又要搬家咯~~

又是到了搬家的季节。和上次一样，占据最多空间的东西还是----书。曾经无数次承诺自己，不要再买那么多书了，结果还是忍不下心。即使不买书，还是会借书、复印书。

每次搬家，就好像在清洗心里的污垢，整理紊乱的思路，然后再重新出发。

加油！

忙碌的一个星期

这个星期突然变得忙碌起来。

星期一，新人来报道了，忙着把一整年在工作上学习道德知识灌输给他（是的，时间不多，只好灌输了）。

星期二，一整天都忙着教人。

星期三，怎么别人辞了职会那么空闲，我辞了职反而更忙碌，啊~~。

星期四，同事搞了个小型欢送会，连另一个部门的经理都赏脸出席，我们到Greenbox唱K。好久没有唱K了，大家都玩得很尽兴。第二天上班时，每个人的声音都沙哑了，呵呵~

星期五，下班后就赶到蒲种去了，准备明天的金马仑之旅！

星期六，嘿嘿，一群Nokia Lab老友聚会，免不了废话连篇。原本要带他们去吃怡保街场的客家面，谁知道已经没开了。

我们在金马仑度过了写意又有趣的周末，可是我好像感冒了。如果SY也来，Ivan没有去苏格兰，这趟旅程该会更加热闹，呵呵~~

贝隆夫人 (Evita)

整理了留在芙蓉的一些行李后，突然发现一张很熟悉的VCD《贝隆夫人》。嘿，这部戏在马来西亚上映的时候，我因为在准备着PMR考试而错过了，以致耿耿于怀。后来上了大学，在一间CD店里看到，就买了下来，却一直收藏到现在都还没有看。10年后，我才观赏到这部戏。

打开电脑，开始了一段时光倒流的旅程，回到了1940年代的阿根廷。我一直很喜欢那首" Don't cry for me Argentina",甚至在中学时就会背诵每一段歌词，但却一直对它所要表达的意思一知半解。当我看到贝隆当选总统后，Evita对着广大的支持者唱出这首动人的曲子时，我才恍然大悟。

看完了影片，接下来的时光都消磨在发掘Evita生平功过上了。突然间，他让我对阿根廷充满兴趣（以前只爱阿根廷足球）。虽然她的出身不怎么光荣，更曾经过着荒唐潦倒的生活，但成名后毕竟对人民做过许多杰出的贡献，难怪她会被称为"Spiritual Leader of the Nation of Argentina"了！

光阴似箭

看了伟哥为小瓜们拍的毕业照，突然很后悔自己为什么没有去他们的毕业典礼。更糟糕的是，我发现自己已经本科毕业3年了，离开当年刚进入大学已经8年了！天啊~好像不久前才看到这些小瓜们进入MMU就读呢，怎么这么快就毕业了！

更可怕的是，接下来的新生已经是90年代的了，真正的代沟问题要开始喽~~

又进决赛了？

2004年，感谢大炮王，我们抽到了一个非常坏的签，但还是在众志成城之下打进了中马赛决赛。2009年，我们又重新登上了决赛的舞台。

对我来说，决赛的意义不在于证明我们有多厉害，更重要的是那种为了一个共同目标努力奋斗，用泪水和汗水换来成果的喜悦。最感动的，应该是准备决赛的短短2个小时，大家可以很有纪律地各司其职， 充分发挥了“人多好办事”的精神，为上场的正选队员准备比赛。遥想7年前辩论组那种凄凉的情况，现在的我们是幸福的。

每次齐聚在一起准备比赛的日子，总是特别的难忘。就算写主辩稿很伤脑筋，自由辩很烦，检验立场很让人杜兰，但这种严重睡眠不足的日子，却有种让人陶醉的快感。如果你不享受这份折磨的话，就不会爱上辩论了。

独自驾驶在南北大道的归途上，我心里突然浮现一个愿望：希望我们的辩论队，学长们可以一直都那么爱护自己的Juniors，更希望我们从辩论中学习到的不是知识和技巧而已，还包括个人品格上的提升。


更多精彩照片：
http://stevechong.multiply.com/photos/album/88/UTHM_Debate_Tournament_2009

无聊～～

无聊的同事，帮我拍了这张无聊的照片。

旅游后遗症

听着《遇上你是我的缘》，思绪回到了那快活的旅程，方才惊觉我已经回来了2个月。真不敢相信我真的去过了，仿佛作了一场美丽的梦，照片里头的真的是我吗？

每天吃饱就上网、认识新朋友、聊天、做攻略；然后睡个懒觉。睡醒后又是一连串的惊喜，每天都过得很快活。呵呵，这种日子谁不喜欢？

富师傅还安好吗？该是忙着载送客人吧~ 安妮现在越南和姐姐旅行着，遗失的信用卡该补发了吧？还有元外、土豆、天堂旅社的老板等等人，就这样掠过了脑海。第一次看到雪景、雪山、沙漠、骆驼、敦煌壁画、九寨沟仙景、第一次自己坐火车、走广州的情景，还历历在目。

或许这种心情人一生只能有一次，下一次该又是不同的体会了吧？

两位超级棒的驴友写的部落：
http://www.david-angel.net/blog/

中国之旅-西北篇（18/4/2009）

姑婆房的摆设。清代珠江三角洲地区有些妇女为反对家庭包办婚姻，通过“梳起”仪式，立志终身不嫁。民间称这些妇女为自梳女，又称为“姑婆”。

凌晨5点半，火车到达广州，我带着满怀期待的心情踏出了车站。来到了咨询柜台后，值任的柜台小姐很友善地告诉我要搭地铁到公元前站，然后转地铁去芳春站，下车后步行到长堤路的江畔青年旅舍。我在地铁站等了半小时，第一趟地铁终于开车了！

上了地铁，才发现广州很像台北，地铁几乎涵盖所有市区内重要的地区和景点，非常方便！一个人探路的感觉也蛮好玩的，只是昨晚睡得不好，我累得几乎是拖着身体走的。走在陆居路和长堤路时，我几乎感觉自己回到了马来西亚，可以看到老人家在公园散步打太极，小贩操着流利的广东话叫卖，还有一些出来喝早茶的人。

到了江畔青旅，柜台还没有开，我就乘机和做早餐的服务员聊了起来。他介绍了附近的几个景点及可以如何步行过去。吃完自备的早餐后，柜台小姐上班了，我便到柜台登记，然后进去房间放行李。房间住满了人（都是洋人），但都在睡觉。我放下背包后轻手轻脚地冲了个凉，拿了些干粮就出门了。临走时还是吵醒了隔壁床的一个土耳其人，简单的聊了几句。原来，这里大多数的住客都是冲着广州博览会来的，我真是来“对”了时间！

我先到了附近的芳村车站搭地铁到陈家祠，参观了这个具有历史价值的博物馆。据说在文革时期，这里曾经遭遇过红卫兵的无情毁坏，所幸新华印刷厂搬进这里运作，才把部分的文物和建筑保存下来。这里的许多手工艺品都堪称世界级的，让我看得如痴如醉。可能今天是星期六吧，有很多中学生到这里来参观。听他们说着广东话，就好像看到了以前自己中学时的模样，对周遭事物总是好奇万分。


每伞门都有精美的图案和本身的典故




这座雕塑名为业精于勤、荒于嬉。


打飞机原来还有这个意思




陈家祠里有许多精美的手工艺品，可以用叹为观止来形容。参观过陈家祠，我沿着康王路一直走，走到了上下九步行街。途中还经过一条专门卖玉器的街，竟然可以听到有人在说福建话，呵呵~原本打算找华林寺，兜了一圈却找不着，老天却在这时下起绵绵细雨了，还是快点走为妙。


到了上下九，竟然让我发现这档食物！饥饿难当的我当然不会放过了。在买珍珠奶茶的时候，卖茶的小姐给了我一张折扣卡，我退回给他说我是马来西亚人，没机会再用。她很惊讶我的华语说得那么流利，而且还会说广东话，呵呵。


老天还是不给脸，我只好冒着雨在上下九漫步了。这里有很多商店，感觉很像台北的士林夜市，我按着地址摸索到了传说中的新华书局。中国的书店给我一种压迫感，因为卖的书都比较严肃（相对台湾的书店），而且包装也比较朴素。我找到了一本《秦殇》，看起来好像不错，掂量了许久还是用剩下不多的人民币买下了。最多晚餐挨饿咯。



后来雨越下越大，我只好打退堂鼓，搭地铁回旅舍去了。由于已经离开黄沙地铁站一段路程，懒惰再走回头路，我就在附近码头搭船回去芳村码头了。

听西宁的小飞说，如果你要作弄人的话，最好的方法是把他的电话号码到处写，然后加上“办证”两字，包管他应付不暇。在广州又看到“办证”了，开来中国办假证还真方便！

路上还遇到一个西装笔挺的非洲黑人跟我问路，说要到623路去，想不到我这个旅客还能帮人呢！到了码头，等了近半小时才有船上，我们都冒着雨冲上船了。上了船，突然看到工作人员把门关上了，其他走得比较慢的船客来不及下船，就破口大骂。那位工作人员也不甘心，就对骂起来了。嘿，想不到这里用的粗话还真的跟马来西亚一模一样。

在雨天乘船渡过珠江。

回到旅舍睡了1个多小时，就遇到刚从广州博览会回来的土耳其人，和刚入住的一位墨西哥人。外面还是下着雨，我就一直上网到雨停为止，这时已经是5点半了。我到附近的餐馆吃了一顿超饱的晚餐，然后就搭地铁到黄沙站，沿着珠江畔步行。

这碗饭让我饱到想吐，才6元人民币！

我沿着623路走到人民桥，发现雨又开始下了，还好这次我有带伞出门。过了桥后，天色开始暗了，我也开始明白这一带为什么被称为广州的拍拖胜地。晚上的珠江畔的确是景色宜人，凉风徐徐，走在这里感觉特别浪漫舒适。

我沿着滨江西路漫步，走过解放大桥，再沿着沿江西路和沙面公园走，共走了两个小时。一路上看到许多情侣在例行公事、窃窃细语和打情骂俏，也看到全家出动散步的，更有搀着老母亲的手缓缓走动的女生。虽然觉得很累，但我还是很享受这段路程，它让我深刻感受到了广州这座城市的人文气息。

回到芳村车站，我到了陆居路附近的一件甜品店叫了“姜撞奶”。开始我还以为是什么新鲜食物，原来就是豆腐花，只不过比马来西亚的豆腐花香得多。吃完了甜品，我又沿着长堤路漫步，在这里看珠江又是另一番滋味。

晚上9点半，我拖着疲累不堪的身体回到旅舍，冲了凉就到头大睡了。

中国之旅-西北篇（17/4/2009）

一个人坐火车是超级西北无聊的事情。我终于明白为什么Annike说iPod是她的最爱，如果iPod不见了，她愿意花任何代价让家人买一个新的寄给她。我真后悔没有多放几首歌在电话里，倒是放了很多百家讲坛的讲座。

在车厢里呆得要发霉了，我狠下心来花钱去吃又贵又不好吃的火车餐，只为了静静享受那窗外的景色，也看看服务员们在打情骂俏。这一顿早餐吃得特别久。

回到车厢时，突然听到一个染金发的男生用悲伤的歌声唱出了张雨生的《大海》，“如果大海能够，换回曾经的爱，就让我用一生等待~~”。唱得那么伤心，该是受到什么情伤吧？

中国之旅-西北篇（16/4/2009）

嫣还是病倒了，好像是气喘病发。我们简单的吃了一顿早餐，就搭车去附近的医院了。虽然医院可不是我们计划的要到的景点，但是能参观中国的医院，也算是旅途的一种特殊经历吧。

成 都的医院给我一种人手分配不均的感觉。一边厢，门诊医生没有护士帮忙，病人得自行排队候诊，有可能还会因为不满问诊的秩序先后而吵架。另一边厢，我却看 到几个护士悠闲地坐着无所事事。听嫣说医生也做不了什么，因为气喘需要看病历才能对症下药，现在医生只能开一些急救的药而已。

回到了旅 舍，稍作休息，我们就到附近的参观吃了一顿麻辣的午餐，然后又到一件高级茶馆享受品茶之乐。成都不愧是茶馆文化的重镇，这里似乎到处都能找到让你满意的 茶，而且名字多的让行外汉的我摸不着头脑。我们也不知道什么茶好喝，所以就看名字随便点了。一个幽静的下午，一杯让人心醉的好茶，三两个知心好友敞开心地 畅谈，时间过得特别快。

回到旅舍，嫣和鹏就开始收拾行李准备离开，到攀枝花去了。一起履行了16天，终于到了说再见的时候，心里有点不舍，却也很期待他们能把接下来旅途中所见所闻与我分享。目送他们离开后，我花了1个小时上网找寻资料，安排了接下来的行程，也向江畔青旅订下了在广州的房间。

晚餐前，我遇到了我们的室友泽沐，原来他也是晚上要去车站搭车，我们结伴同行了。我独自到了旅舍附近的小巷散步，好好感受一下这一个据称是“最适合人类居住的地方”。这里的人，快乐吗？

我们820pm离开旅舍，才发现搭巴士到车站需要40分钟，泽沐肯定赶不上9点的火车了。于是我们叫了一辆计程车。送走了泽沐，我在车站附近闲逛了一个小时才入站，上了到广州的火车。一个人的感觉也不错，只是不知道在火车要怎么过。还好已经晚了，先睡个觉吧！

中国之旅-西北篇（15/4/2009）

病倒了的嫣，乖乖在旅舍养病。


我们居住的青年旅舍。
我们在早上10点左右出发，很快的就认识了车上的另外4位旅客。开始的时候大家都对同车的唯一洋人--Mike很感兴趣，可是他话一说开就听不了了。结果接近两个小时的车程我就跟他聊得不亦乐乎。他是个瑞典人，哲学系毕业生，到过19个国家旅行，这次旅行够了就回去继续5年心理学；读书对他来说只是兴趣。

我们从个人兴趣、哲学、东西方学生的学习态度、人生规划等，再聊到福利国家的好坏、旅途中的趣闻等。他对英国的福利政策特别反感，因为政府会给单身母亲房子，结果造成很多女生故意生孩子只为了要房子。接着我们有聊到各国的文化差异，他说瑞典人常常被西欧人误会为无礼，因为他们常年在冰天雪地下生活，说话也尽量简短以免消耗热量。结果本来应该说：“麻烦您给我一杯茶”，瑞典人往往只会说：”一杯茶“。

突然间我觉得我遇到了一个奇人，因为他不但长相奇特，衣着怪异，而且见闻广阔，跟他聊天也是一大享受。只是我本来就睡眠不足，原想在路途上睡觉的如意算盘也被打破了。




到了乐山大佛入口处，我自告奋勇地上前买票，还出示了我的学生证。嘿，又一次成功获得半价优待了！开始的时候我们都走在一起，装成别人的团队听导游免费讲解。Mike听不懂华语，自己走开了，我们则跟着别人的团队走。





来到了乐山大佛的头顶旁，我们看到许多游客在悬空伸手“触摸”大佛的脸部各个部位，原来不同的部位代表心中不同的祈求。这时，我突然发现那位在九寨沟天堂青旅遇到的泰国人，原来也跟我们一样到了乐山大佛参观！我们沿着梯级走下去，到了乐山大佛脚底下。





精美的雕塑，把我们都看呆了，尤其是大佛的脸部更是栩栩如生。他们是怎样做到的？远处有几艘船经过，那是付费从江上观赏大佛的人们。








我们大概走了2个多小时才回到入口处，发现走散了的沐泽和艺浩已经在等待我们了。这时司机在点人数，发现到最难找的Mike不见了！我们尝试联络旅舍却没有人懂他的电话，也不知道他是去坐船了，等不及自己走了，还是仍然在乐山大佛里头。在等待的过程中，我们发现了这则新闻，才明白为什么在中国加气站是不允许乘客进入的。



等了近半小时，才看到Mike带着一个洋妞兴高采烈的走出来，天啊！他尝试说服司机多载一个人回去成都，但司机坚决不愿冒险超载，那位洋妞只好自己搭巴士回去了。这时，车里的几个乘客都应该很不爽他吧。路上我们又继续为完的话题，但只谈了半小时，他就“识趣地”睡着了，我也终于得到片刻的安宁，呵呵。


回到旅舍，我们赶紧跟Mike拍张照留念。他长得想不想耶稣？



我、鹏和嫣到了附近的一件餐馆吃串串烧，但我们都不敢尝试成都著名的麻辣锅，因为这十多天我们吃太多麻辣食物了。虽然如此，这一餐我们仍然是吃得津津有味，大块朵颐。吃着吃着，我们就聊了起来。我突然间感觉像决堤的江河，话题源源不绝，就像以前刚认识嫣的时候那样。仔细想想，我们也真的好几年没有这样畅谈了，每次见面都是匆匆忙忙的，想不到就在这样的场合下寻回了这种感觉。能够有你们这样的朋友，夫复何求？

这一顿吃得很饱，饱在肚里，暖在心里。

中国之旅-西北篇（14/4/2009）

嫣和鹏的午餐 Sam and David is eating this for lunch

昨天虽然走了一整天，感觉很累，却一直睡不好，早上很早就起床了。我轻手轻脚爬下床，刷了牙，洗了澡后，天开始发白了。这时，Annike也醒了。
Although I am very tired and drunk some wine, but still can't sleep well, so I wake up early. I go down from bed slowly to avoid waking up Annike, then brushed my teeth and take a short bath. The morning is approaching, and Annike is awake as well.

我们准备好后，就下楼去会合鹏和嫣，然后搭德士去车站（步行要40分钟，没力气走了~）。接下来的我们又从原路返回江油，再从江油回去成都了。途中Annike一直重复温习了我之前教过的几句中文，有些乘客还好奇的望过来，怎么有个西方人在说中文。
We meet up with Sam and David after packing our luggage, then take a taxi to the bus station. (We simply can't afford to walk another 40 minites, haha..)

Annike is practicing the Mandarin words that she learn from me for the past few days, some of the passengers look at her curiously, how come there is a westerner speaking Mandarin?

中途，司机在平武停下车吃午饭，鹏和嫣没有下车。我和Annike饿得不得了，叫了些菜，狼吞虎咽的吃了起来。感觉上就像平时在马来西亚坐长途巴士时在中途站吃饭一样。这时才发现Annike握筷子总握住最上端，我就笑着对她说，“中国人有个迷信，如果女生筷子握得越上端，则表示将来嫁得越远。”“那我要嫁到很远很远了，哈哈~。”
We stop at Pin Wu for lunch, but Sam and David never come down. Annike and I are very hungry, so we quickly find a place and order the food, and start eating. I observed that Annike is holding her chopstick near the edge, so I told her,"Chinese believed that if a gal hold the chopstick near the edge, means she will be marry and live far from her family in future." "Then I must be very far from my family after marry, haha~~."

接着我们又谈到别人斟茶时我们需要用手指轻敲桌子表示感谢，这是有个典故的。那是乾隆下江南时，属下为了要向他叩头，但又不能暴露他是皇帝的身份，就用手指代替叩头动作，渐渐演变成轻巧桌子了。这个故事得到满族人富师傅的应证，应该是真的吧！
We also talk about the story of Qian Long Emperor visiting South of China few hundred years ago. He likes to pretend to be a layman while visiting his territories, so his followers cannot kneel on him in front of the public. In the end, whenever Qian Long Emperor pour tea on his followers' cup, they kneel on him using the fingers. This turn out to be a common practice among Chinese, where the younger one will knock the table gently with two fingers when the elder one pour tea to them.

接下来又是几个小时沉闷的旅途，到达成都时已经是6点半了。一下巴士，我们就帮Annike栏了一辆德士，确保司机明白旅舍地点，价格也公道后，送她走了。接着我们等了好久都揽不到德士，就有人跑过来说这是高峰期很难揽到德士的，他愿意30元送我们到旅舍。有了在西宁的经验，我们不再轻易相信这些话了，就换了几个点等。终于，我们领悟了，这里搭德士要抢的，斯文的排队就只有干等的份。于是我也豁出去了，德士一到我就一个箭步冲上去，干净利落的打开车门坐下去，然后招呼鹏和嫣。我仿佛看到其他人羡慕的眼光，这是我生平第一次抢德士，哈哈，很有满足感！
We reached Cheng Du around 630pm. We helped Annike to get a taxi, and make sure the driver understand where she wants to go. After that, we try to get our own taxi but end up waiting for a long time. There are 2 persons trying to lobby us to take their car (30 yuan per trip), with the reason that it is peak hour now, very hard to get a taxi. We already have the experience in Xi Ning (pay 30 yuan for 6 yuan trip), so we are not going to be cheated again! We tried to wait at several spots, and finally found that we will not get a taxi if we line up properly following the queue. People here need to "fight" for taxi! So when I see the next taxi, I run towards it and open the door without hesitation, the taxi is mine now! I can see other people looking at me with envying eyes, haha....

坐在成都的德士上，我感觉我想在玩Need for Speed一样，司机可以在双线超车，然后来个急拐弯，还可以完全不顾交通规者地横冲直闯，好几次差点撞倒路上的脚踏车和行人。后来才知道，原来这里的司机都是这样的！大家也好像习惯了，没有人埋怨。终于，我们还是安全到达了四号工厂青年旅舍。
I have a feeling that I am playing "Need For Speed" now, because the driver is driving like a skillful mad man! He can overtake the car without paying attention to the cars beside, and make a sharp turn suddenly, nearly knock on the passengers on the road! Well, I just find out that there are many drivers driving in this way in Cheng Du... Finally, we reached The Loft Hostel safely.


一进入旅舍，真有点错觉我们是到了什么欧美国家的旅舍，怎么都是西方人？我们住的是四人间，另一位同房的泽沐是一位即将毕业的大众传播系学生，在毕业前进行了一次长时间的旅游。听说他走了40多天，接下来还会去西安、西宁、敦煌一带，我们马上介绍了西凉驿给他，也告诉了他若要出租车可以找富师傅。接着，我们就以最快的速度到附近的餐馆医肚子了。
When I first entered the hostel, I thought that this is an European hostel, there are simply so many westerners here! We are sharing a room with a local traveller, Zhe Mu. He is a final year mass communication student, already travelled for 40 days in China. Since he will be going to Xi Ning soon, we share with him our experiece and introduce him to our driver, Fu.

突然间觉得有点奇怪，因为Annike不在了，可以不用忙着翻译了。做了这么多天的翻译员加讲解员，现在可以用单纯的华语交谈，还真有点不习惯，呵呵。
We had our dinner at the restaurant nearby. I feel a bit uneasy when Annike is not around, because I already used to speak English and be a translator for so many days. Haha.

嫣病倒了在房里休息，我和鹏就到附近著名的宽窄巷子走走。这是一条典型的旅游街，就像吉隆坡的茨场街一样，专做游客生意。不过这里的摆设格调高雅的多，不想茨场街都是翻版货。
Sam is officially sick and need to rest at bed, so David and I walk along the famous Kuan Lane without her. This is a typical tourist street, just like the Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur. The settings here are more high class, you won't see pirated goods here, but a lot of beautifully decorated cafe.



这个广告真够搞笑！



想不到这里也有星巴克！We got Starbucks here!

回到旅舍后，负责带团参观乐山大佛的Joyce告诉我们明天会有辆车过去，但要筹足6个人才行，目前只有1个老外要去。Annike临时说不要去了，想在成都先休息一天。嫣生病没去，就老外、鹏、沐泽和我4人还不够呢。后来真巧有两位中国旅客（艺浩和一位忘了叫什么名字的女生）也要去，刚好6人！你说，我们这次出来旅行不是很幸运吗？
The moment we step into the hostel, Joyce (a tour guide) tell us that there will be a car going to Le Shan Grand Buddha tomorrow morning, but we need to get 6 persons. Since Annike is not going with us, we only got 4 persons now (a Swedish guy, David, Zhe Mu and I). Just before we go to bed, there are another 2 local tourists joined us, we got 6 persons now! Haha...I think that we are very lucky throughout the trip!

中国之旅-西北篇（13/4/2009）

早晨起床后，就有早餐在等待我们享用了。我和Annike迷上了藏民的茶，喝了一碗又一碗，直到喝不下为止。吃饱喝暖，我们提着行李，和则大叔拍过照后就离开了。
This morning, we had an early breakfast. Annike and I love the Tibetan tea very much, we drink cup by cup until we can't take it anymore! Then, we pack our luggage,take a photo with Uncle Zhe, and left his house shortly.


看了看地图，今天要走10多公里的路，而且要重游镜海，又要在5点前赶到车站买车票，不坐巴士不行了。跟据旅游书上的建议，通常我们在沟内搭车很少人会查票的，我们抱着姑且一试的心态到车站等车。没想到一到车站，马上有个人跑过来查票了，一查车票是过期的，就客气的要我们布票，不让我们上车。我们当然不愿意多付钱。等他离开后，我们打算步行到诺日朗瀑布再试试看，那里是中介站，人比较多，该不会在注意到我们吧。
According to the map, we have to walk more than 10km, and we need to buy bus ticket to Cheng Du before 5pm, seems like we have no other choices but take a bus. Normally, there will not be anyone checking for bus ticket, so we plan to give it a try. Oops, our first attempt failed, there is a guard checking for bus ticket near the bus stop, so we are not allowed to enter the bus unless we pay for it. After the guard left, we try to walk to the Nuorilang Fall. Since there are more people waiting for bus in Nuorilang, hopefully nobody notice us.


没想到我们真的很幸运，才一到站马上又有人来查票了。看来我们是被盯上了，无论到哪里上车都会被查车票的。我们尝试央求管理员让我们搭一站的车到镜海，但还是没法说服他，最后只好选择放弃了。我们循原路走回去树正寨，打算一直走到沟口了。
But our theory is proven wrong again. There is another guard awaiting to check for bus ticket in Nuorilang! I guess we are being spotted, no matter where we go there must be someone awaiting to check our bus ticket. We try to ask for a favour to bring us to Mirror Lake only, but the guard refuse to grant us the permission to take bus. So we have to walk back to Shu Zheng village then.

用水流推动齿轮转动经轮 The wheels are turned by water, smart!

这时，我和Annike仿佛很有默契的，越走越快。原来我们都在找着同样的东西--厕所！哈哈，早上和太多茶了，憋了好久。我们快步走了近半个小时，才找到厕所，真的谢天谢地~
At this moment, I found that Annike is following my speed, and we are walking faster and faster! Haha, we are finding the same thing -- toilet! We drink too much tea this morning... Finally, we manage to find the toilet after half an hour of "sprinting", gosh~~


可是要走回树正沟还有一段路，会耗费我们更多的体力和时间。道高一尺，魔高一丈，我们还是想到了办法乘巴士回到树正沟去。我们2前2后地分开走，终于还是上了巴士。正当我们暗暗高兴时，巴士停站了，早上发现我们的那位管理员又出现了，我们赶紧别过脸不看他。没想到司机突然宣布车子要往上开，要去树正沟的人下车等下一辆巴士，我的妈呀~~我们只好乖乖下车，乖乖等那位管理员发现我们。他说我们坐了车要付钱，（我们当然不会付拉）我们只好不做声地一面走一面听着他骂。嘿嘿，我们都已经快到达树正沟了，才不管你呢~~
Although we are still fresh, but it will waste a lot of our time and energy to walk back to Shu Zheng village. Hence, we plan a plot, we walk 2 by 2 and pretend don't know each other. Finally, we manage to enter the bus without any interferences. We are so happy at that time, but still pretend to be cool. However, we are really having bad luck today, the bus only drive us for one stop before changing direction to go up again. We are forced to wait for another bus to go down to Shu Zheng village. Well, as expected, the security guard that spotted us this morning, is waiting us at the bus stop again. So we are scolded badly for not paying the bus fares, but who care! We are very near to Shu Zheng village already...wahaha~~

或许是昨天走的太累了，晚上也睡得不是很好，Annike和半生病状态的嫣都不多说话。无论如何，这些都无法阻挡九寨沟的魅力，童话般的景色还是让我们叹为观止！
Maybe we are exhausted after yesterday trip, and not sleep well at night, Annike and half-sick Sam looks quiet today. However, this will not stop us from appreciating the magnificent beauty of Jiu Zhai Gou. The fairy land still keep stunning us with its unparallel beauty.





早上出发的时候还冷得发抖，走到中午后热的发狂，哈哈。简单地吃了些干粮后，我们又继续沿着栈道步行了。有的地方栈道正在修理，有告示牌让我们走大路，但我们还是偷偷走进栈道。原因无他，走栈道能看到更多美丽的景色！
We are still shivering in the morning, but feeling damn hot in the afternoon. We had some simple fruits and biscuit before continueing our journey along the plank road. Some of the plank roads are under construction and not safe for walking, but we still insist to walk along it. The reason is simple, you simply can't see good view if you skip the plank road and walk along the main road!









树正沟的景区都很密集，所以即使不坐巴士也能漫步欣赏。比起日则沟的景点，这里的景点都比较“小巧”，但也各有特色。
The lakes around Shu Zheng Valley are very near to each other, so it is very convenient to walk from one spot to another.
下午3点多，我们到了九寨沟最后一个两个景点 -- 扎入寺和宝镜岩。
330pm, we are visiting the last 2 spots in Jiu Zhai Go -- Zha Ru Temple and Treasure Mirror Cliff.

宝镜岩 Treasure Mirror Cliff



扎如寺 Zha Ru Temple

扎如寺正在维修当中（外面的告示牌说维修是在2007年开始的，怎么干了这么久还没修好？），不允许进入，但我还是趁着保安人员睡午觉的机会溜进去了。由于大门深锁，我也看不到什么，就只好在外头向佛顶礼了。离开扎如寺之前，我们还发现了这个贴在寺墙上的小标签！
Zha Ru Temple is still under renovation (which started since 2007, take so long to not finish?), so we are not allowed to enter. But I still manage go in without waking up the security that nap so well. Since the doors are locked, I can't see anything inside the temple, so I just salute to Buddha outside the temple. While leaving the temple, we found something on the wall!


哇，需要这样吗？(We strongly oppose any actions from Dalai Lama and followers that plan to liberalize Tibet!)

Annike在路旁拾起了一张纸，像宝贝一样珍藏着。纸上面写着藏文，该是经文之类的吧。下午4点半，我们准时回到九寨沟门口，结束了童话世界般的旅程。
Annike picked up a paper on the floor, and treat it like treasure. The paper is wrtten in Tibetan words, I guess it is some Buddhism scriptures. 430pm, we reached the gate of Jiu Zhai Gou, and this mark the end of our journey to the Fairy Land.

九寨沟入口处的一条河 A river at the gate of Jiu Zhai Gou

接下来，两位女生回去天堂了，我和鹏则继续走了20分钟到车站，有惊无险地买了明天到成都的车票。这是最后4张车票了。回去旅舍的路途真要命，我们一面走一面讲话，结果走得气喘吁吁的，呵呵。
Two ladies go back to rest, David and I still need to walk 20 minutes to buy the bus ticket to Cheng Du. Ah ha... we manage to get the last 4 tickets! It is really killing to walk another 40 minutes back to the hostel, because we are talking excitingly while walking, haha.

车站就坐落在边边街，很奇怪的名字对吧？


到成都的最后4张车票 The last 4 tickets to Cheng Du


在九寨沟最后的晚餐~~ Last dinner in Jiu Zhai Gou

吃饱饭，我们就在附近商店买了些干粮。Annike说要回去旅舍上网，我们则在附近散步。当我们回到旅舍时，突然听到Annike气鼓鼓地喊我的名字，原来不知什么缘故旅舍接到警方的通知，不让外国人在旅舍里头上网（这是什么怪规矩？我到现在都弄不明白是怎么回事），Annike也无可奈何。我陪她到附近找网吧，还好让我们找着了一间，她还在网上发现一间成都的青旅，每晚只是10元！我们订的那间30元一晚呢！
After having our dinner, we walk around the hostel to buy some food for tomorrow. Annike wants to use Internet, so we continue our walk nearby while she heads toward the hostel. Suddenly, I heard Annike calling my name with angry face, telling me that she is prohibited from using Internet in the hostel. The police had informed the hostel to stop foreigners to use Internet (What stupid idea is this? I still don't understand the logic behind this action).

In the end, I accompany Annike to find an Internet cafe nearby. Luckily we still manage to find one! Annike manage to find a very cheap hostel in Cheng Du (10 yuan/night) and booked it immediately.

回到房里，Annike准备睡觉了，我找了志鹏一起尝下午买的青稞酒。没想到看起来像开水的青稞酒（51%浓度！），喝下去却像烈火一样，整个身体马上热了起来。我们喝了一半就不敢再喝了，免得喝醉了明天起不了身。
It is around 9pm when we go back our room, Annike is preparing to sleep already. I manage to get David from his room to try out the local wine (Qing Ke, 51% alchohol) we bought this afternoon. The wine looks like water, but taste like fire! I feel like buring after drinking quarter of it.

中国之旅-西北篇（12/4/2009）

相信昨晚大家都睡得很香。我和Annike享受了一顿昂贵的早餐后，就会合鹏和嫣走路去九寨沟了。走了不久，突然碰见柜台那位小姐，她说身旁那辆车是晚上我们住的则大叔家的，建议我们把一些行李放进车里减轻负担。
Annike and I had a delicious and expensive breakfast before meeting Sam and David to walk to Jiu Zhai Gou Nature Park. After walking for a few minutes, we meet the receptionist with a car beside her. She told us that the car belongs to Uncle Zhe, since we are going to stay at his house tonight, we can put our luggage into the car first.


购买门票时，我的学生证终于派上用场了，省了50元！九寨沟景点分布成一个Y型，玩九寨沟有两种方法。第一种适合来去匆匆的游客，可以乘坐环保巴士到每个景点下车，参观拍照。基本上这种方法一天就可以把九寨沟游遍了，但是没什么意思。我们选择了第二种方法，第一天坐巴士游览长海景区和原始森林，然后步行到树正沟；第二天则完全步行游览剩余的景区，省下了昂贵的巴士费。
Finally, I can use my student card to get discount for ticket, it save me 50 Yuan! Jiu Zhai Gou is a Y shape park, there are two common ways to visit the park. The first way is to follow the bus that stops at every fixed spots, walk around, take photos, jump to bus again. This is the most efficient way, because you can visit all the spots within one day, but it end up very rush. So we choose the second way, follow bus to Long Lake, Five-colour Lake and Prenival Forest, then walk along the plank road to Shuzheng Stockade for the first day. Second day, we will walk to all other spots, not taking bus anymore.

我们首先跟随巴士到长海景区参观，坐落在Y字的一端，第一站长海就让我叹为观止了！那种气魄和瑰丽，简直让我窒息了！我恨不得周围的旅客都消失了，让我能够宁静的拥有这幅不似人间应有的仙景。
The first spot we visit is Long Lake, located at one end of the Y shape. It is indeed a stunning view! I hope that I can appreciate the view quietly, this is not a scenery that you can see everyday, it is like a heaven!





在长海景区，有很多藏族人（可能是假扮的）在游说旅客穿藏族衣服拍照，然后向你收费。
There are many Tibetans (or maybe not) lobbying tourists to wear their costume and take photos, so they can get money as reward.



接着，我们到五彩池去了。由于现在还是春季和夏季的交接时期，很多景区都还缺水，所以经过上、中、下季节海的时候都只能看到干枯的湖而已。
Next, we visit Five-colour Lake. Since April is in between Spring and Summer, many places still lack of water. Hence, we can only see dry lakes when we passed by the upper, middle and lower seasonal lake.




游览过了长海景区，我们跟随巴士到Y字的另一端日则沟景区去了，大概10分钟我们就到达原始森林了。地图上说有熊猫，但我们却半只都没见到...
After visiting Long Lake Zone, we follow the bus to another end of the Y shape. We spend 10 minutes to reach the Primary Forest Zone. The map says there are pandas, but we never see any of them...




进入森林的时刻让我想起5年前短期出家的经验，那时进入原始森林感觉蛮恐怖的。这里属于不同种类的森林，没有马来西亚的热带雨林那么茂密，却也别有一番宁静的美。看过原始森林，我们选择步行到接下来的几个景点，希望530pm前可以赶到树正寨。
While entering the forest, I recall the memory of entering a primary forest (which is quite scary) while being a novice monk 5 years ago. However, forest in Malaysia is very dense, not like the one we see here. We decided to walk along the plank road to other spots, hopefully we can reach Shu Zheng Stockade by 530pm.



左图：靠近大路的栈道 右图：靠近山区的栈道
Left: Plank road near the main road Right: Plank road that build along the mountain.



沿途我们经过了草海到达天鹅湖，在天鹅湖旁吃午餐。如此醉人的美景，加上新鲜水果和干粮，也算是出门旅游的一种享受吧，哈哈~~
We had our lunch at Swan Lake. Magnificent scenery with fresh food and biscuits, what a good combination, haha~~





过了天鹅湖，就是一连串小湖和大湖，把我们看得口瞪目呆！九寨沟的湖都是清澈见底的，清澈到能够见到湖底树干的地步。最特别的地方是湖的颜色会随着观看角度、时间（阳光赵色角度）和季节改变的！刚刚看到是浅蓝色的湖，走了几分钟回头看又变成青色了，美得笔墨难以形容~~
After we walk pass Swan Lake, there are plenty of medium and small lakes that stun us with their unparalleled beauty! Majority of the lakes in Jiu Zhai Gou are crystal clear, where you can see the trees under water clearly. The most special thing about lakes in Jiu Zhai Gou is that it will change colour if you view it from different angle, if the sun shine on the lake from different angle (different time) or if you visit them on different season! While the lake shows light blue 10 minute ago, it might change to green if you walk further and turn back to see it. Fantastic~~




“清澈见树”的箭竹海 Crystal clear Arrow Bamboo Lake





熊猫海瀑布 Panda Waterfall

在九寨沟步行很过瘾，因为你不知道什么时候会出现一幅让你惊叫的美景，就像我们不知道什么时候生活会出现惊喜一样。我们是不是每天都这样走着走着走着呢？
It is very fun to walk in Jiu Zhai Gou, simply because there is always fabulous scenery that surprise you, and you never know when it will happen. It is just like our life, surprises do happen. In our daily life, are we walking, walking and walking like this as well?









下午4点20分，我们走到了五花海，开始觉得不对劲了。照这样的速度，肯定无法在5点半赶到树正寨。看来我们只好舍弃一些景点，坐巴士回去，明天在折返了。
420pm, we reached Five Flower Lake, it is quite late already. We know we will not be able to finish our journey with this speed, so we decide to take bus back to Shu Zheng Stockade, and visit the remaining spots tomorrow.



美的像假的一样~~ Very beautiful, looks like it is not real~~






走进去看，还可以看到有鱼呢！据说九寨沟的冷水鱼一年才长几公分，所以非常珍贵。
If you walk near the lake, you can see fishes swimming happily! The cold-water-fishes in Jiu Zhai Gou only grow a few centimeters per year.




终于，我们决定上巴士了。路过镜海时，车导告诉我们这就是电影《英雄》的拍摄地之一。由于时间不早了，我决定不下去景点了，明天再过来看吧。
When the bus passed by Mirror Lake, the tour guide told us that this is where they make the film "Hero" (by Jet Lee).


到了树正寨后，我打电话给负责接待我们的则大叔。不久，有个人走过来问我们要不要到藏民家住宿，我婉拒了。他望了我几秒，然后连带羞涩的问，刚才是不是你打电话来？哈哈，原来他就是则大叔！
I called Uncle Zhe to pick us up. While waiting for him, we see a man walking towards us, and ask us whether we need room tonight, but I rejected him. He hesitates for a few seconds, and asked me, are you the one calling me just now? Haha... now only I know he is Uncle Zhe!


这里的藏民分布在九个寨子里，所以这个地方叫九寨沟。据说开放的只有3个寨子，另外6个还没开发成景区，所以我们无法进入参观。我们住的树正寨是其中一个开发了的寨子（另外两个是荷叶寨和则查洼寨，许多藏民都做旅客生意为主。则大叔告诉我们，以前政府允许旅客在沟内住宿，所以生意很好，旺季时还会把60各房子都住满！后来不允许沟内住宿后，藏民的收入大减。我们到了这时才知道沟内是不允许住宿的，呵呵~不过很多旅游书和网站都介绍说要在藏民家住宿，不会有问题的。
There are 9 villages in Jiu Zhai Gou, 3 of them are open to tourists, while the other 6 are still under-develop. Shu Zheng village is one of the village that open for tourists visit, and most of the Tibetans here earn their living from tourism activities. Uncle Zhe told me, previously the government allow tourists to stay inside Jiu Zhai Gou, so they earn a lot. During peak season, his 60 rooms hostel is always full! But now they do not allow people to stay inside anymore, all tourists have to stay at hotels outside Jiu Zhai Gou. Now only we know that it is prohibited to stay over night here, haha.... But since many tourist books recommend it, why not?


安顿好行李后，Annike就建议我们到处走走看看。她看来爱上了旗子，拼命地找寻藏民绘满经文的旗子拍摄。走着走着，突然听到有人在喊我们，要我们快些上巴士离开了。我们对他说我们不走，要在沟内住宿，他“若有所悟”地点了点头离开了。
After settle down in the Tibetan house (looks like a hostel), Annike suggests to walk around. She likes the flags a lot, and keep taking photos of the flags with scriptures written on it. Suddenly, a man shouted at us, asking us to go on the bus and leave. We told him we are not leaving, we are going to stay inside Jiu Zhai Gou. He left after then.

回到则大叔家，我们一面挨饿等待着晚餐的来临，一面思考怎么还不见早上载走我们行李的那位年轻人？我们是不是把行李给错了人？会不会真的摆乌龙了？晚餐终于姗姗来迟，不管那么多，吃了再算！
It is quite late now, but the dinner still not ready yet, so we have no choice but wait. David and I keep wondering, where is the young man that took our luggage this morning? Did we pass to the correct person? Finally, the dinner is ready!

吃饱喝暖，马上觉得倦意来袭了。嫣累得要病倒了，则大叔的女儿赶紧拿了感冒药给她。我和鹏正在房里研究着怎样用电动暖被，嫣突然闯了进来，说她的房里只有一个暖被，能不能把我们的也借过去。为了不让这半个病人真的病倒，我们赶紧把多出的暖被送过去隔壁房。刚坐在床上，才发现原来每间房都有两个暖被的，晕倒~
We feel especially tired after the dinner. Sam nearly fall sick, Uncle Zhe's daughter gave her some medicine. While David and I are investigating how to use the electrical warming blanket, Sam entered our room and asked if we can borrow her one, because there is only one blanket in her room. We quickly detach the one in our room and bring it to her room, end up finding that there is actually 2 electrical warming blankets per room! Poor Sam, she must be too tired to find the second one~~

晚上9点多，要睡觉又太早，玩牌的话有不够人（嫣休息了），我们3人就找了些话题闲聊。Annike走后，我和鹏还在废话连篇。突然他爆出一句：“这里这么豪华，像是藏民的hotel，应该叫藏tel才对！”哇靠，我听了马上晕倒，隔壁房的嫣也大声笑起来，Annike则一脸茫然的瞪着嫣翻译。
9pm, it is too early to sleep, but we do not have enough players for card game as well (Sam is resting on her warm bed), so 3 of us just do some chatting. After Annike left, David and I still talking crap. Suddenly, David says,"This place looks like the hotel of Tibetans, we should call it Zang-tel! (Tibetan is called Zang Zhu in mandarin)" What a joke! Sam was laughing loudly at next room, while Annike looks confused and awaiting Sam for translation.

中国之旅-西北篇（11/4/2009）

左边是手艺娴熟的老板在搓面，右边是机灵的儿子在注意客人有什么需要。
The boss is making the noodles skillfully, while the smart son is observing what the customers might need.

今天要出发到九寨沟了，心情特别兴奋！我们到同一间清真餐馆吃了牛肉面，然后买了些干粮就上车了。由于清晨下过雨，感觉特别寒冷。
Today, we have our breakfast early in the morning, bought some food from the sundry shops, and head towards Jiu Zhai Gou right after that. It is a cold rainy morning.




这是我们在中国第一次坐长途巴士，而且需要坐9个小时，看来该是很不好受。一路上Annike在专心听着心爱的iPod，也和我分享了几首她最喜欢的歌曲。从江油进入九寨沟的路非常不好走，这完全出乎我们意料。一路上我们都是走山路，比昨天去陈家坝的路好要险峻，而且都是只有双行道，上下山的车都要非常小心。走了将近1个多小时，我突然发现右边的一段路被土崩后的砂石掩盖了，剩下一条刚好能让巴士通过的单行道，司机却若无其事的绕过去了。我尝试望窗外看，发现只要司机估计稍微错误，我们马上会掉入万丈深渊了。路上同样的状况还真不少，坐在车上真让人捏把冷汗。这时，Annike轻轻问我，“你觉得我们会不会死在这里？如果我死了，我的家人能够知道这是我吗？你不怕吗？”
This is the first time we take a bus for long journey in China, and it is a 9-hours journey! Annike is listening to her beloved iPod, and shares with me some of her favourite songs. The road condition is bad, we have to cross many mountains with the 2-lanes road that looks disrepair. This is totally out of our expectation. I think the driver have to be extra careful.

One hour past, I suddenly found that the 2-lanes road now only left 1, because the other side is damaged by landslide. The remaining lane is just enough for a bus to pass by, but the driver looks calm and steady when he drives off the road. I look out the window, and found that we might fall over the mountain if the driver make a very small mistake. It is very common to see this situation on the way to Jiu Zhai Gou, which make us start to worry. Annike asked me softly,"Do you think we will die at the journey? Will my family able to identify me if i died? Don't you worry about this?"

路上的风景，很美吧？Scenery that we see on the way to Jiu Zhai Gou, fantastic isn't?

窗外的景色明媚，我手中翻着Annike随身携带的英语旅游书（她称之为圣经），发现了其中的一段话：“若要从成都或其他地区乘巴士进入九寨沟，最好别选择在4月，因为这个月份多雨路滑，容易发生车祸。”我们相识而笑，该不会这么幸运吧~~
The scenery out side the window is magnificent. I am reading on the English travelling book that Annike bring with her (she called it her Bible), and found a paragraph there stated,"..if you plan to go to Jiu Zhai Gou by bus from Cheng Du or other places, please avoid April, because it will be raining frequently. It is a accident prone period." We looked at each other and smile, we can't be the lucky one isn't it~~

中午1点，我们在平武县稍作休息。
1pm, we take a short rest at Pin Wu city.



巴士开车了，这时我们才察觉，外面有下雪了！我的心冷了半截，不会吧，下雪天要翻山越岭？这趟旅程最惊险的时候来临了，只见司机一面按喇叭，一面用专业的手势摆动方向盘，还有余暇跟旁边一位不知死活的旅客闲聊。路上铺满了雪，只要司机稍有闪失或刹车失灵，这滑不遛秋的道路肯定会把我们“送”下山去的~~
The bus starts again after a short stop, and now we realized that it is snowing! I am wondering, if it safe to drive on those road while it is snowing? The most dangerous part in the journey has come, whereby I can see the driver keep horning and controlling the sterling wheel skillfully, while chit-chating with another passenger! The surface of road is full of snow, if the driver make any small mistake or the braking system goes wrong, we will be "send" down to the mountain~~The sea level of this area is high, so it is quite common to snow during this season.

经过了2个小时左右，我们总算过了高海拔的地区，不再看到雪景了。下午5点半，我们到达了九寨沟县城后，转到了另一辆巴士，再坐一个小时车才到达九寨沟沟口。我在巴士上给天堂青年旅舍的老板打了个电话，让他在车站等我们。一下巴士，我们马上被一大群的旅馆工作人员围着招客。Annike不懂中文逃过一劫（因为他们也不会说英语，呵呵），鹏和嫣则动作一致地指着我，让他们找我谈。开始时我很客气说不用了，后来不耐烦了就直接不理睬，最后被逼出绝招说我们已经订了旅馆，付了钱（其实还没有）。没想到他们还是死缠烂打，说我们住的那间天堂青年旅舍骗人，诸般不是，有的还出言不逊。
Finally, we manage to go pass the area with high sea level after 2 hours, and we never see snow anymore. 5pm, we reached the Jiu Zhai Gou city area. We move to another bus, and it takes us another 1 hour to reach the gate of Jiu Zhai Gou nature park. I manage to call the boss of Heaven Youth Hostel, asked him to pick us up at the bus station.

The moment we alighted from bus, we are surrounded by a crowd of people pursuading us to stay at their hostel. They give us lots of offers and various luxury packages, which we don't even interested to know. Since Annike don't understand Mandarin, I guess nobody interested to talk to her (they don't know English, maybe). Sam and David does respond to them but point the finger to me (this is our plan also), haha... In the begining, I try to reject them politely, but they do not satisfy with my respond. Finally, I told everyone, we already booked hostel and made payment. They start to comdemn the hostel we choose with various makeup stories, make us feel even more angry.

好不容易等到旅舍老板曾先生到来，我们总算得救了！曾先生看起来为人老实厚道，小强果然没有介绍错地方。在办理入住手续的时候，突然来了一对夫妇，负责招待的小姐赶紧向我们求助。原来他们来自泰国，不会中文，只会简单几句英语。这是马来西亚人的语言天分派上用场了，我们赶紧帮助他们顺利登记入住。
Finally, the boss Mr Zheng arrived with his own taxi, we are safe! Mr Zheng looks like an honest person, we are happy that Xiao Qiang had introduced us a good hostel. While we are registering at the counter, a couple came in to register as well. The young receptionist seek for our help because she can only speak limited English, same as the couple. So we become the translator between the Thai couple and the receptionist.

进入房间，我们才明白为什么旅舍叫“天堂”，因为以一人人民币30元可以住这样的美的房间，真的像进入天堂一样，哈哈！之前的惊险旅程都被眼下的舒适感冲淡了，我们今晚要好好休息！
Now we understand why the hostel is named "Heaven", because with only 30Yuan we pay, the room is consider very nice, just like entering the heaven after a scary journey. We are going to have a good rest tonight!



虽然住宿便宜，但是这里食物供应不容易，伙食超级不便宜，价格比城市贵上2-3倍。
Although it is cheap to stay here, but it is not easy to get food supply in Jiu Zhai Gou, so the food is not cheap. It is 2-3 times more expensive compare to the price in normal city.

我们的桌上，少不了还是会有番茄炒蛋。
Well, you still can see the fried eggs with potatoes on our table, cheers~~

晚餐后，我们就准备好这几天的脏衣服到楼下的洗衣间洗衣服去了。没想到原来4人中只有我用过这种半自动式的洗衣机，呵呵~~Annike仿佛很好奇这种洗衣机到底是怎样运作的，看得口瞪目呆，结果我们俩就这样望着洗衣机瞪了10多分钟才甘心回房。换过几次水后，衣服总算干净了，我们便七手八脚的晾起衣服来。晚上的天气还是很冷，冻得手都疼了。
After dinner, we bring all our dirty clothes to the washing room. It seems like I am the only one familiar with this semi-automatic washing machine, haha~~ Annike looks like very interested in the washing machine, so two of us spend more than 10 minutes staring on it before getting back to our room. After a few times of washing and rinsing, the clothes are clean now. Two of us manage to hang all the clothes in split second.

清算了这几天的账目后，我们都已经疲累不堪，连玩牌的力气都没有了。嫣和鹏回房后，我们看了一会儿书，也跟着睡觉了。
Everyone looks tired, so we do not play cards tonight. After Sam and David left, Annike and I spend some time to read before going to bed. It is a cold cold night~~

中国之旅-西北篇（10/4/2009）

中午12点，我们到达了江油，李白的故乡。出了火车站，我马上碰上了到中国以来第一次的语言障碍。原来这里的人都说川话，听起来好像把“平上去入”音调都搞乱了似的。结果我在问路的时候，我说的话他们都明白，但他们说的话我都不明白！搞了大半天，我终于弄懂了大概的意思，我们于是搭了巴士到十八队的汽车站。
12 noon, we reached Jiang You, the hometown of a famous poet during Tang Dynasty. When I walked out from the railway station, I am facing problem to understand the local dialect (which is the first time after so many days of travelling!). They can understand what I say, but I can't figure out what they try to tell me... In the end, I manage to get some clues from a lady, then we take a bus to the bus station at 18th-troops.

到了车站，果然如小强之前所说的，只有一轮早上的巴士进入九寨沟。买了车票后，我到附近找了几家旅舍，都不怎么合意，价钱都超出预算。后来看到一间勉强可以住，但是老板娘要价30元，算了吧！转了一个圈回来后，我们决定还是回去火车站附近那间便宜又干净的旅舍。正当我们决定离开时，那位老板娘追了过来，开价15元一个床位，我们马上答应了。呵呵，这是变相砍价吧。
When we reached the bus station, I found out that there is only one bus going in Jiu Zhai Gou everyday, so we got no choice but stay one night in Jiang You. After buying ticket, I try to search around the few hostels nearby, but they are all too expensive. I found one suitable hostel just beside the bus station, but the lady boss offer 30Yuan, which is expensive to our standard. So we decided to go back to the hostel near railway station that offer a cheaper price. In the end, the lady boss say she can offer us 15 Yuan per bed (wow, half the price!), we are happy with the price finally.




这间旅舍是简陋了点，但是还算整洁干净，最重要是靠近汽车站，方便我们明天出发。安顿好行李后，我们到附近唯一的餐馆解决午餐（又是牛肉面！）。由于这一路上吃的不是麻辣就是油腻食物，我的嘴唇都快干裂了，再也吃不下辣的食物了。吃过午饭，我们便在路旁向的士司机询问到陈家坝村的价钱，但每个司机都说地震过后那条路不好走，开价都很贵。后来旅舍老板娘看我们问不出个头绪来，就找来了几个朋友商量。一打听下才知道原来去陈家坝可以搭巴士，她还帮我们截了两辆类似泰国Tut-Tut车的自行车载我们到另一个汽车站。
The hostel is "simple and crude", but still looks comfortable and clean. It is just beside the bus station, so we can wake up late tomorrow without missing the bus, haha. We had our lunch at the only restaurant nearby. I am sick of spicy food, because we have been eating spicy food for many days (no other choices, most of the food in North-West China are spicy), my lips is very dry now.

We try to get a taxi to go to Chen Jia Ba, but found that the taxi fare is simply too expensive. The lady boss is noticed that we are having a hard time trying to get to Chen Jia Ba, so she discuss with her friends and try to help us. Eventually, she manage to find 2 pedicab that looks like Tut-Tut in Thailand, to bring us to another bus station nearby. From there we can take a bus to Chen Jia Ba much cheaper compare to taking a cab!


到了汽车站，我们乘巴士到陈家坝去了！从江油到陈家坝要2个小时车程，而且都是山路，因为要翻过很多山，经过很多河流才到达。一路上我们看到的除了山水外，就是小村集，很多还是临时搭上去的住所，该是受到地震影响的吧。我们还看到路上挂着许多布条，写着“XX城市人民和XX地区人民心连心”、“XX地区人民衷心感谢XX城市协助灾区重建”等标语。路上也看到不少义工的临时住所，有的已经改成临时学校了。这一路上地势那么险峻，要到这些穷乡僻壤赈灾可真不容易，更别说要重建了。
It takes 2 hours for the bus to reach Chen Jia Ba, because we need to pass by many mountains and rivers. Besides that, we also see a lot of small villages along the way. Most of the houses we see are built for temporary usage, so I think this is affected by the earthquake last year. There are many banners hanging all over the villages, it is written that "Citizens from XX city is always with people from XX village", "XX village thank XX city for helping in rebuilding", etc. I think it is a tough job to reconstruct these villages affected by earthquake, it is an uphill task for transportation.

这时，Annike突然拿起相机拍了几张照，然后跟我分享她在北京、平遥和西安旅行时拍的照片。当她讲述她在西安照顾孤儿的经验时，注视着照片的双眼洋溢着母爱，仿佛这些婴孩都是她亲生的。她该是个充满爱心的善良女生吧，这些小孩子能够得到她的爱，也算是一种福报。她告诉我，中国有很多这类身有残疾的孤儿，他们可能终身都得不到关爱，但是很多人却对这种情景视若无睹，这让她感到非常痛心。
Annike bring out her camera and start taking photos. She share with me the photos she had taken during the trip to Bei Jing, Ping Yao and Xi An. When she tries to describe her experience in taking care of the babies in the orphanage, I can see her eyes full of maternal love, as if those kids are her sons and daughters. I think she must be a kind and caring gal, the kinds are lucky to have her. She told me that there are many diable orphanage in China, they might not get any love from the people around for their whole life. She feels very sad about that.



来到陈家坝，才算真正看到了中国的贫富悬殊有多大。在这个称得上穷乡僻壤的地方，经过了地震的摧残后更加贫困了。简陋的房子、鲜有车辆通行的道路、拿着简陋工具劳动的人们，成了陈家坝乡村生活的最佳写照。
Chen Jia Ba is a typical poor village in China, it makes me think of how big is the gap between rich and poor people in china. We can see simple houses, road with very less (or no) car passing by and residents that work with their crude tools in Chen Jia Ba.



到达了陈家坝后，我马上感到有很多异样的眼光看着我和Annike。可能这里很少（或不曾）有西方人来过吧，所以他们看Annike好像看希奇事物似的。陈家坝不大，就只有一条街道，旁边有很多小商店、民居和义工临时住所。那些义工临时住所看来已经没有义工在住了，住的都是当地的人，有的用作小学。
When we walk along the street in Chen Jia Ba, I can feel that many people are looking at Annike and me. It seems like they seldom (or never) see westerner coming to this village before. Chen Jia Ba is a small village with only a main road, some small shop lots along the road, and some temperary settlements of volunteers. It seems like nobody is living in the temporary settlements now, and part of it is used as temporary primary school.

我和Annike走得比较慢，主要是想看得比较仔细，却也因此遇上了两个来自青岛的人。他们俩是青岛市政府的官员，正在监督和汇报陈家坝的灾区重建。原来这一带的地震灾区都是由中国各地城市“领养”的，每个城市领养的城市会负责各自领养区的灾区重建，而青岛负责的正是陈家坝。青岛市政府将在这里建一些公共设施，以及一间全国最先进的小学。他们说世界各地的捐款对灾区重建帮助很大，所以非常欢迎我们来考察重建的工作，还热情地跟我和Annike拍了一张照。我跟Annike开玩笑，不知道明天我们会不会出现在当地报章，说是外国间谍到陈家坝收集中国国家机密，呵呵~~
Annike and I walk slowly along the road, observing the daily activities of the villagers. Suddenly, there are two man approaching us, and they speak English! They are government officers from the Qing Dao city, coming over to observe the rebuilding process of Chen Jia Ba. The rebuilding of the places affected by earthquake last year, is headed by some big cities in China, where each of them will adopt one place to work on. Qing Dao is in charge of rebuilding Chen Jia Ba, and they plan to build some infrastructures including the top primary school in Chen Jia Ba.

They told us that China had received a lot of funds from all over the world since the earth quake, so he welcome us to withness the rebuilding of Chen Jia Ba. He even took a picture of Annike and me. I joke with Annike, maybe we will appear in tomorrow local newspaper, saying that two foreign spies are collecting information in Chen Jia Ba, haha...

陈家坝虽然是个小地方，但是景色却很秀丽，住在这里该是满写意的。虽然说政府通过“城市领养灾区”的方式进行灾区重建，但这只限于公共设施而已。对于民居的重建，政府完全让灾民自生自灭（这是哪两位青岛人说的），这是共产社会吗？Annike告诉我中国政府在处理灾区重建方面对西方社会存有某种敌意，不欢迎西方国家插手。可是经过了将近一年，灾区的重建似乎没有什么起色，为什么当初不接受别人的援助呢？
We found that it is very ridiculous for the China government to help only on rebuilding the public infrastructure. What about the residential area? According the two Qing Dao officers, the people have to build their house by their own. Annike told me that the Chinese government is relunctant to accept any sort of help in rebuilding the places affected by earth quake, especially offers from the western countries. That is why after one year, there is still very little progress.

不用怀疑，车顶上的的确是苍蝇！幸好车开动后苍蝇没有乱飞，否则我真地会抓狂~~
Yes, it is flies all over the roof of the bus! Luckily the flies do not fly all over the bus, else I will really go mad~~

下午5点，我们坐上巴士离开了陈家坝。回到旅舍，我和Annike想洗澡，于是便轮流用那个看起来蛮恐怖又简陋的洗澡间。想不开热水冲凉有太冷了，开了热水有汤死人，结果我只好用最快的速度冲完，免得被烫熟了。轮到Annike时，一半的热水被我用完了，老板娘便敲厕所门要她先把水外面的水加满。结果两个人鸡同鸭讲了半天，老板娘才来向我们求救；原来要安心冲凉都不容易。
5pm, we left Chen Jia Ba. After settle down in the hostel, Annike and I want to take bath, so I be the first one to test out the weird bathroom. The bathroom is "equiped" with hot water supply, but it is either too hot or too cold, so I have to take bath in very fast and efficient way to avoid being cooked by the hot water. While it is Annike turn, half of the hot water is being used, so the lady boss keep nagging Annike to fill up the tank outside before using. Obviously Annike don't understand what she said, the lady boss is so frustrated and finally seek for our help. Well, it is not easy to even take a nice shower, haha...



老兄，你真的需要这样充电吗？
Brother, do you really need to charge your gadgets in this way?

晚餐时候，我提起在大学四年间我是个素食主义者，没想到原来Annike也是半个素食主义者，她不吃肉但吃鱼。晚上，我们开始玩牌，直到大家开始神志不清为止。明天，我们就会到达期待已久的九寨沟了，好期待！
While we are having dinner, I told Annike that I was a vegetarian for 4 years during my University life. Surprisingly, Annike is also a vegetarian, she does not take meat but only fish and vegetables. We start playing card games after dinner, until everyone is very tired. Tomorrow is an important day, because we will reach Jiu Zhai Gou finally!

中国之旅-西北篇（9/4/2009）

今天基本上没怎么睡觉，因为6点多就被两个洗厕所工人超大的交谈声吵醒了。好不容易在床上翻滚到9点，终于还是放弃了，刷牙洗脸吧！不久大家都行了，轮流用着唯一的厕所洗漱。想到Annike之后可能有好一段时间都找不到会说英语的人同行，我写了几句简单的句子和英文翻译给她，希望能在她的旅途上派上用场。
Basically, I never sleep well for whole night, and wake up very early (6am) by the 2 talkative workers that wash toilet in early morning. 9am, everyone is awake, we take turn to brush teeth and take bath in the only bathroom that has hot water. While waiting for other people to use the toilet, I am thinking of how to help Annike for her future trip. I wrote down a few sentences that commonly used during travel in Mandarin (with pronunciation), then translate it to English, hoping that she can use this during her trip.

按照原定计划，我们应该去找兰州的旅行社，然后参与他们的团经过甘南去九寨沟的，这是最省时的方法。但是一路上听到的消息都说甘南一带怕有藏民滋事，也不让外国人通过，即使旅行社也不行。安全起见，我们还是选择了比较耗时，但肯定能到九寨沟的方法。
According to our initial plan, we are supposed to find a travel agency and join their trip, so we can go through the Gan Nan area to reach Jiu Zhai Gou, which appear to be the fastest way. However, we heard many local Chinese saying that Gan Nan has many Tibetan settlements, so the Chinese government had stopped foreigners to enter this area, even we join trip of travel agency. Hence, we decided to take a time consuming way, which gurrantee us to reach Jiu Zhai Gou.

早晨兰州的街头 Street view of Lan Zhou in early morning

富师傅陪同我们到兰州火车站去买车票，一路上Annike还在斟酌着要如何走下一步。我告诉她，跟着我们走吧，去了九寨沟再回到成都，肯定会遇到更多西方背包客的。Annike 欣然答应了，就这样我们买了4张道江油的车票，然后吃早餐去。接着，我们送富师傅到泊车的地方，依依不舍的道别了。富师傅本来建议兜我们在兰州走一圈的，但考虑到我们已经耽搁他太多时间了，我们还是婉拒了。目送富师傅走后，我仿佛看到Annike眼含泪光。
Fu accompany us to Lan Zhou railway station to buy tickets. Annike still look undecided about her next trip, so I tell her, follow us. We can go Jiu Zhai Gou first, then Cheng Du, there will be more westereners in Cheng Du. She agreed happily, so finally we bought 4 tickets to Jiang You! After having a farewell breakfast, we accompany Fu to the place he park his car, then say good bye to him with heavy feeling. Fu offer to take us for final ride around Lan Zhou city, but we rejected him, because we already caused a lot of problems and delay to him in this trip. Finally, Fu left us. I thought I see Annike with some tears on her eyes.

还有4个多小时才上火车，我听说兰州黄河风景美艳，就建议沿着黄河边散步去了。到了水车园，才发现他们不接受外国学生证，而且门票有点贵，我们就不进去了。沿着黄河步行果然另有一番滋味，沿途我们还看到有人在玩门球（一种像曲棍球的游戏）。Annike看起来对这游戏很感兴趣。
There is still 4 hours before the train depart, so I suggest to walk along Yellow River, as it is desribed as the most beautiful place in Lan Zhou. We never enter the garden, because it is too expensive, and they never recognize foreign student card. It is indeed a great experience to walk along Yellow River. We see people playing a game called "Men Qiu", which is similar to hockey and golf. Annike seems very interested in it.




走累了，我们就坐在草地上休息吃水果。好久没有坐在草地上了，草地对我来说该是个踢足球的地方，没想到静静坐下也可以那么舒服。若没记错，我当时该是在讲述着九寨沟的美景，以及我们接下来的旅程该怎么走。
We sit on the grass after some walk, and had our fruits. It has been a long time I never sit down on the grass so quietly, normally I play football on the field, haha. It is very relaxing to sit on grass. I think I am describing to Annike how beautiful Jiu Zhai Gou is, and how are we going to spend the following days.


兰州的街头杂技？Show time in Lan Zhou street?

下午4点，我们走回兰州车站，开始了20个小时的长途跋涉。
4pm, we have to leave Lan Zhou to continue our 20 hours journey to Jiang You.

嫣和鹏该是很喜欢快熟面，而且好像每次都是嫣选了个难吃的，就逼着鹏交换另一个好吃的，呵呵~~
I bet David and Sam like instant noodles very much. It seems like Sam always pick the one that taste bad, then she will robbed the good one from David, haha~~ So sweet.

我们乘搭的是新的火车，而且乘客不多，所以感觉不错。在火车上昏睡了一个的下午后，我们开始思量如何度过漫漫长夜了。Annike提议我们玩牌，于是就找了个空的上等卧铺车厢，玩起牌来了！我们开始教Annike玩“锄大D"，却发现这个游戏不容易在短时间内掌握。后来Annike介绍了几个简单又好玩的游戏，如Cheat和Shit Head，我们玩得非常尽兴。有位四川老兄（忘了他从哪个地方来）就爱静静坐着看我们玩，还充当保镖帮我们打发前来干扰的火车服务员，呵呵。 后来乘客陆续多了，不能再霸占车厢了，我们只好回去乖乖睡觉。晚上10点，火车准时熄灯，我有预感我又要连续2天失眠了。
We are taking a new train, and there are not many passengers, so it is quite comfortable. We slept the whole afternoon, then start to figure out how we should spend our night time. Annike suggests to play card games, so we immediately find an empty luxurious carriage, and start our game. At first, we try to teach Annike how to play the famous game "Chor Dai D", but it is simply too complicated for a beginer to master it in short time. Annike teaches us a few fun and simple game, I especially like the "Cheat" and "Shit Head".

There is a man from Si Chuan enjoy a lot by seeing us playing the game. He even try to be our "body guard", help us to entertain anyone that request us to leave the carriage.We enjoy the game very much, but are forced to leave the carriage when new passengers start to flock in. 10pm, the light is off, we are forced to go to bed, but I have a feeling that this will be the 2nd day I can't sleep well.

中国之旅 - 西北篇（8/4/2009）

今天将会从敦煌看到兰州，共有1400多公里路程，所以我们都起得特别早。Annike一早就准备好等待出发了，要上车前才发现大家带的行李都不小，呵呵。还好我们还是成功把所有行李塞进车里，开始我们的旅程了！
We are heading to Lan Zhou today, which is 1400km away, so we wake up very early today. Annike is ready to depart in the early morning as well, but soon we found out that our luggage are actually quite big! However, we still manage to squeeze in everything inside the car and drove off.


早餐时间，我一面吃着美味的清真菜包，一面解释给Annike听我们的行程。
I am eating the delicious vegetable buns while explaining to Annike where are we heading to the next few days.

出发到嘉峪关前，我们到昨天那家清真餐馆吃早餐，也乘机跟Annike多聊天。原来她刚从大学毕业后工作了两年，存了一些钱打算出来旅行一年。中国是首站，接着是越南、寮国、泰国和印度。她的旅行计划让我们惊讶不已，一个年轻的女生到语言不同的国度旅行，实在是不容易！我们也乘机交换了一些旅游资讯，我也建议了一些旅游路线让她参考。她听说我们都不知道马蹄寺在哪里后，担心这个地方游客也应该不多，会说英语的更加少，就重新考虑该不该改变行程了。
We had our breakfast at the same Muslim restaurant before starting our journey, and take the opportunity to talk with Annike as well. She graduate from University 2 years ago, and work part time for 2 years to save money for travelling. She plan to travel for 1 year, China is the first stop, then Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and India. We are amazed by her travel plan, it must me hard for a lady to travel alone in places where English is not very common. She is brave! I try to explain to her what I know about the places that we are going to visit, and give her some suggestions what she can do for her trip planning. I guess she is a bit worry when we told her that we never heard about Ma Ti Si, which is the place she is going to visit soon. At this moment, there might not be many westerners in China, so it will be quite hard for her to communicate with other people.

路上看到的风力发电站 We see wind turbine on the way to Jia Yu Pass

到嘉峪关的路上，我们谈了很多旅途上所见闻的事。Annike长相清秀，脸上总是挂着微笑，也蛮健谈。她告诉了我们在北京旅行的经历，以及在西安当孤儿院义工的经验。我想我们之前万万想不到会有其他人加入一起旅行，更想不到会是个西方人，哈哈。富师傅不会说英语，所以一路上我都充当翻译员，感觉蛮过瘾的。Annike应该在路上考虑了很久，终于还是决定跟我们到兰州去。到了兰州，或许能够遇到一些西方游客吧。
On the way to Jia Yu Pass, we exchange our interesting experiences during the trip. Annike is a lovely girl who like to smile, she share with us her experience while travelling to Bei Jing and her experience while working as volunteer in an orphange in Xi An. We never expect that we can travel with other people one day, and the new friend is a westerner! However, Fu do not know how to speak English, so I become the translator between Annike and Fu, it is a good practice for me. After thinking twice, Annike decided to follow us to Lan Zhou, and hopefully she can meet some westerners or people that can speak English in Lan Zhou.







到了嘉峪关，我们终于可以下车舒展身体了，Annike看来坐的很辛苦。嘉峪关是长城最西的一段，建于明朝，是中国当时西北面的一大屏障。我一边解释嘉峪关上的文物和文字，一边和Annike聊起彼此家庭背景、兴趣、各国国情等等。她还对我细细描述了家乡的广阔草原，蜿蜒在草原上的小溪，可爱的鸡群和恬静的田园生活。这个在郊外草原长大的女生，对大自然该是有着一份特别钟爱吧！
Finally, we can spread our legs and hands after reaching Jia Yu Pass, Annike looks like she is suffering during the journey, haha. Jia Yu Pass is built in Ming Dynasty, situated at west of Great Wall, which is very important for the defense of China at the North West. I tried to expalin all the historical relics and Chinese words we see to Annike. We also chat on our family, interests, our countries, etc. She try to describe to me her homeland near countryside with wast grassland, small streams flowing across the grassland, cute chickens and the calm life in countryside. I bet she must be a person that loves the nature a lot!


















我们站在这座历史悠久的长城关隘，谈论着彼此的生活观点。Annike会说几句简单的华语，如谢谢、不客气、吃饱了等。她还央求我叫她数一到十，我们就这样一二三四五地参观了整座嘉峪关。途中不少人投以好奇的眼光，该是我们讲得太大声了，或者他们没见过西方游客？
We are standing on this historical building, talking about our views towards life. Annike speaks some Mandarin sentences like thank you, you are welcome, I am full, etc. She beg me to teach her how to count from 1 to 10, so we keep on saying "yi, er, san, si, wu..." throughout the journey in Jia Yu Pass. Many people are looking at us, maybe we speak to loud, or they never see westerners before?








参观过嘉峪关，考量到上兰州还有很长的路，我们决定放弃参观悬臂长城，直接上兰州了。在路上，富师傅变得比平时更健谈了，可能是因为这是旅途的最后一天了，他感到比较轻松了吧。他跟我们谈起了他的家庭，他的女儿，当年他如何最求他的太太及年轻时的一些趣事。他跟我们分享了当地的一些风俗习惯如婚礼、丧礼的仪式。Annike也跟我们交流一些英国人普遍上对婚姻和爱情的观念，原来英国的离婚率高达50%，这让我们感到很惊讶。但是有很多的英国情侣选择同居而不结婚，因为法律上已经赋予双方一定程度的保障了，结不结婚显得不是那么重要了。
We do not visit the Hanging Great Wall, because we are simply running out of time. Today, Fu is very talkative, maybe because this is the last day of the journey, so he feels less pressured. He tell us a lot of stories about his family, his daughter, and how the romantic stories of how he tackle his wife. He also told us some local customs in marriage and funeral. Then, Annike tell us how English people normally look at marriage and love. We are very surprised when she tell us that England has divorce rate of nearly 50%. But many couples choose not to marry, because the English Law provide certain protections to both parties, hence it seems like marry or not is no longer a critical issue.
接着富师傅又跟我们大谈他的“夫妻相处之道”，说人们的第一印象往往是之后交往的关键；第一印象好的话，往往能够在日后容忍对方更多的缺点。拍拖的时候大家都尽量展示的自己的优点，所以冲突不会很大；一旦结婚后，一起生活的双方都会陆续展露自己的缺点，这时候若没有互相包容的话，肯定很难相处。
Fu then told us his "phylosophy for husbands and wives". He says that the first impression is very crucial, when we have good first impression on someone, we tend to forgive most of his/her weaknesses. When the couple is still dating, they tend to show the good sides of themselves, so normally there won't be much conflicts. But once they marry, they will try to show their weaknesses as well. Hence, if both parties are not prepare to understand each other and forgive the weakenesses of the loved one, they will face a lot of problems living together.

富师傅还语带玄机地说：“被爱比爱别人幸福，找对象还是找个爱自己的人比较好。”
Fu also said abstrusely,"To choose a life partner, it is always better to find a person that love you. A person being loved is always happier than a person that love other."

说着说着，富师傅又乘机“数落”我们没有注意到驾长途车的禁忌。原来我们很多时候都顾着看风景或者睡觉，没有跟他聊天来维持他的警觉，这是非常危险的。呵呵，看来我们真的有点懒惰。
Fu also told us that we (Sam, David and me) are actually not very careful while travelling for long journey, we are supposed to talk with the driver to make sure he is alert! However, most of the time we are either looking at the scenery, sleeping or keep quiet, which is very dangerous if the driver is not experienced enough. Haha, we are simply too lazy~~






这就是两位女生每次吃饭都要点的番茄炒蛋，我和志鹏都在想，有那么特别好吃吗？
This is "eggs with tomatoes" that the 2 gals like to order in almost every meal.

这5天的旅程中，我察觉到中国政府在征收过路费方面和大马政府不遑多让！除了高速公路外，普通长途公路也要收过路费，美其名叫作“贷款建路，收费还贷”。听富师傅说，政府从来没公布到底借了多少钱修路，收了多少过路费。我想，共产国家，还需要跟人民斤斤计较吗？这不是人民应有的福利吗？这跟资本主义国家有啥分别？
From the past 5 days, I observed that the Chinese government likes to collect toll fares, which is exactly the same as Malaysia! Besides highway, they also collect money for normal long distance road, which sounds ridiculous to me. The excuse to collect money from the people is that government is borrowing money from bank to build the road, so they collect money to pay back the bank. However, the government never announce how much is borrowed and how much money they had collected. Aren't this the welfare that a government should provide for their people, since China is a communist country? If the people have to pay for their welfare, what is the different between communist and capitalist?

凌成两点半，我们终于到达了兰州！想到明天（其实是今天）就要跟富师傅离别了，心里还真的有点不舍。车子驶入兰州市中心，我在焦切地寻找着可以入住的旅舍，若找不到我们就要睡在街边了。我敲了第一家旅舍的门，许久没有人回应，心里凉了半截，不会真的要睡街吧~~还好附近有一家旅舍灯还亮着，我赶紧吵醒了柜台小姐办理入住手续。终于，我们可以安心睡觉了。
It is almost 2:30am when we reached Lan Zhou! I feel a bit sad because we have to leave Fu tomorrow to continue our journey. At the same time, I am searching for a suitable hostel anxiously, it seems like not many hostel still open at this hour. Finally, we found one, but too bad nobody answer. "Are we going to sleep at the roadside tonight?"I am wondering. Luckily, there is another hostel nearby, I quickly wake up the sleeping ladies, and pay for 2 rooms. Finally, we can have good sleep~~