore China and find for yourself the soul of the country. Unfortunately right from the onset none of your friends share that dream. Your sister is pregnant and can't travel. Your best friend just got a new job and can't take time off. So what do you do? You could ask everyone you know friends acquaintances co-workers. You could join a tour. Or you could go alone. 4 To travel alone is a difficult decision for anyone though especially for women. For me it came naturally. I made that trip to China and then zigzagged on a multinational excursion through Indonesia Thailand England and France. 5 But the reactions I've gotten from people I know fellow travelers and especially from the natives of the countries I've visited showed me that solo traveling is strange and even considered inconceivable or reckless by many people. People ask me if the isolation makes me sad or even if I'm more susceptible to violent or dangerous situations. 6 This has been sometimes a blessing sometimes a curse. I remember searching desperately for accommodations in Taiwan. The university listed in my booklet no longer had dormitories for travelers and I was lucky when the desk clerk called a young woman out of a nearby office. As it turned out she was offering to let me stay at her flat and even had a friend come show me around the city the next day. 7 Also in Taiwan I met two girls who smuggled me into their hotel room gave me one of the beds (they shared the other) and took me to a feast with their tour group. When they heard my next stop was their hometown they arranged for a bilingual friend to pick me up at the train station. 8 But there has also been the downside of those not-so-pleasant experiences. In Indonesia a cute boy gave me a ride on his motorbike and thought that gave him license to grope me illicitly. Many times in Indonesia boys menaced me assuming I was willing to pay for their company. In Japan I was picked up by a young man who refused to drop me at my Youth Hostel; he insisted I stay with his friends. The friends turned out to be four girls; I was safe but one snored like a lawnmower and it took me two days to escape. 9 I've been irritated and perplexed many times not speaking a language not understanding or being understood. Once in Italy a hotel clerk tried to overcharge me and only gave up after 10 minutes of arguing. Another time in China a taxi driver insisted I pay more and I was rescued by the doorman of a fancy hotel. 10 Having a companion might have helped safeguard me from some of those problems. But it would have suppressed other opportunities a long afternoon in Thailand all alone in the back of a hay wagon and then seven days in the back of a truck with a Brit two Aussies and two Norwegians! Eating ethnic food on my way through eastern Korea with four youthful Japanese salarymen. Getting sick in China and being nursed with chocolate bars and tissues by a couple from Texas. 11 The few times I have traveled with a companion I haven't had the same ample opportunities to meet people. Other travelers can swap stories with you about the local folklore of the places they've been to and often have credible insights into the place you're visiting. Locals are also more likely to see you as approachable and be upfront with you when you're on your own. 12 Of course you have to be careful not to endanger yourself by throwing caution to the wind. Watch your back but don't presume the worst and be overly fearful. Be friendly with people but watch out for those who are too friendly with you. Don't disregard your instincts. If you hear stories about criminals on a road take the road – just don't take much cash and don't accept Coca Cola from strangers. 13 The key to solo travel is to open your mind close your eyes and leap in! Everything that happens to you is an experience and good bad or neutral they will all benefit you in some way. Take those little annoyances those inefficiencies and those boring bureaucrats with a laugh. If you despise something just remember: You don't live there you can leave anytime and you'll never have to deal with this again! 14 Don't ever let a lack of companionship constrain you from doing what you really want to do. Once you go solo you'll be amazed at how sensational your travel experiences will be. 独自旅行——总体来说是好事 现在你准备去旅行，挑一个地方，任何地方都可以。比如你一直想去中国，你已经看过了长城、紫禁城、天安门广场的照片。你一直被中国的美学艺术和文化所深深吸引，那里有香烟缭绕的红色寺庙，有庄严的塑像。你早就省下了一笔钱，挤出了点时间，现在，该出发了！ 但也许你以前旅行不多。你从来没去过异国他乡，你不会讲当地语言，也看不懂任何标志。在这里，你得亲自研究所有的事情，自己找旅店，自己到处逛，自己买火车票或汽车票，自己点餐。所有这一切，无论你身处何处，你都得盯着那些不熟悉的符号自己搞定。 所以，现在你整装待发，去实现探索中国的梦想，亲自去发现这个国家的灵魂所在。但是不幸的是，刚一开始就没有朋友分享你的梦想。你姐姐怀孕了，不能去旅行；你最好的朋友刚刚找到新工作，没办法休假。你该怎么办呢？你可能会询问认识的每一个人——朋友，熟人，同事。你可以参团旅游。或者，你也可以自己一个人去。 对于任何人来说，独自旅行都是一个艰难的决定。对女性来说尤其如此。而对我而言，这个决定却再自然不过。我先去了中国，然后再辗转到了印度尼西亚、泰国、英国和法国，经历了一次多国之旅。 但是，我从认识的人、旅友，尤其是所到国家的居民的反应中得知，很多人觉得独自旅行很怪异，甚至会觉得不可思议和欠考虑。人们问我单独一人会不会觉得难过，甚至问我是不是更容易遭遇暴力或者危险情况。 单独旅行有时是件好事，有时则不然。我想起曾经有一次在台湾绝望地寻找住处的经历。我的手册上列出的大学已经没有宿舍提供给旅游者了。幸运的是，接待人员从旁边办公室叫出一个年轻女孩儿。结果，这个女孩儿让我在她的公寓住了一晚，甚至第二天还让她的一个朋友带我在这座城市转了转。 还是在台湾，我遇见两个女孩儿。她们偷偷地把我带进旅店的房间，让我睡其中的一张床（她们俩挤另一张床），还带我和她们的旅行团一起吃了顿丰盛的饭。当她们听说我下一站要去她们的家乡时，又安排了一个会说两种语言的朋友到火车站接我。 当然也有一些不太愉快的负面经历。在印度尼西亚，一个长相可爱的男孩儿让我搭乘了他的摩托车，认为这样他就可以非礼我。在那里，常常有一些男孩儿威胁我，认为我同意付钱让他们陪游。在日本，一个年轻男人让我搭车，却拒绝让我在青年旅馆下车，他坚持让我和他的朋友们呆在一起。结果我发现，他的朋友是四个女孩儿。我很安全，但是其中一个人打呼噜就像割草机一样。我花了两天时间才逃走。 很多时候，我很苦恼，感觉不知所措，因为不懂当地的语言，不能理解别人的意思，别人也听不懂我说的话。有一次在意大利，一个旅店接待员试图问我多要钱，争论了十分钟他才放弃。还有一次在中国，一个出租车司机坚持问我多要钱，最后还是一个豪华宾馆的门卫帮我解了围。 如果身边有一个同伴陪着我，也许就能使我避免刚刚讲的那些问题。但是这也会使我错失其他的机会，比如我在泰国装干草的马车后面独自坐了整个下午，然后和一个英国人、两个澳大利亚人、两个挪威人在一辆卡车的后车厢里呆了七天；我在去韩国东部的路上和四个年轻的日本上班族品尝了民族风味的食物；在中国生病了，有一对来自得克萨斯州的夫妻照顾我，给我吃巧克力棒，递纸巾。 在我为数不多的几次结伴旅行中，我就没有那么多的机会结识那么多的人。其他旅游者会给你讲他们到过的地方的民间风情，对于你正在旅行的地方，他们也有令人信服的见解。当你独自一人旅行时，当地人也会觉得你更容易接近，从而愿意和你坦诚相对。 当然，你必须当心，不要因为大意而使自己处于危险的境地。要处处提防，但是也不要把什么事都想成最坏的，过于担惊受怕。要对人友善，但需防备那些对你过于友好的人。别忽视你的直觉。如果你听说某条公路上曾经有坏人出现，你可以走这条路——只是不要带太多的现金，不要喝陌生人给你的可乐。 单独旅行的关键是敞开心扉，闭上眼睛，投入其中!所有发生在你身上的事情都是一种经历，无论是好的、坏的，或是不好不坏的，将来总会对你有益。把那些小烦恼、那些拖拉低效的作风、那些令人厌恶的官僚主义都抛在脑后，一笑置之。如果反感某些东西，请记住:你不是住在那里，你随时可以离开，你以后再也不用管它了! 永远不要因为缺少同伴而不去做你真正想做的事情。一旦你独自一人去旅行，你会惊奇地发现你的旅行经历将会是多么美好。 |
