台北的100分

100分果然是令人趨之若鶩。從台北回來，不斷有人問我有甚麼那樣好玩，有100分那麼厲害。要是把行程列出來，大家可能覺得不怎麼樣，吃的地方，買的地方，大部份也是從旅遊書找來的，可能你們知道的比我到過的還要好。今次到台北前也沒有詳盡的旅遊日程，也沒有既定的景點（看演唱會除外，哈哈）。台灣的朋友在我出發前問我看甚麼，我只是說我想好好感受台北，看地道的台北。

朋友真是個大好人，聽到這樣虛無飄渺的描述，還是努力推薦了一些地方，真的非常感謝。剝皮寮歷史街區由於在日治時代被禁止增建，還保留了清朝時代的建築面貌，電影《艋舺》也是在這裡取景。剝皮寮歷史街區是拍照的好地方，但遊剝皮寮令我更滿足的是讓我有機會認識萬華區。清代的艋舺是台北市的發源地，發展下來便是現在的萬華。萬華曾經是治安不大太平的地區，有黑幫、有色情事業、有小混混，也聚集了不同地方來台的人士，有點像香港的深水埗。有一個下午，因為走到太累，與友人來了個腳底按摩，也因些有機會與住在附近的按摩師聊聊天。兩位中年的按摩師都是香港人，一位是隨父母移居台灣，另一位則是到台灣讀書後嫁給了當地人，當上台灣媳婦。她們告訴我，很多剛來台的人也選擇住在萬華，因為租金相對便宜，所以這一帶擁有多元文化。當年國共內戰後，在中國大陸不少中華民國國軍及其家眷也隨軍隊移遷台灣，聚集在政府配置在萬華一帶的村落，也稱為眷村，所以這一帶也比較多外省的居民。離開台灣前一天，因著尋找海鮮拉麵的原故，我一個人又走到萬華。在舊街道上走走拍拍，好像回到二三十年前的香港，曾經香港也有簷底下的店舖、鐵皮粥檔、ＸＸ照相、士多前的紅Ａ膠椅，我對這些東西有莫名的親切感，令我想起了小時候在圍村亂跑亂跳的生活。

　

 

七十年代經濟起飛，台灣與新加坡、香港及南韓並駕齊驅，合稱「亞洲四小龍」。今天再看這四個地方，台灣的經濟發展好像趕不上其餘三條小龍。台灣的朋友慨嘆說，台灣這十年的經濟不大理想，十年來工資沒有增長的大有人在，不少年青人都想向外發展。她問我香港大學生畢業工資大概多少，當我告訴她平均一萬港幣（約三萬七千元台幣）時，她意外地說：「這麼高！我們台灣的大學生畢業生有兩萬多台幣已算不錯。」我也著實覺得意外，我以為香港跟台灣的薪金水平相距不遠，這次了解過後才知道有這樣一段差距。我們還談到兩地的英語水平的差別，香港學生的英語不算很好，但基本的他們還是可以應付。台灣的朋友說台灣的中學生的英語水平可能只是國際標準小學三年級的程度。他們歸究台灣的大學數目太多，質素良莠不齊。他們說整個台灣大概有140所大學，大學的入學率是98%，也即是說，學位的數目比學生還要多，所以學生即使水平未能附合大學的入學水平，還是有大學願意迎接他們入學的。我們還輕談了政治，台灣的「民粹政治」（這是朋友教我的），令政府在作很多決策時都裹足不前，因為每項議題總會有擁戴者與反對者。回港後的星期天，剛好看到《城市論壇》，也聽到「民粹政治」，香港是否也面對同樣的情況？我認為市民的聲音要聽，並要認真聽，但政府不能在不願意作決定時便歸究是市民的分化，我們要一個負責任的政府，一個為我們作最合理的決定並會為這個決定承擔的政府。

喜歡台灣的一個主要原因，是台灣人的禮貌及友善。每當要問路，我都遇到非常熱心的台灣人盡他們所知的提供資料，有時他們更會多告訴我其他資訊，好像那個地方有甚麼好吃，有甚麼特別的景點等，所以當台灣遊客是件挺幸福的事。也有好幾次，是身旁的台灣人主動關顧並打開話匣子的。這一次到台北，有兩個頗特別的經歷：在台北的第一天，同行的友人還未抵達，我便自己一個人坐捷運出外走走。在月台上我翻看旅遊書，查看要去的地方的路徑。在我身後排隊的是三個跟我年紀相若的男女，他們一直在聊天，我也沒有刻意注視他們。然後其中一個女生突然拍拍我的肩，問我是否一個人來旅遊，要不要幫忙指示方向，然後我們四個人便閑談起來。他們在短促的一站捷運上幹不及告訴我好玩好吃的地方，他們索性跟我一起下車，在月台上繼續把那出色的居酒屋地點告訴我，更把她的電話號碼及電郵留給我，叫我要是需要甚麼幫忙儘管打給她。隔天查看電郵，發現新朋友把居酒屋的地圖發了給我，還同時提供了其他的一些資訊，很細心。另一次，是我一個人在西門町逛街時，有兩個年青的女生看到我的波鞋，很喜歡，走過來問我在那裡買，話匣子打開了，我們也談了些其他。前一天晚上因為看《霸王別姬》，很晚才睡，第二天眼睛浮浮腫腫。這兩個女生看見，問我搞甚麼這樣，還問我要不要去打Botox，說附近有些地方可以打，護士也會去的，不少港人也光顧，她自己也有在別的地方打Botox。我是有點哭笑不得，但也很感謝他們的資料，也親身體驗了台灣女生對加工美容的坦誠開放，處之泰然，我是誠心佩服。看是小事兩宗，但在香港主動跟陌生人說話總會讓人覺得有甚麼動機，又或是會把對方嚇怕，這樣簡簡單單沒有負擔的對話，好像很久沒有在日常生活出現過。當香港的遊客到底感覺是怎樣？下一次有朋友來港旅遊時，我一定要問問他們覺得當香港遊客幸福不幸福。

我要再當幸福的旅客。台灣，我是會回來。等我！

巴黎的左與右 (March, 2012)

剛從歐洲回來時，一直徘徊在要不要寫這次的旅遊日誌，然後隔了幾個星期，也就過了那份興致，沒寫。今天卻突然想寫。

雖然今次在倫敦留了多天，但主要是工作，空閒的時間不多。重返熟識的地方，在Hyde Park坐坐，很舒服；能抱抱兩個很要好的朋友，很窩心，五年七年，一瞬間仿如昨日。除此之外，沒有其他特別要寫。荷蘭嘛，正值是鬱金香盛開的季節，花很美，陽光明媚，阿姆斯特丹還是很友善，一句「自在！」總括了。

真的想寫的是在巴黎的幾天。

不是第一次到巴黎，主要的景點名勝都看過了。這一次甚麼行程也沒有，只是隨意的走走，貪婪的看博物館，沉溺在巴黎獨特的氣氛就是了。我喜歡巴黎，同樣討厭巴黎。是的，這是一個只有兩極的城市，沒有中間（倫敦是剛好相反，只有中間），要不是很喜歡，就是生厭。懶洋洋的浪漫氣氛我喜歡；巴黎人我不喜歡；法國大街小巷都是美食，正；巴黎地鐵臭死了，討厭；大大小小的博物館讓我瘋狂；LV店員的傲慢叫我差點要破口大罵。心情就好像只可在兩個點跳來跳去，過度式並不適用。正是這種二極化的刺激，讓我可以好好檢視一下思緒。




我常常覺得，把慣常的時間表、習慣模式、假設、群體期望，‘砰’的一聲統統給打亂，是最有效最徹底的個人檢視方法。在巴黎的幾天，把以上種種給打亂，可是重組卻用了幾個月的時間，這兩三天才釐清各個想法，可以具體表達出來。



因為要替朋友到LV買東西，我第二次經歷了中國人歧視中國人的情景（第一次是在香港的美國領事館申請簽證）。雖然不是歧視我，但這件事把我氣壞了，回到酒店寫了一個很長的臉書留言給那位叫我買東西的朋友，把他嚇壞了，回來更請我吃了一餐午餐（現在想起來實在覺得不好意思）。那天晚上，我再好好把這件事想了一遍，然後我發現過去幾個月，這種嬲怒曾經發生過，而且不只一次。每一次當我覺得週遭的環境不公平，沒道理，不受尊重（不一定是關乎於我），這種怒氣就出來了，非常貫徹始終。這是一個發現，但接著怎樣？



直到近來，基於各種原因、感受及想法，把自己從很多事情上抽離一點，才發覺這個上半年，原來一直把自己拉得繃緊。退一步，還不至於海闊天空，但對於某些事情有了一點大概的方向。我呀，沒有甚麼改變，依然會為一點小東西歡喜若狂，依然在一些事情上很執著，個性上依然保留一點矛盾，不同的，只是則重點吧！






巴黎，依然很美！

India - A Rainbow of the Earth (May, 2011)

I am going to write this particular piece in English so that I could share with my Indian colleagues. Without them, the trip would not be as smooth as it was.

All my Indian colleagues warned me that May was the hottest month in the year in India, especially in the north. I was then well prepared for that, hat, umbrella, fans, sun block, water bottle, energy drinks, and even cold packs (I thought I was pretty creative to bring the cold packs, which were used when someone having a fever. Walking under 44C was like having a fever!). Chennai was not as hot as I expected but once I arrived Jaipur, I experienced the real ‘hot’. It was 44 degree Celsius!

I'm not going to go into details on the sightseeing places as you can read on any travel book. I'd rather tell you more about the people I met and what I experienced. Those would probably be more interesting.

I Was a Sightseeing Spot
It happened in almost all the sightseeing places I went to: some local people came up to me with a camera and asked, 'We would like a photo please.' 'Yes, for sure.' When I reached out my hand and prepared to grab the camera and take a nice shoot for them, this was the response, 'No no, I mean we want to take a photo with you.' 'Oh!' This happened also to many foreign visitors. Two English ladies I met in Shimla told me that they met a group of 15 teenage girls, and they were asked by the girls to take photo together, one by one. It took them around 20 minutes to take photos with all the girls. I had no problem with these requests as I believed it's a gesture of friendliness, so there were possibly more than 10 people who had my photo in their camera.

OMG!
A HK colleague of mine joined me to Agra to see the beautiful Taj Mahal. We departed from different cities, I went to Agra from Jaipur while he set off from Delhi. When we sat down for lunch in Agra, he told me his scary experience of the Indian train. He was taking an early train at around 6am, and the ticket was arranged in advance. When he arrived the Delhi train station and showed someone who dressed in a uniform his ticket to get through the security, he was told that he needed to get his ticket validate by getting a stamp from a government authorized travel agent. He was confused but he followed the instructions and went to a travel agent which was about 5 minutes on taxi. Once got off, he went upstairs to the office on the second floor, and then he heard the gate closed behind him. He got a chill in the spin and thought something went wrong. At the office on the second floor, someone looked at his ticket and checked on the computer database, and then told him his ticket was invalid and there was no more seat available on the train. He was shocked but then he thought the whole thing should be a scam. He stayed calm and asked to call his local Indian friend (who was our colleague in India). The group looked astonished for the request and then they told my colleague that he could possibly get his ticket validated at the train station. They let him go. My colleague jumped on a taxi outside and returned to the train station. The taxi driver, who should be of the same group, still tried to get his ticket with all kinds of excuses. My colleague gave him a total ignorance and he returned to the train station safely, and boarded on the train without any problem. No validation was asked at all. Later when I read in my travel book and found out that this kind of scam was actually pretty common. My colleague kindly gave me a consent for sharing this incident here so that it could be some advice for those who planned to go India. Don’t believe in any stranger at the train station, even if they looked like staff of train company. For any queries, you should go to the ticketing office.



My Movie Experience
Being in India, I felt like to go for a movie to experience the passion of films of the locals. I was not interested in the Bollywood movies and hence I went for The Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides (Ha!). I grabbed my Indian colleague to go with me, and that was her first one for the Pirates series (and she told me she didn’t like it after the movie). When I expected to see lots of the movie lovers in the theatre, we met only one other audience. Yes, so there were altogether 3 of us to occupy the whole theatre. Probably I had picked a quiet time, or the locals did not love Johnny Depp as much as we did. Anyways. Everything, the setting, the tuck shops, the size of the theatre, etc., was actually very similar to that in Hong Kong, so it was not a totally new experience except there was a break in the middle of the movie. After around 2 hours, the screen was black out. I asked my colleague what happened and she said it’s a break. It was interesting to me as I did not expect a break in a 2.5-3 hours movie. Later did I learn that the Indian movies were usually long (4 hours on average) and a break was needed for the audience to get refreshed or to go to the toilets. Almost forgot to say, my colleague took me to the movie theatre on her motorbike. It’s cool!

The Tranquil Shimla
I visited 5 cities in India including Chennai, Jaipur, Agra, Delhi and Shimla. Shimla is located in the northern part on the Himalaya. It was the summer palace of the loyal family in the past. My Indian colleagues said it was a must to go, so even it took me 9 hours on bus to go from Delhi, I decided to take the advice. It proved to be a right decision. Shimla was absolutely beautiful! I arrived this pretty city in an early morning and was able to catch the dawn. It was so peaceful. Instead of shoppers, I met typical Shimla locals who was doing exercises, or students who were going to school. During the day, Shimla was a busy place filled with locals and tourists. I saw it many times that 2 people stopped on the street, shaked hands and chatted about daily life. You could tell the neighbourhood of Shimla was close, and the relationships between people was pretty good. Shimla was a green city, in which smoking was prohibited. And there were also many green actions carried out in the place such as tree plantation, warnings on littering, promotion of the importance of green, etc, all these made me love the place even more.


The Only Asian
During my 3-days stay in Shimla, I did not bump into any other Asian. There were some white foreigners but I doubted I was the only Asian there. It felt pretty funny to be the absolute minority. I actually felt totally care-free as no one would judge me on the traditional values of a Chinese or an Asian. On the other hand, I did aware of the curiosity from others for seeing a single Asian girl walking around. I made a small counting on the guesses from others on my nationality: more than 10 people thought I was a Malaysian; around 5 made a guess on Singaporean; 3 tried Korean then Japanese (I was not pale enough to make the first guess to be Japanese); and not a singal individual said I was a Chinese. I concluded that I must possess all the lovely features of our neighbours. The funnier thing was that this pattern actually carried on to Singapore (except the Korea and Japanese part). This reminded me of 2 staff at a Malaysian restaurant in Oxford insisted that I should have some origins of Malaysia, and they asked me to check with my father and grandfather.

The Funny Incidents
I encountered a few interesting incidents when I was in Shimla.
1. The crazy bus tour – I joined a local bus tour for visiting the areas nearby Shimla. There was nothing to see in the places we visited, while we spent almost 6 hours on the bus from one place to another. What made it even worse was that there was a group of locals who were not used to long hours travelling, especially on the zic-zac hill roads, they kept vomiting for three quarters of the bus journey. They kept their heads hanged on the windows for almost the whole time. I felt very sorry for them as it definitely was a torture. It was also a very bad experience for me, who sat in front of one of them. I needed to keep my window closed to avoid the dirt from coming in while the guy was vomiting.

2. ‘Saving the young lady from the monkey’ – Start visualizing King Kong holding the beautiful Naomi Watts on the top of the Empire State Building? You could stop now as it’s nothing like that. I was the young lady referring to (so no Naomi Watts). I was walking to the Institute of Advance Studies, one of the sightseeing places in Shimla. People tended to take a cab there so the road was rather quiet but in a nice way. I had entered the main gate and was walking up a slope to the main building. Suddenly, a big monkey jumped out about 20 metres in front of me (monkeys were all around in Shimla). It was an instinct that I stopped right where I was. And then there was an Indian guy ran from the behind and stood in front of me, and he tried to hold my arm. I avoided that even he could be just kind and try to protect me from the monkey. I started to walk towards the main building as it seemed that the monkey was not going to attack me. This guy walked besides me and he tried to hold my hand again (by the time the monkey had started to go away). I avoided him again and kept a distance from him. He then tried to be friendly by saying Hello and tried to shake hand with me. I ignored him and started talking in Cantonese to him, and he left me alone after a few minutes. I was glad that I did not see him again inside the Institute. Otherwise, I might need to try my Mandarin.



3. ‘It was a coincident that I met you again here!’ – It was not unusual for people to stop me and to exchange a few conversations while I was in India, and I was kind of used to that. There was one time I was having my dinner in a pretty nice restaurant. An Indian in his middle age walked past my table after dinner and stopped and asked where I was from and something like that. He then said that I looked tired and probably was too stress. He said he was a yoga tutor and so he could spot that I probably was not sleeping well, etc. Weird conversation but I put it aside after the guy left. After around 30 minutes, I was done with my dinner and I asked for the bill. It however took so long for the bill to come (for at least 10 minutes), which was not common. I asked for it again and again, and at the end I decided to pay at the cashier. I left the restaurant and I bumped into this yoga person within 30 metres of the restaurant. ‘Hi. It was such a coincident to meet you here again. I hope you would not think I am waiting for you here intentionally.’ ‘No no, I didn’t think like that.’ That’s the only answer I could give. We chatted for around 5 minutes (actually he was talking most of the time and I was giving responses like ‘yes’, ‘oh really!’, ‘ah-huh’, and then I ended the conversation and headed back to the hotel. It’s weird to me for the whole thing, as this man seemed so prepared for the topics he talked to me, and he explained for a few times that he was there just out of coincident. I tried to figure out what was it about for the whole incident. Then I recalled that this yoga man was having a drink with another man when I entered the restaurant, and then I remembered that was actually the cashier I paid to. I guessed the story should be like this: when I asked for my bill, this cashier called up his yoga friend and told him that I was about to leave (I saw the cashier calling on his mobile after I asked for my bill). The bill was not sent as he was buying time for his friend to return. Since I paid my bill at the till (which I left the restaurant earlier than expected) and hence I did not bump into this yoga man right outside the restaurant but close to it. It’s a wild guess but it sounded more reasonable than a pure coincidence.

4. Rainstorm – there was a rainstorm in an evening. The rain was crazy, which hit the windows hardly and water came in from the window. People told me it was not at all usual. Not only it rained, electricity was cut out too. Fortunately, the rainstorm was gone around 2 hours.



Understand a different culture vs Safety
Many of my friends were worried when I told them I was going to India on my own, especially my Indian friends. They said it was unusual for a girl to travel by herself, and they were worried that I might encounter some bad people. I promised them I would be very careful, would keep them updated on my location, and would call up in case for any unusual situations. It was true that I struggled some times to keep a balance between making new friends and ensuring my own safety. It would be meaningless to visit a place without trying to understanding the life of the local people. I however was reminded not to believe in everything I was told, and to keep a reasonable distance to avoid getting into any trouble. It's hard. I was lucky to meet more good people than the bads. Actually many people reached out their hands when I needed help. Also, I made a new friend in India, who was a girl from Delhi and she told me more about her country from the perspective of a local.

I still believe, by exchanging views and perspectives, we can pull people closer.



Thanks
Finally, I have to take this opportunity to thank my Indian colleagues once again for all the assistance. They made things easy, so that I could enojoy a nice trip. Also, I would like to pay tribute to our friend Joyce, who is the number one adventurer amongst my friends. Joyce, how could you travel to so many interesting but complicated places without any assistance? You are bravo!

搖滾北京 (Nov, 2010)

蕭敬騰把我帶到北京來。

蕭敬騰留待晚一點再說，先來看看２０１０的北京。上一次到北京已經是十年前，那是隨旅行團走馬看花的，看過甚麼也只有大概的印象，對這個地方的感受更是十分模糊。之前常說奧運過後便再遊北京，還不是到現在，找對了藉口才再重來。

戀上北京
我蠻喜歡北京的，沒有特別愛上某一個地方，就是喜歡那份氣氛。那份北京的味道無孔不入，很安逸很隨心。相對上海的高調，北京是平實的，人也很友善。今次沒有尋訪太多的名勝古蹟，只想找些合適拍照的地點，捕捉北京的感覺。重訪的就只有故宮，今次沒有導遊的催促，可以慢慢的欣賞個夠。人大了，再看同一件事物的重點都有所改變，十年前著眼看皇宮的宏偉及華麗，十年後再看的是建築上的細緻，以及前人生活在這個封閉的殿堂的喜與樂。

北京的藝術發展蠻多樣化的，７９８藝術區是近年的指定景點。７９８原是工廠區，後來很多的廠房被改建成藝術創作者的工作間，或是展覽館，及後更開設了不少有特色的咖啡廳，因此吸引了不少藝術愛好者專程乘車前往參觀，漸漸受人關注。由於７９８遠離了市中心，加上佔地頗大，所以雖然人流不少，卻還保留了一份寧靜。坐在咖啡廳的落地玻璃前，來一杯花茶，再感受那夕陽的微温，很寫意，恨不得要向在香港上班的友人炫耀一番。

本來對南鑼鼓巷充滿期待，滿以為可以仔細看看北京的胡同，只可惜胡同依舊，氣氛卻都沒有了，整條古巷都被賣紀念品的店舖堆滿了，連餐館都像是為遊客而設，想吃一碗普通的湯麵都找不到。


在北京街頭走，不難找到可以拍照的場景，樹影、舊居、單車、小食店，随影有時卻拍出更有味道的照片。也許因為今次是一個人的旅程，對於週遭環境也更留神，今次拍的許多照片也只會是一個人旅行才會拍下來，要是跟友人一起上路，倒也會因為閑談而錯失了一些有所觸動的情景。其中一個印象最深的畫面，是在國家歌劇院的日落。歌劇院由五樓到地下的狐形大玻璃窗，在夕陽的映照下，支撐玻璃窗的框架在黑色的雲石地板形成了一個反過來的倒影，就像在歌劇院內製造了一輪新月，很美！

龍應台 vs 安德烈
在路上一直在看龍應台及安德烈的書信往來(《親愛的安德烈》)，感覺蠻有趣的，一個香港人在中國大陸看台灣人寫的書，這種兩岸三地的交織挺特別的。在地鐵上看這兩母子討論中港台的文化、價值、愛惡，討論包括富族面對貧富懸殊的羞愧；權力下的抗爭（革命）；八十後九十後對個人的自信及對未來的惶恐。抬頭看看北京的年青人，書中的某些現象都好像放在眼前。從年齡去想，他們應當都有安德烈的自信、自省及疑慮，但文化差別又一定程度上給他們建立了一套完全不同的價值觀。香港，處於兩岸的旁邊，文化上卻像是從另一個星球而來。這些思想的刺激，令整個人也活躍起來。

一個人的精彩
每隔一段時間我便會有一個人去旅行的衝動。外遊，是刻意要把生活的時間表打亂，那才能重組，然後可能會有新的視野。一個人出走，是想留一點時間給自己，完完全全的屬於自己的。可以不看電視，可以不上Facebook，可以看很多書，可以寫一點東西；可以不與其他人說話，但自己卻不斷地跟自己溝通，有欣賞、有自嘲、看夢想、也面對恐懼。很多平常沒有時間認真探討的想法及情感，都可以在這個私人空間好好的糎清箇中的千絲萬縷，重整一下當中的意義。一個人去旅行何嘗不是一種自己贈予自己的奢侈？

那一把震撼的嗓子
終於來到蕭敬騰了！認識我的朋友都不曾聽說我對甚麼名人特別著迷，也很少聽說我要去聽演唱會，我屈指數一數，聽過的演唱會五隻手指能數，這次決定遠道到北京看蕭敬騰，我自己也覺得有點瘋狂。一直也很喜歡蕭的聲音，他有一把很特別很有力量的嗓子，歌唱出來很有感覺。聽他的歌沒有讓我不斷追踪他的消息，直到看了他的台北演唱會的DVD，便完全被他舞台上的魅力攝住了。他的魅力不在於他特別懂得製造氣氛，或是有甚麼高難度的表演，他只是一百二十分地投入唱歌，可以看出來他自己也很享受整個過程，我相信他是很熱愛很熱愛很熱愛音樂，才能展現出那份吸引力。看過了他的演唱會DVD，便一直很想看他的現場表演，結果就決定到北京去了。

自己掏錢包看演唱會，這一次是坐得最前的。說真的，那感覺很不真實，我問了自己幾遍，我真是在現場看蕭敬騰嗎？節目的編排大概都知道了，即使如此，蕭的表演還是很捧！早前看電視節目時，常聽到評委用穿透力，從蕭敬騰身上我是真的體會了。驚喜還是有的，特別嘉賓黃小琥及周渝民令演唱會生色不少，小琥姐的唱功不容置疑，現場演唱讓人醉倒；從來沒有特別留意仔仔，但演唱會上的他風趣非常，為當晚增添了不少笑聲，而他唱歌也不錯，看他跟蕭敬騰在台上的交流真的很好玩。很難用筆墨形容演唱會的精彩，總之就是棒！


還有，偶爾瘋狂一下的感覺好爽！！！

台灣人的禮讓 (May 2010)

上一次到台北已經是四年前，因為是為了工作到訪，所以只是過客般在台北及九份走了一個圈。今次重遊舊地，才有機會認真的看看這個寶島。

九份依然略嫌太過人工化，士林夜市的食物仍舊不是我的那杯茶，但其他景點倒讓我有驚喜。淡水老街的本地情懷雖然沒有帶來太深的印象，但阿婆鐵蛋及魚酥為這個小鎮加了一點分。很喜歡漁人碼頭的情調，沒有情人手挽手行情人橋，打開雙手閉上眼，讓海風拂面讓夕陽的温暖灑在身上，也可以很浪漫。友人介紹了一所在情人橋下的餐廳Water Bay，希臘風情的設計，加上一列看海的大窗，坐一個下午也不嫌多。
故宮博物館的那一棵翠玉白菜及那一塊五花腩炫耀了中國工藝的鬼斧神工；中正紀念堂雖然不算十分雄偉，但那藍白的配搭整潔奪目，倒也叫人眼前一亮；有幸可以參觀總統府（幸好碰上是國民黨執政，否則只有台灣人可以入內參觀），對台灣的歷史認識多了，只可惜沒碰上馬英九總統。

此行到台北，要看的也差不多看了，只恨沒有更多的時間到誠品「打書釘」。


整個旅程媽媽說得最多的是：「台灣人真有禮貌。」讀小學的時候，台灣與香港、新加坡及南韓齊名合稱為「亞洲四小龍」。觀看今天的台北，經濟發展像是比其他三個地方稍稍慢了一步，但台灣人的禮貌卻是比很多繁榮的地方更優勝，至少比我們香港人更勝一籌。排隊上捷運上巴士是最自然不過的事，即使在繁忙時間，捷運上的「博愛座」總還是留給有需要的人；即使座位全滿了，當有一個老婆婆登車，還是會見到兩三個乘客一同起身讓座。酒店職員、餐廳服務員、商店員工都很耐心聽取客人的查詢及要求，然後提供最多的資訊；在台灣四天從的士司機看到的笑容比過去三個月我從香港的士司機找到的多。我們香港的的士司機真的這麼不快樂嗎？突然想起了多年前香港旅遊協會的一則電視廣告，「笑一笑世界更美妙」，也許香港旅遊協會可以考慮重播這則電視廣告。

放了幾天假，可以有一點時間真真正正的靜下來，才驚覺很久沒有檢視自己的生活，突然喚起了一些對自己的承諾。2010不經不覺已經差不多過了一半，是時候重新整理一下自己的生活及思緒，用一種新的心情再起步。

越南 - 迎接2007 (Dec 2006)

不知為何，我對越南有一種情意結，在大學時期已很想往那裡看看，或許因為香港曾經是越南船民第一收容港，總覺得越南與香港有一種微妙的關係，所以今次終於踏足這片土地，心裡是莫名的興奮。

今次的旅程，我們走訪了越南的四個地方，包括胡志明市、牙莊、大咖及湄公河。

可愛的導遊
天公造美，遊湄公河那天的天氣十分晴朗，坐船遊河實在心曠神怡，再加上河堤兩岸傳來陣陣椰子糖的香氣，實在很舒暢。我們坐的是傳統的木船，由穿著傳統服飾的當地婦女撑動，再加上岸邊長滿高高的熱帶植物，我覺得猶如被送到很遠以外的荒島，遠離繁囂。

我們遊湄公河是跟一個本地團去的，那個導遊實在令這次的遊覽生色不少。自我介紹時他告訴我們他叫“Lovely”（可愛的），我和朋友先是睜大眼睛，然後是‘撲嗤’一聲笑了出來。問題不在於他可愛與否，只是這樣的自稱怪怪的，很少漂亮的人叫自己美麗或是俊朗，又或是聰明的人叫自己聰明。“可愛的”的人生可愛與否我不予置評，但他常常擺出模特兒的姿態及“殺死人”的情聖眼神，他真的叫我吃不消。我的其中兩個同伴倒對“可愛先生”十分感興趣，更說要比賽拍攝“可愛先生”最誘人的照片，更邀請我和其他的同伴當評判，我聽後立刻搖頭拒絕，沒差點轉身便跑。

玻璃大碗看珊瑚
雖然出發前已有朋友叫我不要對牙莊存太大的期望，期望調低了，但卻對這個城市仍是有些失望。天氣欠佳絶對是這次遊牙莊失望而回的一個原因，因為我們有一天的時間是出海遊小島的，可是天色沉沉，再加上水温偏低，我最後決定不下水遊泳及浮潛。坐在船上百無聊賴，最後只好付10美元坐小艇去看珊瑚，說是小艇，倒不如說是一隻大碗。這隻大碗其實只是一隻可載五人的圓形膠艇，設有玻璃船底，可以透過玻璃看到海中的魚和珊瑚，可是海水混濁，也沒有看到珊瑚。我們亦登上了其中一個小島遊覽，在島上最有趣的活動是觀看別人玩水上降落傘。水上降落傘的原理是將一個人綁在一個大降傘上，然後沙灘上的人跟水中的一部快艇將降傘拉起，直至降傘連人飛起，在天空敖翔10-15分鐘，岸上上的人就會慢慢把拉著降傘的繩放開，玩的人跟降傘便會慢慢掉到水中。在觀看期間，發生了一段小插曲，一個女孩子降落時，降傘掉了在一艘遊艇附近，眾人都非常擔心她會撞向遊艇，幸好她最後也沒有受傷。

相機失憶了！
大叻應當是越南中法國藉民地色彩保存得最好的城市，四處均佈滿了法國色彩的建築，而整個城市亦是充滿歐陸色彩。除了城市的中心有一個大湖及湖邊佈滿船屋，四處更是種滿了鮮花。

在大叻我們遊了一個瀑布，期間我不慎把相機掉到地上，然後再看不到之前拍的照片。見到這樣，我差不多要心臟病發，那天已經是旅程的第八天，而我拍了超過400張照片，全沒有了！我的心情就像那瀑布的水，不斷往下沉，往下沉。抱著最後一絲希望，我在數分鐘後再查看相機，照片竟又回來了！我當然是驚喜若狂，朋友見到這個情況，更揶揄說我的相機就像人一樣，偶然會有短暫失憶。

第一次嚐七道菜的燭光晚餐
越南的生活指數並不高，這讓我們有個機會可以扮富裕人士，到五星級大酒店享用七道菜的燭光晚餐。我們一行五人到Sofitel酒店，甫進餐廳已聽到琴師及小提琴手演奏浪漫悅耳的旋律，而餐廳的裝潢，也不用多說，當然十分華麗。玻璃窗外是一片綠油油的草坡，同時遠眺湖景。那七道菜之中的鴨肝十分出色，真的是入口即溶，其他菜式的味道也不錯，雖說不上非常出眾，但沒所謂吧，氣氛取勝了，還不是買一個體驗吧！我們到越南先在胡志明市留了一天，而最後也會由胡志明市飛回香港，所以我們大部份的行李也沒有帶來大叻。出發前更沒有想過要充富豪到酒店吃燭光晚餐。我們最後只可穿上背包裡最漂亮的衣服去享用這一頓高級的晚宴。穿了甚麼？還不是Ｔ-shirt、短褲和拖鞋吧！

越南文倒數迎2007


朋友們都知道的這次的柬埔寨及越南之旅橫跨了2006及2007年，他們都期待知道越南人是怎樣迎接新的一年。這一年的新年過得很特別及難忘，因為我們從大叻回胡志明市時堵車，我們的巴士在胡志明市的街道上動彈不得。我們環顧四周，心想：「還好，道路上有上以千計的摩托車，這可能比在大型廣場上倒數更熱鬧。」我們更利用這等待的時間學習數字一至五的越南文是怎樣說，準備倒數之用。看看手錶，指針踏正十二時了！把頭探出車外看看，其他人好像沒有特別興奮，或許是我們的手錶快了，應該很快就開始倒數。又過了五分鐘，依然沒甚麼動靜，我們再探頭往外看，竟發現四周的摩托車開始離開，我們才驚覺已經是2007年。很難想像越南人是這麼安靜地慶祝新年的，我們預期踏進新年的一刻會有大量的響咹聲（因為平常在街上的汽車的響咹聲絡繹不絕，吵耳若聾），誰不知他們卻來一個反高潮．本應熱鬧的時刻卻靜如止水，這應是我過得最安靜的一個新年。我們五人仍然堅持新年是一年的開端，總要有些興祝活動，所以在巴士上懶理別人的側目，自行舉行了一個超小型派對，將我們所有的食物搬出來，用蛋卷代替蛋糕，水代替香檳。雖然粗糙簡單，這卻是一個很温馨的時刻。雖然車上的乘客應該會覺得我們是一班傻呼呼的，但我們樂在其中。

在越南的最後一天，我們參觀了胡志明市著名的古芝地道。這條地道是在越戰時期興建，當美軍使用先進槍炮，越軍就只是用土製的原始武器，以及挖地道偷襲．雖然原始，但卻令美軍束手無策，也可見越軍的能耐。我也嘗試了爬地道的經驗，地道狹小非常，不少高大的外國遊客根本就爬不進去。我爬了兩段，也宣告投降，地道並不透風，爬幾分鐘也受不了，很難想像當年越軍在地道內生活了幾年。

上夜班的孩子
柬埔寨及越南，以及其他發展中的國家有一個共同點，就是四處也見到小孩在街上擺賣。看到他們在街上溜連，童年就是這樣一點一滴的流逝，很是心痛。在越南看到不少媽媽帶著孩子在深宵還在賣口香糖或手鐲，心裡很不是味兒。很明顯這些媽媽就是利用其他人對孩子的憐愛來作為銷售的手段，或許是我不了解這些家庭的苦況，但我難免會想可有其他方法去維持生計，讓這些孩子活得健康及安全。當這些媽媽抱着孩子走過來叫我買東西時，我想要是我買了，我是否在鼓勵她們的這種行徑，但我同時存着一絲希望，她們會真的兌現承諾，在我買了她的東西後會帶孩子回家去。

美國(4) - 紐約 (May 2008)

紐約是我美國之旅的最後一站，不少人也說我貪心，一趟走過東西岸。紐約是美國及世界的其中一個核心城市，到美國沒有到訪紐約像是很遺憾，而且有朋友在那裡，倒有個很好的原因去走一走。原來安排了跟住在紐約的朋友花幾天一起去遊玩，卻在出發到美國前四天才收到朋友的通知他要到三藩市公幹，而偏偏他在我剛離開了三藩市之後才到達，真的是緣慳一面。雖然朋友不在紐約，但他十分細心，委托了另一個朋友當我的導遊，好好照顧我。

雖然我是第一次到紐約，但對四周的環境感覺很熟悉，因為很多地方及標記在電影裡見過，走到不同地方都會讓我想到某一齣電影，例如帝國大廈令我想起《緣份的天空》；以華爾街為背景的《華爾街》；炮台公園海岸取景的《未日救未來》等，至於時代廣場更是每天新年在新聞報導一定會見到的，置身其中倒也有點不大真實的感覺。







音樂劇的天堂
在紐約第一個早上，我第一個去的地方便是特惠售票站 (Half Price Ticket Office)買音樂劇《Mama Mia》的門票。紐約跟倫敦是欣賞音樂劇及舞台劇的天堂，每天在這兩個城市上演的表演的節目不下三十多個，對於我這個音樂劇發燒友，到紐約當然不能錯過這個難能可貴的機會。而且《Mama Mia》這個劇目我之前已經錯過了幾次，所以今次特別將它放在行程的一部份。 在紐約的三天，我除了看《Mama Mia》，還看了另一齣音樂劇《Spring Awakening》，兩齣風格宛然不同，但各有各精彩，我尤其喜歡《Spring Awakening》的音樂，以搖滾樂融合一個20年代的故事，卻產生了很理想的效果，將年青人的憤怒及迷惘表露無遺。

在紐約期間除了看了兩齣音樂劇，當然也遊覽了各大景點，包括自由神像、聯合國大樓、時代廣場、帝國大廈、華爾街等，其中感受最深的是親臨911災難的遺址　－　國際貿易中心 (World Trade Centre)。現時遺址只是一片平地，站在眾多高樓中間，想像911當天雙子大廈被襲擊後倒塌的情景，四周濃煙密佈，滿地沙礫，眾人慌忙逃跑，心中頓時感到戚戚然。平常總覺得每件事會有下一個機會去做，藏在心底的說話總會有更合適的時候說，只是人生無常，但機會悄然逝去，留下的只有遺憾和缺失。











特惠售票站 (Half Price Ticket Office)
平常看音樂劇最便宜也要四、五十塊美金，也只能買到是後排的門票，而特惠售票站只賣最高價值的門票，但以半價出售，所以60-70塊美金就能坐到最前排，實在非常吸引。特惠售票站售當天的門票，而且下午場次及晚間場次的售票時間是分開的，所以最後事前先決定，然後才在合適時段去購買。