21 Riding Dorothy from Sydney to London
从悉尼到伦敦：骑车走天涯
(From thenationalstudent.co.uk)
(《国家学生》杂志)
Life can lead you to some funny places if you let it. Like your last day at uni when you"re contemplating your future and wondering where it all goes from here. So many different directions you could take. So many opportunities and fears. I was the same, never quite sure what I should be doing, and making some wrong turns along the way. Until one day,somehow, I found myself in Australia with a visa that was about to expire and a strange idea to ride a motorbike all the way home to England. For reasons of adventure, for reasons of escape, for reasons of wanting to undertake a terrific test.
如果你愿意尝试的话，生活可以带你去往很多乐趣无穷的地方。就像在大学里的最后一天，你还在思考你的未来，不知将来的路通向何方。有那么多的方向供你选择，你的眼前充满机遇，心中却也充满恐惧。我也是这样，从来都不太确定自己将来应该做什么，一路上走了不少弯路。直到有一天，也不知为什么，身处澳大利亚的我发现自己的签证即将过期，就突发奇想，想要一路骑着摩托车返回远在英国的家。或许是因为我想冒险，或许是因为我想逃避，抑或是因为我想经历一次了不起的考验。
The bike I would be riding was a second-hand Honda called Dorothy. Dorothy could only do 40mph. With only two weeks to be out the country, I would have to ride the 3000 mile from Sydney to Darwin almost non-stop if I was to catch the boat to East Timor in time. The documentation to do something like this is a little fiddly , but worth every bead of sweat when you see your first Outback sunrise. It"s incredible, playing David Gray on your iPod as you ride across it at 5 a.m. Good times!
我的“坐骑”是一辆二手本田摩托车，名叫多萝西，每小时只能跑40英里。在仅仅两周的离境时间里，若要及时赶上去东帝汶的船，我不得不骑摩托车从悉尼马不停蹄地赶到达尔文市，完成长达3000英里的行程。办这样的事情需要的文件材料准备起来有点费时费力，然而，当你第一次看到澳大利亚大陆的日出时，你会觉得你流下的每一滴汗水都是值得的。听着iPod里戴维·格雷的歌曲，于凌晨5点骑着摩托车穿越澳大利亚，这种感觉真是不可思议！多么美好的时光呀！
We made it to Darwin with a day to spare and off Dot sailed on a cargo boat, while I flew overhead, to Dili, the capital of East Timor. I rode a tiny motorbike along the jungle roads, across the rest of Indonesia, in a pair of Converse high-tops and floral board shorts. Apart from Bali, Indonesia is an untouched wilderness. The people scream "hey mister" and hassle you wherever you go. That"s why I started camping out in the wild,across Java and Sumatra, in a cheap Kmart tent and the rain that fell at night.
我和多萝西来到了达尔文市，并在那儿待了一天。然后，小多乘着货船，我乘坐飞机去了东帝汶的首都帝力。穿着匡威高帮运动鞋和印花沙滩裤，范文，我骑着小小的摩托车，一路驶过了丛林密布的道路，越过了印度尼西亚的其他地区。除了巴厘岛以外，印度尼西亚到处都是原始的荒野。无论走到哪里，那里的人们都会冲着你大声叫“嗨，先生”，并不断烦你。于是在经过爪哇岛和苏门答腊岛时，我开始露宿野外，住在廉价的凯马特帐篷里接受夜晚雨水的洗礼。
Then to Malaysia. Across the Strait of Malacca there are no vehicle ferries, meaning Dot quite literally had to sail on a banana boat , being held hostage on the other side until I paid the captain more money. I immediately loved Thailand when I got there. I spent more time in Bangkok,a great city, especially on a motorbike which you can race around flat out , then north to Chiang Mai, a jungle region where the mountains grow, staying in wooden shacks, eating phad thai , meeting the great, generous, smiling people of Thailand.
接下来是马来西亚。整个马六甲海峡都没有运输车辆的轮渡，这就意味着我的小多将不得不乘香蕉船出海。到了海峡的另一端，我还得向船长缴纳更多的钱，否则小多将被当成抵押品扣留。踏上泰国土地的那一刻，我便爱上了那里。曼谷是一个很棒的城市，尤其是你可以在那里骑着摩托车全速行进，尽情驰骋。我在曼谷多逗留了一段时日，接着便北上来到了清迈。这里山脉众多，丛林密布。我们住在木制棚屋里，品尝了泰式炒面，见到了慷慨大方、笑容可掬的泰国人民。
By now me and Dorothy had been on the road for three months and ridden 8000 miles. I was loving the challenge, and the simplicity of it. Never having to question what I was doing with my life, I just got up, and rode, all day, and sometimes all night. The only problem was Myanmar. You can"t ride through it, meaning you either have to go up and over through China, or over it in an aeroplane. Surprisingly the second option is cheaper. We flew from Bangkok to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. It wasn"t my favourite country, but it was fascinating to see Everest on the horizon, snow and rock all around.
到现在为止，我和多萝西一路相伴，历时三个月，驶过了8000英里的路程。我一直深爱着这项挑战，并为它的简单纯朴而着迷。一路上，我不用再去质问自己为忙何事而耗费生命，只是每日起床，骑着摩托车度过整个白天，有时甚至整个夜晚。唯一的问题就是缅甸。骑着摩托车穿越缅甸是不可能的，这就意味着你要么得骑车北上，从中国穿过去，要么得乘坐飞机从缅甸上空飞过。出人意料的是，第二种选择反倒更便宜些。于是，我们从曼谷飞到了尼泊尔的首都加德满都。尼泊尔并不是我钟爱的国家，但是在那里，我能看到地平线上拔地而起的珠穆朗玛峰。它被冰雪和岩石覆盖，令人心醉神迷。
Then down to India. Riding in India is like being on the dodgems , everyone aiming for you, lorries, trucks, cows, bikes, and everything is a threat. Roasting hot too, almost fifty degrees. Pakistan surprised me because it was so very different to India, the people more respectful of personal space, and friendlier. Truth is you have to be prepared for the worst or else you"d never cross the border. On a campsite in Islamabad I was guarded by soldiers with machine guns, armed police give me escorts on the road.
接着我们南下来到了印度。在印度骑摩托车就像在坐碰碰车，每个人都横冲直撞，不论他们是开着卡车、货车还是赶着牛车、骑着自行车，总之任何东西都有可能是个威胁。而且那里酷热难耐，气温几乎可达50℃。与印度相比，巴基斯坦却大不相同，这让我感到很意外。这里的人们更尊重私人空间，也更为友善。不过有一点倒是真的，那就是你得做好最坏的打算，否则你将永远无法通过边境线。在首都伊斯兰堡的一处宿营地，就曾有士兵手持机关枪“守卫”着我，还有武警为我“保驾护航”。
The road from Pakistan takes you over the Himalayas, along the Karakorum Highway, peaking at almost 5000 meters. That"s great altitude for man and machine but somehow Dot made it, climbing up the steep hills in first gear for hours on end , in the snow, in the freezing cold, with a banging headache. Until we hit the top and freewheeled down into China, the soldiers checking my laptop, insisting I ride with a guide. Sadly I was only there 7 days but I"d like to go back and see more of China. The people are lovely, the food great, and it still feels largely untouched.
从巴基斯坦，我们沿着最高海拔近5000米的喀喇昆仑公路翻越喜马拉雅山。这个高度对人和机器而言都是极大的挑战，然而小多却做到了。在漫天飞雪的严寒之中，虽然砰砰作响，她却还能坚持到底，连续数小时用第一档挣扎着爬上陡峭的山崖，直至顶峰，接着靠惯性滑行，驶入中国。边境士兵检查了我的笔记本电脑，并坚持让一名向导与我随行。遗憾的是，我只在中国停留了七天。不过，我很愿意再次回到中国，以便对它有更多的了解。中国的人们很可爱，食物也很美味，而且我感到那里的大部分地方仍然是未经破坏的土地。
Kirghizia, the country sits below Kazakhstan and is an incredibly pretty place. Nomads live in tents in the wilderness; there are beautiful lakes and a growing tourist industry. If you want somewhere off the beaten track , to hike, to explore, go there. In Bishkek, the capital, stay at Sabrybeck"s Guesthouse. It"s got a kitchen table around which backpackers from all over the world sit and drink tea while sharing their stories.
吉尔吉斯斯坦位于哈萨克斯坦的南部，是一个非常美丽的国度。游牧民族居住在荒原里搭的帐篷中，那里有秀美的湖泊和日益繁荣的旅游业。如果你想要去人迹罕至的某个地方远足或者探险，就去吉尔吉斯斯坦吧。如果来到首都比什凯克，就在萨布里贝克的家庭旅馆下榻吧。那里有一张餐桌，来自世界各地的背包客都会围桌而坐，饮着茶水，分享各自的故事。
It had taken me eight months and 19,000 miles to get this far. Man and machine were both knackered : she was leaking oil, and I was worn out. But we were on the final push. We had ridden across the world at 40mph, seen some amazing countries, and met some amazing people; now the horrible realisation that it was all about to come to an end. Through Russia and Ukraine and Poland, I was riding at a terrific pace, not showering or changing clothes for weeks on end. Just riding for the love of it. Then the EU, and the German autobahn . Just surviving, hanging on in there, sleeping by the roadside in bushes and a tent with a missing pole.
到达吉尔吉斯斯坦时，八个月已经匆匆飞逝，而我们也已经走了1.9万英里，车困人乏：她开始漏油，而我也已疲惫不堪。但我们仍然在做最后的冲刺。我们曾以每小时40英里的速度穿越世界，曾到过一些神奇的国家，也曾遇见过一些神奇的人。现在旅程就要结束了，意识到这一点让我感到有些惶恐不安。接下来我们又以极快的速度穿越了俄罗斯、乌克兰和波兰，整个过程中我连续几周都没有洗澡、换衣。只因喜爱，所以骑车不断前行。然后便是欧盟和德国高速公路。尽管只能停在路边的灌木丛中，睡在少了一根支架的帐篷里，但我们却依然健在，从未放弃。
But I and Dot had made it; we"d ridden across the world in nine months and 23,000 miles. And we were pooped . Now to get a job!
