Due to a lack of storage, I had to change my blog URL as of March 30, 2012. The new URL will be http://world3languages2.blogspot.com
Posts of before March 30, 2012 will be stored on this URL.
Thank you very much for your support and my apologies for the inconvenience.
容量の問題が発生したため、２０１２年３月３０日よりブログＵＲＬが変更になりました。今後の記事はhttp://world3languages2.blogspot.com でご覧ください。また、２０１２年３月３０日以前の記事に関しましては、今後とも本来のＵＲＬからご覧になれます。
ご迷惑をおかけして申し訳ありませんが、今後とも「３ヶ国語で世界一周」をよろしくお願いします。
2012年3月30日金曜日
2012年3月22日木曜日
チュービングの猿
March 22, 2012. Written in Bangkok, Thailand.
チュービングの猿
ラオスのバンビエンにて、うわさのチュービングをやってきました。浮き輪で川を下っていく遊びだが、途中にいろいろとバーがあったりアトラクションがあったり、岸の方からロープを投げられて陸にあがってお酒を飲んだり遊んだりするわけです。僕のことを個人的に知っている人ならわかると思うが、基本的にお酒を飲まないし、パーティーも好きじゃないので、いったい何のためにそんなところへ行ったのだろうと思われがちだが、実は飲まなくても充分に楽しめるのがチュービング！というのは、途中には滑り台とかターザンロープとかジャンプクッションとか、さまざまなアトラクションがあり、遊園地気分でかなり楽しめた。
しかも、ほとんど酔っ払いの西欧人ばっかりと想像していたが、実は地元の子どもたちとかも多く、僕らと同じような遊び感覚できていた。
ちなみに僕らというのは、日本人のＳさんと僕とのことです。以前に中国で出会って数日一緒に旅した彼とバンビエンで再会した。一人ならそこまで楽しめなかったと思うが、二人でたくさん笑えた。
一番のツボはなんといっても、Ｓさんがターザンロープをやったときだった。普通はロープの最後あたりで放して川に飛び込むわけだが、Ｓさんはそうせずにロープに足をかけてしばらく猿みたいにぶら下がっていた。長い列ができていたので、岸からブーイングが来て「早く降りろー！」と叫んでいる人も多くいたが、本人はそんなことを気にせずただゆったりとぶら下がっているだけだった。 ところが、バランスを崩したのか、数十秒すると急に落下し、頭から水に飛び込んで痛そうな音がした。罰が当たったわけだ。
次に僕も同じことをやろうと思ったのだが、勢いがありロープの最後で止まるようになっていて、その衝動でつかまっていられなくなり、バックフリップしながら落下した。それを岸で見ていた人たちが大笑いし、恥ずかしくて陸にあがる勇気が出ないほどだった。
それはそうと、川を下っていけば下っていくほど、店やアトラクションの数が少しずつ減っていき、ゆっくりと進みながら美しい景色を楽しむのがメインになった。奇妙な形をしたさまざまなとんがり山の下に少しずつ隠れて行く夕焼けはなんともいえない絶妙に美しい眺めで、いろんな遊びに疲れていたのでこれを満喫した。
ところが、一時間少々こんな感じでゆっくりと川を下っていても、終わりが一向に見えてこない。いったいあとどれくあいあるのだろうか？ 足で 漕いだり手で平泳ぎをしたりしながら急いでいき、なんとか暗くなる前にたどり着いた。久しぶりに体を動かした（？）充実した一日だった。
チュービングの猿
ラオスのバンビエンにて、うわさのチュービングをやってきました。浮き輪で川を下っていく遊びだが、途中にいろいろとバーがあったりアトラクションがあったり、岸の方からロープを投げられて陸にあがってお酒を飲んだり遊んだりするわけです。僕のことを個人的に知っている人ならわかると思うが、基本的にお酒を飲まないし、パーティーも好きじゃないので、いったい何のためにそんなところへ行ったのだろうと思われがちだが、実は飲まなくても充分に楽しめるのがチュービング！というのは、途中には滑り台とかターザンロープとかジャンプクッションとか、さまざまなアトラクションがあり、遊園地気分でかなり楽しめた。
ちなみに僕らというのは、日本人のＳさんと僕とのことです。以前に中国で出会って数日一緒に旅した彼とバンビエンで再会した。一人ならそこまで楽しめなかったと思うが、二人でたくさん笑えた。
一番のツボはなんといっても、Ｓさんがターザンロープをやったときだった。普通はロープの最後あたりで放して川に飛び込むわけだが、Ｓさんはそうせずにロープに足をかけてしばらく猿みたいにぶら下がっていた。長い列ができていたので、岸からブーイングが来て「早く降りろー！」と叫んでいる人も多くいたが、本人はそんなことを気にせずただゆったりとぶら下がっているだけだった。 ところが、バランスを崩したのか、数十秒すると急に落下し、頭から水に飛び込んで痛そうな音がした。罰が当たったわけだ。
次に僕も同じことをやろうと思ったのだが、勢いがありロープの最後で止まるようになっていて、その衝動でつかまっていられなくなり、バックフリップしながら落下した。それを岸で見ていた人たちが大笑いし、恥ずかしくて陸にあがる勇気が出ないほどだった。
それはそうと、川を下っていけば下っていくほど、店やアトラクションの数が少しずつ減っていき、ゆっくりと進みながら美しい景色を楽しむのがメインになった。奇妙な形をしたさまざまなとんがり山の下に少しずつ隠れて行く夕焼けはなんともいえない絶妙に美しい眺めで、いろんな遊びに疲れていたのでこれを満喫した。
2012年3月21日水曜日
The key is in your heart.
March 20, 2012. Written in Bangkok, Thailand.
The key is in your heart.
In Vang Vieng, Laos, I met my Spanish friends Josu and Roberto again. I traveled with them for a while in China and had a great time. They are full of humor and creativity, so I was happy to be able to reunite.
It was a short reunion though, because they were already moving on the next day. There was only one day to go out and have some fun together. We rented two motorcycles to go and visit a waterfall nearby. I first sat on the back of Roberto's bike, but the steer of his bike seemed to be unstable, and with me on his back we would keep narrowing to the left, and sometimes almost fell of the road. Because of the narrow bridges with no sidewalls, it was a bit dangerous so I changed to the back of Josu's bike.
It turned out we had been driving on the wrong road though, and had to go all the way back and cross all those dangerous bridges again.
Wen finally on the right way, Josu got irritated by the bumpy roads and said he could not take it anymore. He suddenly got off the bike and said good bye to us. Too bad!
Together with Roberto, I drove on the bumpy roads with Josu's bike. It was a bike with gears, a first experience for me but after I was driving on the first gear the whole time Roberto noticed and taught me how to switch gears. A great teacher!
The thing is though, that after driving on this road for about 15 minutes, we found out that we had been going the wrong way. We had to turn around, and go on the bumpy roads the whole way back again.
This time, we finally found the road we had been searching for. The nature on the way was beautiful. Green Guilin style mountains, clear water, tropical trees.
While I was enjoying this beautiful scenery, I suddenly heard Roberto screaming something.
"Hey!!" he said.
I looked back at him.
"Your wallet!"
My wallet was lying somewhere on the middle of the road. I had not noticed dropping it at all. Good thing Roberto wasn't driving ahead of me.
After arriving, we parked our bikes and Roberto taught me how to lock the bike. It was a huge nature park with many unstable wooden bridges and cross-ways. While climbing our way through, we found some nice spots to swim. Under the main attraction (the waterfall) it was also possible to swim, and it looked like it was deep enough to jump down from the top.
Before changing into swimming-wears and doing so, though, I suddenly thought about the motorbike's key. Where had I put it? I grabbed into my pockets, but couldn't find it anywhere.
"Have you seen my key, Roberto?"
Roberto looked at me with a scared smile.
"No..." he said. It looked like he already got the point.
Together, we searched the whole park, but no key to be found.
On the way, we found another visitor. He was also a foreigner.
"Hello. Have you seen a key somewhere on your way by any coincidence?" I asked the guy, just in case.
"The key of your motorbike? I have no idea. I came with a motorbike too. Let's see if I still have mine. Yes, here it is!" he said, and showed us the key with pride.
Err, thank you sir.
Roberto left the park to go back to the rental place to ask for another key. In the meanwhile, I kept on searching. I asked the ladies at the entrance if they had seen a key. None of them had, but they started to help me. The ladies were now walking through the park, searching very carefully. They would pick up leaves to see if the key was not under it, and even crouch under bridges to see if it had not fallen down there. Such friendly people! But still, no key. I explained the ladies that it was OK and that I would search for myself. With a dissappointed and sorry face, they went back to the entrance.
While searching, I bumped into the other visitor again. He was not wearing his T-shirt anymore. His white skin and untrained posture somehow didn't seem to fit with the surrounding.
"Did you find your key, young man?" he asked me.
"No not yet"
"Well, listen to me.I'm from Russia..."
"Oh really."
"In life, there are only three things. Time, money and effort. If you have these three, everything you need can be found. For example, if you want new shoes, what do you do? I don't have money, but I do have time. Ok, then I will make an effort and move this stone aside to create a road. Somebody will give me money, and now I can go and buy shoes"
Yeah right, and could you please help me find my key?
"You understand me?" I started to catch his typical Russian accent by now.
"Yes sir, time, money and effort. I got it"
"The key, young man, is in your heart!"
Yeah sure, but right now I would prefer it to be on my motorbike.
"Life is too short to search for keys. Be your own key!"
"Yes, I will do that"
"The key is in your heart!" the man would say once more, looked me closely in the eyes and then left.
Now I was all alone again. I didn't have any hope for searching anymore, but I didn't feel like just sitting around while Roberto was driving around for me.
Roberto finally came back with a new key. He had also bought us some lunch. In front of the waterfall, we enjoyed our lunch and had a good talk. Such a nice guy, Roberto, he wasn't angry at all.
After lunch, we changed into swimming wear and finally had our swim. As the original plan, we also jumped from the top of the waterfall. Too bad though, that the sun was already down and the water was getting a bit cold.
When we got back to the bikes, there was a business card attached to my bike. It was the Russian guy, of course. He was running a bookstore back home. It seemed to be about religious and philosophic books, which was not too surprising. E-mail me! It said, and suddenly, I knew. How could I have not noticed all the time? The way the guy talked, his facial expressions! He was gay!
On the way back, it was already dark, but the beautiful nature on the way now had a different face. I took some pictures on the way. On the top of a certain hill, the moon was so beautiful that I wanted to take a picture of this too, but when I grabbed in my pocket, my camera was gone. I turned the bike, it must have dropped out of my pocket somewhere on the way.
"Where are you going?" asked Roberto.
"I think I dropped my camera somewhere on the way!"
Roberto hit his forehead. "Oh my god!"
About 2 kilometers back, I found my camera lying lonely on the ground. I'm glad I had my camera in my hands again , rather than it being in my heart!
The key is in your heart.
In Vang Vieng, Laos, I met my Spanish friends Josu and Roberto again. I traveled with them for a while in China and had a great time. They are full of humor and creativity, so I was happy to be able to reunite.
It was a short reunion though, because they were already moving on the next day. There was only one day to go out and have some fun together. We rented two motorcycles to go and visit a waterfall nearby. I first sat on the back of Roberto's bike, but the steer of his bike seemed to be unstable, and with me on his back we would keep narrowing to the left, and sometimes almost fell of the road. Because of the narrow bridges with no sidewalls, it was a bit dangerous so I changed to the back of Josu's bike.
It turned out we had been driving on the wrong road though, and had to go all the way back and cross all those dangerous bridges again.
Wen finally on the right way, Josu got irritated by the bumpy roads and said he could not take it anymore. He suddenly got off the bike and said good bye to us. Too bad!
Together with Roberto, I drove on the bumpy roads with Josu's bike. It was a bike with gears, a first experience for me but after I was driving on the first gear the whole time Roberto noticed and taught me how to switch gears. A great teacher!
The thing is though, that after driving on this road for about 15 minutes, we found out that we had been going the wrong way. We had to turn around, and go on the bumpy roads the whole way back again.
This time, we finally found the road we had been searching for. The nature on the way was beautiful. Green Guilin style mountains, clear water, tropical trees.
While I was enjoying this beautiful scenery, I suddenly heard Roberto screaming something.
"Hey!!" he said.
I looked back at him.
"Your wallet!"
My wallet was lying somewhere on the middle of the road. I had not noticed dropping it at all. Good thing Roberto wasn't driving ahead of me.
After arriving, we parked our bikes and Roberto taught me how to lock the bike. It was a huge nature park with many unstable wooden bridges and cross-ways. While climbing our way through, we found some nice spots to swim. Under the main attraction (the waterfall) it was also possible to swim, and it looked like it was deep enough to jump down from the top.
Before changing into swimming-wears and doing so, though, I suddenly thought about the motorbike's key. Where had I put it? I grabbed into my pockets, but couldn't find it anywhere.
"Have you seen my key, Roberto?"
Roberto looked at me with a scared smile.
"No..." he said. It looked like he already got the point.
Together, we searched the whole park, but no key to be found.
On the way, we found another visitor. He was also a foreigner.
"Hello. Have you seen a key somewhere on your way by any coincidence?" I asked the guy, just in case.
"The key of your motorbike? I have no idea. I came with a motorbike too. Let's see if I still have mine. Yes, here it is!" he said, and showed us the key with pride.
Err, thank you sir.
Roberto left the park to go back to the rental place to ask for another key. In the meanwhile, I kept on searching. I asked the ladies at the entrance if they had seen a key. None of them had, but they started to help me. The ladies were now walking through the park, searching very carefully. They would pick up leaves to see if the key was not under it, and even crouch under bridges to see if it had not fallen down there. Such friendly people! But still, no key. I explained the ladies that it was OK and that I would search for myself. With a dissappointed and sorry face, they went back to the entrance.
While searching, I bumped into the other visitor again. He was not wearing his T-shirt anymore. His white skin and untrained posture somehow didn't seem to fit with the surrounding.
"Did you find your key, young man?" he asked me.
"No not yet"
"Well, listen to me.I'm from Russia..."
"Oh really."
"In life, there are only three things. Time, money and effort. If you have these three, everything you need can be found. For example, if you want new shoes, what do you do? I don't have money, but I do have time. Ok, then I will make an effort and move this stone aside to create a road. Somebody will give me money, and now I can go and buy shoes"
Yeah right, and could you please help me find my key?
"You understand me?" I started to catch his typical Russian accent by now.
"Yes sir, time, money and effort. I got it"
"The key, young man, is in your heart!"
Yeah sure, but right now I would prefer it to be on my motorbike.
"Life is too short to search for keys. Be your own key!"
"Yes, I will do that"
"The key is in your heart!" the man would say once more, looked me closely in the eyes and then left.
Now I was all alone again. I didn't have any hope for searching anymore, but I didn't feel like just sitting around while Roberto was driving around for me.
Roberto finally came back with a new key. He had also bought us some lunch. In front of the waterfall, we enjoyed our lunch and had a good talk. Such a nice guy, Roberto, he wasn't angry at all.
After lunch, we changed into swimming wear and finally had our swim. As the original plan, we also jumped from the top of the waterfall. Too bad though, that the sun was already down and the water was getting a bit cold.
When we got back to the bikes, there was a business card attached to my bike. It was the Russian guy, of course. He was running a bookstore back home. It seemed to be about religious and philosophic books, which was not too surprising. E-mail me! It said, and suddenly, I knew. How could I have not noticed all the time? The way the guy talked, his facial expressions! He was gay!
On the way back, it was already dark, but the beautiful nature on the way now had a different face. I took some pictures on the way. On the top of a certain hill, the moon was so beautiful that I wanted to take a picture of this too, but when I grabbed in my pocket, my camera was gone. I turned the bike, it must have dropped out of my pocket somewhere on the way.
"Where are you going?" asked Roberto.
"I think I dropped my camera somewhere on the way!"
Roberto hit his forehead. "Oh my god!"
About 2 kilometers back, I found my camera lying lonely on the ground. I'm glad I had my camera in my hands again , rather than it being in my heart!
2012年3月17日土曜日
実行委員長が教える中国語
March 17, 2012. Written in Thakhek, Laos.
実行委員長が教える中国語
ルアン・パバーンというラオスの北に位置する町は落ち込むほどに観光地化している。町を歩く人々の９割がたが外国人で、地元の人はホテルを経営したりレストランを開いたりフルーツを売ってみたりトゥック・トゥックで外国人を高額で観光地まで送ったりするだけで、平凡なラオスの日常なんて見られやしない。
実行委員長が教える中国語
ルアン・パバーンというラオスの北に位置する町は落ち込むほどに観光地化している。町を歩く人々の９割がたが外国人で、地元の人はホテルを経営したりレストランを開いたりフルーツを売ってみたりトゥック・トゥックで外国人を高額で観光地まで送ったりするだけで、平凡なラオスの日常なんて見られやしない。
と、思っていたが、ルアン・パバーンでの二日目は日本人のＭくん、それから４人の中国人バックパッカーと一緒にボートに乗り、メコン川の反対側に渡った。
観光地化されたルアン・パバーンがすぐそこにあるのだというのに、川の反対側での生活は驚くほどに違った。素朴でシンプルな現地民の生活が披露されていた。デコボコで未舗装の
道、走り回る上半身裸の子どもたち、弥生時代を思わせる民家、広がる数々の田んぼ、これぞ僕の求めていた本当のラオス暮らしだった。
道、走り回る上半身裸の子どもたち、弥生時代を思わせる民家、広がる数々の田んぼ、これぞ僕の求めていた本当のラオス暮らしだった。
少し歩いて見ると、民家の縁側で何か野菜か果物っぽいものを切っているおばさんがいた。となりには可愛い幼児がのんびりして座っていた。
おばさんは笑顔でわれわれを迎え入れ、一口くれた。それはいちじくにちょっと似た味の、ジャムっぽいものだった。中国人バックパッカーのＡくんは気に入ったようで、二袋を買っていった。おばさんに許可を得た上で、民家の中をひと覗きしてみた。電気こそあるものの、本当に日本の弥生時代を思わせる雰囲気だった。古そうな土器、竹でできた床や穴だらけの壁、ところどころに落ちている燃えた炭の後。
このようなところに生まれたら、いったいどんな人生になっていたのだろうかと想像してみた。だが、それはそんなに難しい質問ではない。農作業をしながら地元の学校に通い、大きくなってもひたすら農作業か、あるいは町に商品を売りに行く。そんなシンプルな生活だ。そこには旅という概念もなければ、都会に出て出稼ぎをするという概念すらないのかもしれない。
もう少し進むと、学校らしいところに出てきた。元気な子どもたちが手を振って「サバイディー（こんにちは）」と言う。とにかくラオスは微笑みの国で、すれ違うとみんな心からうれしそうに声をかけてくれる。
授業中だったので教室の中を覗いて見た。すると、子どもたちは興奮し、変な顔をしたりわれわれの方を指差したり大声をあげたりした。
教授が数人出てきて、二人英語の話せる人がいた。
「せっかく来てくれたから、あなたたち、自分の言葉を子どもたちに教えてくれよ」
これはこれは、なかなかない機会じゃないか。地元の学校に潜り込むだけでも大変面白いが、直接子どもたちと接する機会があるなんて！ ちなみにこの学校は日本にあたる中高等学校で、１２歳から１８歳までの学生がいる。教えることになった教室は最高学年で、子どもというよりは若者といった方がふさわしいのかもしれない。そんなわけで、僕はＭくんと組んで日本語を教え、中国組みからは熱血なＡくんが代表して教え始めた。実行委員長のような性格を持つＡくんは何もかもまじめで、びっくりするほど真剣に自分の役割を受け止めたようで、黒板を利用しながら真剣に中国語を教え始めた。値切るにしても、誰かと会話するにしても、道を尋ねるにしても、彼はいつもまじめで、積極的で熱く、しかも不正を許さないという大変好意の持てる青年だが、その実行委員長っぽい振る舞いがＭくんと僕とをたびたび笑わせる羽目になった。
授業が終わるとそろそろお腹が空いてしまい、一人の学生が案内した地元の食堂で昼食をとった。ラオスによくある白いコシのない麺で、味付けはライムや砂糖からなりたっている。この食堂の近くには外でデザートっぽいものを売っているところがあって、甘い液体に入ったバナナとタピオカみたいなものがすごく美味しかった！
美味しく食べていると、われわれを反対側までボートで送ってくれたおじさんが覗きに来た。
「急がないとさっきに帰るよ！」と言いたいらしい。
ボートでもう少しさっきにあるお寺まで案内してもらった。不安定そうな竹の橋を渡って、長い階段を昇ってお寺に到着するわけだが、入り口には入場料を取ろうとする地元の子どもたちがいる。もちろん正式なものではないので、旅慣れしているＭくんと僕は払わずに通り過ぎたが、まじめな中国人たちはちゃんと払ってから入場した。お寺自体はそんなに対したことはなかったが、ここも観光客は一人もおらず、代わりに暇そうに階段に腰掛けたり木にもたれたりしているお坊さんがいた。さすがはのんびり王国のラオス！
こういう地元の生活がもっと見たい! そう思う一日だった。
De Kouangxi waterval.
March 17, 2012. Written in Thakhek, Laos.
De Kouangxi waterval.
Mijn eerste echte dag in Laos was een uitje met de Took-took (locale karretjes die als taxi’s functioneren) naar de beroemde Kouanxi waterval dichtbij de stad Luang Prabang. Ik was samen met het groepje waar ik mee in de bus vanuit China naar Laos was geweest. Een 23 jarige Amerikaan genaamd Travis, en 5 Chineze backpackers (3 meisjes en 2 jongens).
Alhoewel de Chineze backpackers fantastische mensen zijn, waren Travis en ik het met elkaar erover eens dat als we op hun tempo rondkeken misschien net voor donker bij de waterval aan te zouden komen terwijl deze maar zo’n 500 meter van de parkeerplaats verwijderd was. De Chineze backpackers stonden namelijk souvenirtjes te bekijken rondom de parkeerplaats wat een eeuwigheid leek te gaan duren.
“Ik wil hier wat kopen want wat ze hier hebben kun je vast nergens anders vinden!” zei de Chineze jongen Alex. Ik wou hem niet ontmoedigen, dus vertelde hem maar niet dat ze dit soort dingen waarschijnlijk ergens in het land bij een grote fabriek halen en overal in het hele land te vinden zijn. Het was tenslotte pas de eerste dag van zijn eerste dag in het buitenland.
Enfin, Travis en ik besloten de Chineze backpackers later weer bij de waterval te zien, en liepen door. We kwamen eerst terecht bij iets wat een klein voor-watervalletje leek, en besloten hier meteen maar een duik te nemen in het water. Er waren ook 2 kindjes uit Singapore aan het zwemmen, en daar speelde we wat mee.
We hadden echter nog niet door dat de waterval uit enorm veel tredes bestaat, en dat we pas op de onderste daarvan bezig waren.
Ergens in het midden waren de meeste zwemmers. Dit was omdat er hier een liaan hing voor mensen om een beetje tarzan uit te hangen. Daar moesten wij natuurlijk absoluut aan mee doen.
Terwijl we hier wat aan het zwemmen waren, kwamen de Chineze backpackers er eindelijk aan. Ze hadden geen zwembroeken meegenomen maar daar spijt van gekregen en bij de parkeerplaats zwembroeken gekocht. Vooral de zwem-outfit van Xiaomo, en grappig meisje van 19 dat de wereld rondreisd was hilarisch. Ze had een klein broekje van Doraemon (een Japanse tekenfilm) aan dat haast een onderbroek leek, en Travis’s T-shirt geleend, waar in regenboogkleuren “OREGON”; zijn geboorteplaats op stond.
Xiaomo was overigens niet alleen grappig maar ook een zeer vreemd type. Ze huppelde voortdurend rond, en als ze dan opeens iets interessants ontdekte rende ze er heen, struikelde nog wat onderweg maar trok zich daar niets vanaan. Ze sprak haast geen Engels, maar als ik grapjes over haar maakte had ze dat toch door, en zei op haar beste Engels “Stop it or I will give you colors, sissy!”
Een blauwoog slaan, moet dat betekend hebben, maar dat was waarschijnlijk iets te letterlijk vertaald vanuit het Chinees.
De twee Chineze jongens maakte ook een dappere sprong van de liaan af. Ze hadden er echter niet bij nagedacht dat ze dan beter hun bril hadden af kunnen doen, en beide waren hun bril meteen bij de eerste sprong kwijt.
“Mijn bril!” gilde ze allebij tegelijk. Maar het was al te laat, het water was behoorlijk diep en niet helder genoeg om iets op te duiken.
De twee zagen echt niets zonder bril en Travis en ik moesten hen begeleiden naar de hoogste trede van de
waterval. Dit was wel een schitterend uitzicht. De waterval was veel groter dan ik me voorgesteld had. Jammer dat de 2 Chineze jongens er dus helaas vrijwel niets van konden zien.
Je kon ook naar de top klimmen van de waterval, waar je weer kon zwemmen en onder de waterval duiken. Daar was een soort klein grotje, vonden we uit. Als je uit het grotje zwom, kon je een rots vinden om recht onder de waterval te staan en de kracht van het water te voelen.
Terug bij de parkeerplaats leek een van de Chineze jongens de dop van de lens van hun camera ergens verloren te hebben. Dat zou moeilijk zoeken gaan worden zonder bril! Travis en ik namen een Took-took eerder terug omdat we met iemand bij de herberg hadden afgesproken.
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De tweede jongen van rechts maakt het typische gezicht van iemand die zijn bril erg mist.
2012年3月12日月曜日
Is this China!?
March 11, 2012. Written in Vientiane, Laos.
After a long train of 34 hours from Xinyang to Kunming, I wanted to take the bus straight to Laos and leave China, but before that I was so tired I decided to take a day of at Kunming's Cloudland Hostel first.
Except from switching books with a Japanese guest, talking some to a few girls from Guangzhou and going out for a jog in town I did nothing at all. I realized that I might be traveling for a long time, but at least half of that time is spend doing absolutely nothing!
The next day, on my way to the bus station, I bumped into a white guy with a backpack that seemed to be heading to the bus station as well.
"Are you going to Laos by any coincidence?"
Travis, 23 from America was traveling around mainly in China, but also went to Japan and was now going to spend some time in Laos.
Together, we made it to the bus station. After having dinner, we entered our bus. It was my first sleeping bus so far. With our backpacks, the aisle was so narrow that it was hardly possible to presume. The beds too, where about as narrow as you can imagine. They were exactly the broadness of my body. This was going to be a hard trip!
I found it hard to fall asleep, but when I finally started to feel tired, two Chinese people that were almost 5 seats away from each other started to scream something about buying apples or not at the next stop. This conversation didn't seem to come to an end, and they did not seem to care at all about the noise they were making.
"I think that you can get them for 20 Yuan at the next stop!!" the lady would shout carelessly.
The strangest thing was though, that except from Travis and me, none of the other passengers seemed bothered by this. Everyone would just keep on snoring as if they didn't hear anything at all, and maybe they really didn't. I gave up on sleeping and told myself to be just a little more patient. In a few hours I would not be in China anymore. In Laos, people would not do something like this, I believed.
At around 6 in the morning, the bus stopped somewhere, and didn't move on for more than 2 hours. Travis and I wondered why the bus was stopping here so long. Maybe we were already at the border? We decided to go out and investigate the area. The environment had changed drastically. The streets were filled with tropical trees, people would pass by on small motorcycles and everything was written in not only Chinese, but also in Lao.
Maybe we had already arrived in Laos? We had obviously not passed the border, but this just didn't seem like China. I stopped a man passing by and asked him in my broken Chinese.
"Is this China?"
The man laughed like crazy, repeated my sentence and walked on, but an answer to my question he did not give. According to his crazy laugh though, my question must have been a crazy one, which supposedly meant that we were indeed still in China.
After the bus finally moved on, it took another 1 or 2 hours before we made it to the border. In front of the border, many people went off the bus, and a new load of people came. Among these people, was a group of Chinese backpackers. They seemed different from the other Chinese people I have met so far. More fun, playful and open-minded. Come to think of it, it was the first time I had ever seen Chinese backpackers. The fact that they were backpackers alone seemed to distinct them from the other people of their country.
The departure hall on the Chinese side was huge and official, but the entrance office at the Laos side was a joke. You could just sneak into the country from the back of the toilet, and except from a small office with a dirty paper on which the prices for Visa are written down, there was absolutely nothing to mention. People would break in the line but there was no official at all to say something about this. In the back of the office I noted a poster of a South East Asian woman in a bikini. The guy to check the passports was sitting outside on a bench as if he was checking tickets for a swimming pool.
After entering Laos, the roads got worse and worse. I was not going to get any sleep at all and besides, I started to feel sick due to the bumpy roads. After every few hours, the bus would make a brief stop at the side of the road. During these stops, all I could do was fall down on the floor and close my eyes.
When we finally arrived in Luang Parang, more than 30 hours had passed. We were hungry like crazy, but first we had to find a hotel. Together with Travis and the Chinese backpackers, we took a tuk-tuk downtown.
After a long train of 34 hours from Xinyang to Kunming, I wanted to take the bus straight to Laos and leave China, but before that I was so tired I decided to take a day of at Kunming's Cloudland Hostel first.
Except from switching books with a Japanese guest, talking some to a few girls from Guangzhou and going out for a jog in town I did nothing at all. I realized that I might be traveling for a long time, but at least half of that time is spend doing absolutely nothing!
The next day, on my way to the bus station, I bumped into a white guy with a backpack that seemed to be heading to the bus station as well.
"Are you going to Laos by any coincidence?"
Travis, 23 from America was traveling around mainly in China, but also went to Japan and was now going to spend some time in Laos.
Together, we made it to the bus station. After having dinner, we entered our bus. It was my first sleeping bus so far. With our backpacks, the aisle was so narrow that it was hardly possible to presume. The beds too, where about as narrow as you can imagine. They were exactly the broadness of my body. This was going to be a hard trip!
I found it hard to fall asleep, but when I finally started to feel tired, two Chinese people that were almost 5 seats away from each other started to scream something about buying apples or not at the next stop. This conversation didn't seem to come to an end, and they did not seem to care at all about the noise they were making.
"I think that you can get them for 20 Yuan at the next stop!!" the lady would shout carelessly.
The strangest thing was though, that except from Travis and me, none of the other passengers seemed bothered by this. Everyone would just keep on snoring as if they didn't hear anything at all, and maybe they really didn't. I gave up on sleeping and told myself to be just a little more patient. In a few hours I would not be in China anymore. In Laos, people would not do something like this, I believed.
At around 6 in the morning, the bus stopped somewhere, and didn't move on for more than 2 hours. Travis and I wondered why the bus was stopping here so long. Maybe we were already at the border? We decided to go out and investigate the area. The environment had changed drastically. The streets were filled with tropical trees, people would pass by on small motorcycles and everything was written in not only Chinese, but also in Lao.
Maybe we had already arrived in Laos? We had obviously not passed the border, but this just didn't seem like China. I stopped a man passing by and asked him in my broken Chinese.
"Is this China?"
The man laughed like crazy, repeated my sentence and walked on, but an answer to my question he did not give. According to his crazy laugh though, my question must have been a crazy one, which supposedly meant that we were indeed still in China.
After the bus finally moved on, it took another 1 or 2 hours before we made it to the border. In front of the border, many people went off the bus, and a new load of people came. Among these people, was a group of Chinese backpackers. They seemed different from the other Chinese people I have met so far. More fun, playful and open-minded. Come to think of it, it was the first time I had ever seen Chinese backpackers. The fact that they were backpackers alone seemed to distinct them from the other people of their country.
The departure hall on the Chinese side was huge and official, but the entrance office at the Laos side was a joke. You could just sneak into the country from the back of the toilet, and except from a small office with a dirty paper on which the prices for Visa are written down, there was absolutely nothing to mention. People would break in the line but there was no official at all to say something about this. In the back of the office I noted a poster of a South East Asian woman in a bikini. The guy to check the passports was sitting outside on a bench as if he was checking tickets for a swimming pool.
After entering Laos, the roads got worse and worse. I was not going to get any sleep at all and besides, I started to feel sick due to the bumpy roads. After every few hours, the bus would make a brief stop at the side of the road. During these stops, all I could do was fall down on the floor and close my eyes.
When we finally arrived in Luang Parang, more than 30 hours had passed. We were hungry like crazy, but first we had to find a hotel. Together with Travis and the Chinese backpackers, we took a tuk-tuk downtown.
2012年3月11日日曜日
信陽の日常
March 11, 2012. Written in Vientiane, Laos.
信陽の日常
河南省最南の町、信陽は特に何もない、平凡な中国の町です。観光地もなければ、名物もない。だから、外国語の先生でもない限り、外国人がこの町を訪れることもめったにないわけだ。だが、それこそが信陽の持ち味だと僕は思っている。何も見ものがないことが、一番の見ものである。人々が毎日同じ生活を続けるだけの町、それが信陽。本当の中国を体験できし、僕の場合、前回訪れたときに友達ができたわけだから、人々の日常を垣間見ることができるわけだ。
前回訪れた際、Ｈさんが三日間にわたって丁寧に町を案内してくれたわけだが、家族が不在のため家に招かれることもなかったし、彼女自身も女子寮で暮らしていたため、その中を覗くわけにもいかなかった。 次に来たら、実家を案内するよ、と言われて、中国を出る前にもう一度訪れてみようと思ったわけだ。
前回は１５度くらいと暖かい気候だったが、あれから３ヶ月がたった今、信陽の町はすっかり冬に入っており、零度に近いのにどこへ行っても暖房がない！ 泊まっていた旅館の部屋にも当然暖房がなく、ふとんを３つかけても寒いほどだった。
Ｈさんは寮生活をやめ、今では友達と大学付近のアパートを借りている。エレベータのない古びたビルの４階にあり、安っぽい部屋だが３ＬＤＫという広さはうらやましい。いくらなのかと聞くと、一ヶ月の家賃は２０００円くらいという驚くほどの安さで、友達とシェアしているわけだから一人千円払えばすむわけだ。寮を出る気持ちがよくわかった。
信陽での二日目はＨさんの実家を訪れ、お母さんにごちそうしてもらった。
僕の他にはＨさんのルームメートも一緒に来て、お母さんがたくさんの料理を用意してくださり、腹いっぱいになるまで食べた。Ｈさんの実家は信陽駅の近くにあり、古い住宅街にある。家の中もきわめてシンプルな作りで、中はやっぱり寒い！ だが、暖かい料理を食べ、スープを飲んでいると身体がだいぶん温まった。ちなみにＨさんのお父さんは建築関係の仕事をしており、今はスリランカで仕事をしている。以前にもベトナムやインドネシアで仕事をした時期があったが、お母さんは寂しくとも元気に一人娘と暮らしているようだ。
Ｈさんの実家の前
その他に、Ｈさんと川沿いに歩いたり、軍隊訓練場付近で３００円の靴を買ったり、公園で凧揚げで遊んだり、夜行きつけの屋台で串料理を食べたり、Ｈさんの大学の友人とビリヤードをやったりと、信陽の学園生活を満喫してきた。
最後の夜に、屋台のおじさんにレンコン串をごちそうしてもらい「あんたは、古い常連だからね」と言われたのが何よりも嬉しかった。このおじさんの串を買うためだけでも、いつかまた訪れてみたい信陽だった。
信陽の日常
河南省最南の町、信陽は特に何もない、平凡な中国の町です。観光地もなければ、名物もない。だから、外国語の先生でもない限り、外国人がこの町を訪れることもめったにないわけだ。だが、それこそが信陽の持ち味だと僕は思っている。何も見ものがないことが、一番の見ものである。人々が毎日同じ生活を続けるだけの町、それが信陽。本当の中国を体験できし、僕の場合、前回訪れたときに友達ができたわけだから、人々の日常を垣間見ることができるわけだ。
前回訪れた際、Ｈさんが三日間にわたって丁寧に町を案内してくれたわけだが、家族が不在のため家に招かれることもなかったし、彼女自身も女子寮で暮らしていたため、その中を覗くわけにもいかなかった。 次に来たら、実家を案内するよ、と言われて、中国を出る前にもう一度訪れてみようと思ったわけだ。
前回は１５度くらいと暖かい気候だったが、あれから３ヶ月がたった今、信陽の町はすっかり冬に入っており、零度に近いのにどこへ行っても暖房がない！ 泊まっていた旅館の部屋にも当然暖房がなく、ふとんを３つかけても寒いほどだった。
Ｈさんは寮生活をやめ、今では友達と大学付近のアパートを借りている。エレベータのない古びたビルの４階にあり、安っぽい部屋だが３ＬＤＫという広さはうらやましい。いくらなのかと聞くと、一ヶ月の家賃は２０００円くらいという驚くほどの安さで、友達とシェアしているわけだから一人千円払えばすむわけだ。寮を出る気持ちがよくわかった。
信陽での二日目はＨさんの実家を訪れ、お母さんにごちそうしてもらった。
僕の他にはＨさんのルームメートも一緒に来て、お母さんがたくさんの料理を用意してくださり、腹いっぱいになるまで食べた。Ｈさんの実家は信陽駅の近くにあり、古い住宅街にある。家の中もきわめてシンプルな作りで、中はやっぱり寒い！ だが、暖かい料理を食べ、スープを飲んでいると身体がだいぶん温まった。ちなみにＨさんのお父さんは建築関係の仕事をしており、今はスリランカで仕事をしている。以前にもベトナムやインドネシアで仕事をした時期があったが、お母さんは寂しくとも元気に一人娘と暮らしているようだ。
その他に、Ｈさんと川沿いに歩いたり、軍隊訓練場付近で３００円の靴を買ったり、公園で凧揚げで遊んだり、夜行きつけの屋台で串料理を食べたり、Ｈさんの大学の友人とビリヤードをやったりと、信陽の学園生活を満喫してきた。
最後の夜に、屋台のおじさんにレンコン串をごちそうしてもらい「あんたは、古い常連だからね」と言われたのが何よりも嬉しかった。このおじさんの串を買うためだけでも、いつかまた訪れてみたい信陽だった。
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