阳朔／Yangshuo

当初辞掉工作展开流浪的日子，很多人都问，那浪迹天涯完毕后要做什么？或许我应该考虑去做导游。
I guess I should consider tour guide as a vocation when my days of roaming is done.

在桂林之后的下一站是阳朔，这个被誉为是背包旅行者天堂的地方。这儿离桂林不远，坐车子只要一个小时就到了，可是环境却与桂林有着天壤之别。桂林是典型的城市，阳朔确实典型的乡下地方，是我个人较偏爱的那种地方。
After Guilin came Yangshuo, the backpackers’ mecca of China, according to the Lonely Planet. It is not far from Guilin as it takes only an hour by bus to get there. Yet this place is a world of a difference from Guilin. If you say Guilin has the appearance of a typical city, then Yangshuo will be what you call the typical countryside.

找到落脚的地方后，就先到阳朔最出名的一条街——西街和它的周围走走。西街顾名思义就是西方人的街道，是一条以吸引西方游客为主题的街道。与大理古城的洋人街一样，这里布满了琳琅满目的精品店和很有西方味道的咖啡馆和酒吧。每个咖啡馆和酒吧都很有特色和味道，让人看了也不禁希望自己也能够在这里开一个这样的咖啡馆或酒吧。
After dropping off my stuff in the youth hostel, I first decided to check out the most famous street of Yangshuo, i.e. West Street. As you can guess, this street is so named because it contains many of the stuff that Westerners find familiar with. Just like the Westerners’ street in Dali, the West Street in Yangshuo has many shops selling souvenirs and knick knacks that tourists love, and also lots of cafes and pubs, each with their own style and character.

不过白天的西街非常宁静，反倒是周边的景物较吸引人。走到街的尾端，就来到了漓江。很多人都选择从桂林乘船到阳朔，以便欣赏漓江的美。不过我这种吝啬人，当然就选择便宜的方式来欣赏漓江，即乘车到阳朔，再从阳朔岸边来体会漓江迷人之处。
West Street in the daytime is very quiet though. As such, it was the surrounding area that captivated my attention more than anything. At the end of West Street, you will come to the famous Li River. Lots of people chose to take a boat down Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo, so as to take in the beautiful sights of the river. Me being a cheapo, chose the much cheaper option, i.e. took a bus down to Yangshuo, then take in the beauty of the Li River from the banks of Yangshuo. 一阵豪雨抹煞了我游阳朔街道的兴致，于是提早回旅舍。这时同房的几人正好也回到了房间，一共四个人，一对爱尔兰情侣，一个以色列女孩和一个斯洛文尼亚女孩。聊着聊着，就突然决定大家一起去吃晚餐，品尝一下阳朔招牌菜——啤酒鱼。于是一个华人就这样带着四个“老外”，再加上住在另一个旅舍的一个爱尔兰人，到西街找吃的。

一路上，为他们讲解街上看到的食物为何物，像是小笼包、饺子和砂锅饭等。就这样一直走到了小吃街。餐馆的人见我一路走，一路为老外讲解，个个上前拉着我，叫道：“导游，来我们这儿吃，我算你便宜一点。”。就这样，一个个“导游、导游”地叫，我仿佛就像是真的导游一样。好处是，餐馆的人个个不敢漫天开高价，怕我这个“中国人”会骂他们，而我当然也不会笨到去撇开“导游”的身份了。

A heavy downpour interrupted my afternoon of wanderings and I decided to go back to the hostel for a rest. My new roommates happened to return at the same time, an Irish couple, an Isreali girl and another girl from Slovenia. After a long chat, we decided to go for dinner together and try out the special dish of Yangshuo, i.e. Beer Fish. And hence, one Chinese brought four Westerners to the West Street looking for food.
Along the way, I introduced some of the food that we saw to my new friends, eg. Xiaolongbao, dumplings and claypot rice. On seeing me explaining things to the others, all the staff at the restaurants thought I was a Chinese guide and one by one, they started pulling me by hand, saying, "This way, Dao You (Tour Guide). Come to my restaurant. I will give you a good price." Actually, it is not a bad thing to be mistaken for a tour guide, as it means that the people from the restaurant will not dare to quote me a "foreigner's price". As such, I did not bother to correct the fact that I was not a tour guide. 那个啤酒鱼吃起来真的吃不出什么啤酒的味道，不过鱼很鲜美。几个老外吃得津津有味，不断说我这个“导游”点的菜真不错。吃饱后再到西街晃一晃，夜晚的西街比白天热闹多了，璀璨的灯饰，从酒吧传来的阵阵音乐，谁也不会想到这一条就是我几个小时前逛过的那只有几只小猫在逛的西街。

The beer fish did not taste of beer as I expected, but nonetheless, it tasted good and fresh. My new friends were so happy with the dishes I ordered, that they kept saying, I was a good tour guide. After dinner, we went for a walk down West Street. This time round, the street was much more livelier. Bright lights and loud music. Who'd have thought that this was the same street I walked down just hours earlier? 第二天，又当了一天的“导游”。原本是想自己一个租脚踏车四处转一转，结果变成了一个华人“导游”带着三个游客骑车的情形。而说起那脚踏车之行，我的妈呀，简直是要了我的命！已经很久没有骑脚踏车了，最后一次骑车，已经是去年夏天到寮国（中国人说“老挝”）的事了，而那次最长也只不过骑了三个小时。可是这次在阳朔，一骑就是六个小时。我那可怜的屁股真的是开花结果了。不过必须承认，为了那么漂亮的风景，为了能够那么亲近乡下生活，屁股开再多的花也是值得的。就连是老天不作美，在开始时一直下雨，也无法不让我们注意到这个地方的美。无怪他们会说这是背包旅行者的天堂。　　～伟

The next day, it was another day of being a "tour guide". The original plan was to rent a bicycle and go cycling round the countryside. In the end, it was a Chinese "leading" three Westerners on a cycling trip. And talking about cycling, my god, it was a really killer!! I've never cycled so much in my life! It's been ages since I last rode a bike. The last time being three hours of riding in one of the southern islands of Laos last summer. This time round in Yangshuo, we cycled for 6 hours. And the biggest difference between this ride and the last, in Laos, it was lovely paved road. Here in Yangshuo, it was gravel and dirt path. Not only did my bums hurt like never before, we also got all muddy and soaked riding in the rain. But I must say, for all the beautiful scenery I'd seen, all that pain and mud was definitely worth it! 　　～wei