is where I live
October 18, 2008
Chinese Readers are welcomed to visit http://blog.sina.com.cn/vagred for more information on travel tips and resources.
Notes on travel in France, Germany and Italy is still being composed.
Europe Trip (England) 6/1/2006 – 6/6/2006: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_50d9867d0100dt32.html
October 14, 2010
I arrived in Tunisia on 9/18. It is a country where there are few dogs, but hundreds of wild cats prevail on the streets; where cars are afraid of pedestrians; where most men love their own country and are friendly to tourists; where most Muslim women are hard to talk with – it is even hard to say hello to them, they live like men’s shadow, shy and inactive.
Sep 17-18: I arrived in Tunis, and waited for bus for almost 30 minutes. I tried to ask some Muslim women who were standing next to me, but it seemed that they didn’t speak French or even didn’t want to try to speak French. They just coldly waved their hands and ducked away without even looking at me. I turned to another boy who saw me being rejected. He gave me 2 dinar and told me to take a taxi, “Because”, he said, “even if you take the bus, it just bypass downtown. It will be too complicated”. I didn’t want to take his money, but he passionately insisted on that. I didn’t expect at all this kind of help upon my arrival. I thanked him and took off.
The tax dropped me at Place du 7 Novembre 1987, and it took me an hour to find Augerge de Jeunesse in the narrow street of medina.
Place du 7 Novembre 1987
Already used to Hutong in Beijing, but it is still surprising for me to see some place so narrow and so crowded. The narrow streets were lined with small boutiques. Those owners would boldly stare at you like they’ve never seen a Chinese before, and ironically everybody tried to say “hello” in Japanese to me.
Sep 19: I got up early and took metro leger No. 4 to Bardo Museum. Tunisia doesn’t have a tight control at the metro entrance, and you can just walk in from the other side without buying a ticket. The museum and actually all tourist sites are free for students if they have a ISIC card. Part of the museum is closed, and it is filled with mosaic excavated from sites allover the country. They are absolutely beautiful.
Sep 20: I went to buy flight ticket from Tunis to Algiers this morning. Tunisair insisted on seeing a flight ticket I bought from Algiers back to the U.S. in order to sell me a one way ticket, otherwise, they say I have to buy a round trip because they want to make sure that I won’t stay in Algeria. I almost wanted to make sure if I was in an airline agency or an embassy.
At 11am, I took the train to Sidi Bou Said. It is a highly commercialized tourist site. Scenery is good, but besides that, there is not too much to see. One hour is more than enough.
Dar el-Annabi
Took the same train back to Cartage Demech. Cartage ruins are on top of hills, there are also a museum and a church.
Cartage Site
The ruins have almost nothing left to see now, and the museum is very small, only first floor exhibition has English illustrations, but the ticket is 9TD. The church L’acropolium is separate from the ruins site, very simple inside, almost nothing to see, but ticket is 5TD. I suggest not going in.
L'Acropolium
Going downhill from the back of L’acropolium, and west along Ave de l’Amphitheatre, you can find Roman Amphitheatre among the woods. People can see the whole thing from outside, except that you cannot go in the underground portion, but an overview is enough.
Across the street toward North is La Marsa Cicterns. It seemed that no ticket is needed, but the guardian would want to show you around for tips. But he can only speak French or Arabic.
Sep 21: I returned to Cartage to finish the rest of the sites. I got off at Presidential Palace, and Damous el-Karita Basilica is not far away. The guardian only speaks Arabic this time. He dig out an old dusty Roman light from a corner of loose sand and asked 5TD for it. 
We finally agreed on 3TD, but I don’t know if it is real or not.
Going along Rue Ali Relhouane, you can see another site which is not marked on Lonely Planet. It looks like a church, but I don’t know what its name is.
Alone Ave 7 Novembre are all the best sites in Cartage. Roman Theatre is a site well renovated, and is used for events nowadays, not very interesting. Roman Villas is well worth the ticket, especially the garden and guest room.
Garden View of Roman Villa
Mosaic on the floor of the garden is as fresh and vivid as new, definitely beautiful. I met a couple from Swaziland here. They like traveling a lot. “This place was such a gorgeous place thousands of years ago, but look what is left today”, they said to me, and they are absolutely right. Antonine Baths is the best site in Cartage. You can find all tour groups and a lot of people here. It will give you some idea how luxury the ancient Romans are.
Sep 22: I went to Bizerte by train early in the morning and arrived at 8am. It is a small city with good views. You can overlook the whole city at Spanish Fort, half a day is enough. I lived with somebody on coachsurfing.com, and he took me and another friend to Corniche in the evening. You can see the north-most point of Africa from here. Transportation posed to be a problem when we came back. Public transportation is not dependable, and there is no number you can call for a taxi – they are all run by individual drivers.
Mosque in Bizerte Kasbah
9/24: We planned to go to Ichkeul National Park. Three of us took the louage to the park and then hitchhike. It is 7 miles going in, a pain in the neck without a vehicle. We were lucky to get a Arabic professor from the University of Tunis who took all of us in, but we only stayed for an hour in order to get a ride with him back. It is a nice park that looks like Lu Gu Lake in Yunnan province in China, but time of visit is very important. You are supposed to be able to see a lot of birds and animals, but only in winter like January and Febrary.
Tabarka
Sep 24: My local friend suggested me go to Tabarka, so I changed my plan. Tabarka is very much like Bizerte, nice little town by the ocean, but I don’t know if it worth it to do pay a special visit. I only stayed 2 hours and left at 12:30pm to Bulla Regia. Going this way, you will be dropped off at a road crossing, and then there is 3 km walk in, which takes 40 to 50 minutes, a little too long if you are carrying a lot of stuff. However, it will pay off. Bulla Regia is one of the must go places in Tunisia. It is a vast area of Roman ruins with few tourists. Make sure you go to House of Amphitrite in the north side. The mosaic on the floor is the best I’ve seen during my trip.
House of Amphitrite Mosaic Floor
I came out at 5pm and there was no bus any more. I had to hitchhike to Jendouba, but it is not too difficult.
October 4, 2009
Store Occupied Building
Deserted Apartment Building
9/23：午夜12点的greyhound，凌晨5、6点到。走到签证的地方Renaissance Center大概15到20分钟，据说车站附近不安全，门口可以打车，但我是走过去的，没碰到什么问题。使馆8:30开门，把材料递进去（从底特律签的所需材料见http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/detroit/imm/visa_temp.aspx?lang=eng#GETTING，Sample Letter of Employment，Sample Letter of Going by Car or Itinerary），钱交了，给个条上
Deserted Church
面有时间，9:50再上来拿签证。好像挺容易就给了。剩下的时间到三层Marriott大厅上网订去Toronto的车票（无线网免费），逛逛市区（建议有时间看看，沿主路Woodward往北走就行，还是破得挺有特色的，底特律人口10年之间缩水了20多万，蛮萧条的）。晚上6点多的夜车greyhound。
I took the overnight greyhound to Detroit. The Canadian Consulate has same day visa service. I went in at 8:30am and got the visa after an hour. 2009 is a year among those when Detroit, as an old automobile industry city,
Burned House Deserted
was beaten up by the economy going downhill. For the rest of the day, I didn
’t go far, just wandered along the main street. Beautiful houses falling apart, whole block of apartment buildings deserted, grandeurs churches torn down, citizens demonstrating on the street…you can see signs of the recessions everywhere.
Toronto两天
9/24：凌晨5:45到Toronto，把东西放在Hostel，地铁站$9买daypass奔向Casa Loma。门口卖Citypass，5个景点（Casa Loma, Royal Ontario Museum, CN Tower, Toronto Zoo和Science Museum）59元，9天有效，只要去其中三个就比较值。Casa Loma很值得去，不光因为奢华的内部装饰和外表，还因为与其相关的历史和人物。仔细看的话要2个小时吧。出来12点，坐地铁到Royal Ontario
Casa Loma
Museum，没有卢浮宫和大英博物馆大，但好好看，都转到还是要半天时间的。中国、埃及和非洲部分不错，感觉动物标本部分一般，不如芝加哥的，我在动物那里耗时过多，导致没有时间去我比较感兴趣的非洲部分了，所以时间紧的话，计划一下挑重点，不感兴趣的部分浏览就好了。博物馆4:30关门，出来找超市买吃的东西，只有St Patric（离中国城最近的）站附近有些饭馆之类，或者到CN Tower附近，Union站，向河的方向走，Queen’s Quai街上有很多饭馆，还有超市。CN Tower服务人员会让你先去看电影，9月底太阳6:15左右落山，如果想上去看日落，可以和她讲一下，第二天再来看电影，就连票都不撕了。塔很高，其实最高点和下面的观景点差不了多少，我没有上到顶。日落很好看，我去的那天太阳被云遮住了，但天空被照到的地方颜色真的很鲜亮，一点杂质都没有。之后可以再等等看看夜景。
CN Tower Sunset View
I took overnight greyhound again to Toronto. Casa Loma is well worth visiting, not only because of the luxury interior and the beautiful Gothic Revival style architecture, but also because of the history and people related to it. Royal Ontario Museum is not as big as Le Louvre or British Museum, but it is very good, you can easily spend half a day in there. Chinese, Egypt and Africa exhibitions are very good, but animal part is just so-so. The museum closes at 4:30pm, so suggest go see the best part first. If you go to CN Tower around 5pm or 6pm, you can get a wonderful view of the city under sunset. The tower is very high, the top deck view is really the same with the view deck that is a little bit below it.
9/25：今天本来想逛逛市区和中国城，据说动物园不错，票已经包括在Citypass里了，就跑过去了。坐地铁到Kennedy站，换86A汽车，动物园是终点站，单程要1个多小时。可以看看，但没有想得那么好，地方太大，动物密度小，感觉一直在狂走，也没有太多看上去比较稀奇的动物。比较好的是孔雀和一些鸟有时候是放出来在外面的，介绍比较照顾小孩，读起来不是很费脑子，而且有很多动物中午有饲养员出来和游人见面介绍情况，他们的说明会很有意思。转下来要大概4小时左右。
回来下午5点，坐街车在中国城兜了一圈（都说Toronto的中国城是最干净整齐的，好像没什么意思，还是喜欢三番的），买了点吃的东西。晚上午夜的汽车去Montreal
I went to the zoo based on others suggestion. Took subway to Kennedy, and then change to bus #86A. The zee is the terminal. Not surprisingly good, mainly because it is too big, animal density is pretty low, and you really need to be prepared to walk a long way. The raisers come out talk to the visitors at certain time. It is pretty informative.
住：Backpackers on Dundas，地址126 Chestnut St, Toronto，电话416-599-7225。位置挺好，街对面有Starbucks和Subway，离地铁也近，但前台服务不太好，说7点有人在，可以让我进屋，结果被关在外面，在Starbucks里呆到7:30。而且还说他卖CN Tower的票便宜，只要21元，没告诉我有Citypass，亏得我犹豫了一下没有买。洗澡水也冷热不均。
购物：买吃的东西去中国城，St Spadina和Dundas路口有几家中国超市。
Montreal两天
Narrow Stone Alley in Old Montreal
法语很多，但大部分人也说英语。
9/26：放了东西才6点多，天气好的话，走到河边可以看日出，已经有人在晨练了。稍微转了一下就坐地铁去Mont Royale，这个地方一定要去一下，主要是上去看城市全景，山顶还有个湖（beaver lake）很漂亮。上山沿着Rue Rachel进去比较好。我8点出发上山，晨练的人很多，山上山下的跑，几乎每个人都会和你点头打招呼，从来没看到过这么友好的城市。碰到一个新加坡老爷爷，健步如飞，带我走得很快，一圈转下山来还不到11点。下山后其实离downtown已经很近了，用1个小时转了附近几个教堂之后到Musee des Beaux-Arts de Montreal，一般展览免费参观，分南北两个馆，到关门的时候只转了南边那个。艺术馆不错，但也没有什么特别的感觉。在商业街Rue Ste Catherine（人多，感觉像在北京王府井）和地下商场略转了一下就坐地铁到Ile Sainte-Helene，和叫Biosphere的那个大球状建筑照个像，过桥到Ile Notre-Dame，没什么意思，站了一脚就回了。7点左右在Place Jacque-Gartier有一个单人（叫什么mimi China…没记太清）表演，十分搞笑，很多人给钱。似乎在别人攻略上看到过，可能每天都在那里，可以问好时间过去看看。一天下来感觉腿脚好的可以从Mont Royale穿过downtown一路走回old Montreal（地上地下都行，Montreal的地铁站在地下都是联通的，有不少店铺，让大家冬天冷的时候也有事干），可以考虑不用买地铁通票。
Mont Royale in Montreal is a very good place to visit. It is a popular spot for locals, quiet and beautiful with a little lake on the top. Many people do exercise on the mountain early in the morning. I took t
he subway there, but after coming down, I found it’s already pretty close to downtown. I spent an hour looking at churches nearby, and then went to Musee des Beaux-Arts de Montreal. The regular exhibition is free to visitors. The arts are creative and well-done, but
nothing very special. Finally, at the end of the day, I took the subway to Ile Sainte-Helene, but there is absolutely nothing on the island, I only took a picture with the “big ball”, which is supposed to
be a botanical garden. Montreal has a very good underground passway that connects almost all subway stations, like a big shopping mall. There are a lot to see. Those who are good at walking can consider traveling for the day without buying a subway pass.
9/27：在Old Montreal转了一天。其实地方不大，但值得花一天时间慢慢走。Basillique Notre-Dame-de-Montreal确实很漂亮，值得看看，但里面不许带咖啡，不许照相。我去的时候是周日正做弥撒，参加弥撒会让你进去，但进去就要老老实实坐着了，要么就在外面站着看看，不论怎样都不用花门票钱了。Marche Bonsecours里面有很多工艺品小店，逛逛挺有意思。凡是要花门票的地方我基本都没有进。转得差不多了就沿着河一直往西走，没什么意思，但穿过楼群往回走的时候发现Old Montreal区域内Basilliqu
e Notre-Dame西边一片老楼都极漂亮，有时间一定把每条街都都一遍。中国城离我住的地方不远，去超市买了东西。Montreal的中国城还是挺热闹的，饭馆里外人都很多，比Toronto的感觉好。一家金店可以换钱，1.07，在中国城中间东西向的那条街上，Bd St Laurent东边。晚上12:15的夜车到Quebec City。
Architecture in Old Montreal
Olympic Park和Quartier Latin都没有去，感觉Montreal应该安排3天比较好，最后一天去这两个地方逛逛。
住：Le Sous-bois，地址431 St Vincent, Montreal，电话514-879-1394。24小时有人值班，服务人员很友好。位置不错，但有点太挤了，没有隔开的房间，一大片地方，男的床都在左半边，女的右半边，床很旧，用的是充气床垫，上下床叽叽歪歪的叫。
吃：试了一个叫Dunn’s熏肉店，在downtown，1249 Metcalfe。不知道和大家都在推荐的Schwartz’s怎么比，$6一份熏肉三明治，两片面包中间加很多肉，做得很不错，但胃口大的可能会嫌少一点。
Quebec City两天
旅游的好地方，强烈推荐。
9/28：早上3:30就到了，在车站睡了1个小时，找到住的地方，门竟然是开着的，进去一直睡到7点。Quebec City走着就可以了，早出晚归，走得快得话一天就差不多了。比较喜欢的景点有Parc d’Allitery, Frontenac和Citadelle（上到顶，景色超好），
St. Lawrence River
我都没有参加tour，看介绍牌就好了，很详细。更多的历史想知道可以回去查，路上有时候会碰到英语的tour group，可以蹭着听听。其他就是一些教堂之类的景点和老建筑、壁画之类。从Upper Town下到Lower Town可以走楼梯，也有电梯1.75加元或者2美元。主要的景点都在Upper Town和Lower Town，墙外的部分主要是一个大公园（过去的英法战场），景点比较少了，对我来说，主要是看那个Tour Martello No 1。但有时间建议去走走，附近的街道也逛逛，老房子、老教堂都赏心悦目。
Tour Martello No. 1
Quebec City can be visited in one day if you get up early. The sites I like are Parc d’Allitery, Frontenac and Citadelle (views on top are super). Most sites are in Upper Town and Lower Town. Outside the city wall is just a big park (a site of English-French war) with a couple of site like Tour Martello No 1, which had already been outdated by the time it had been finished.
9/29：只用了一上午的时间，把前一天漏掉的景点补上，买了纪念品。下午1:30就坐车回Chicago了。
住：La Belle Planete Backpacker，地址386 Du Pont, Quebec，电话418-264-4615。不收信用卡。比前两个地方都舒服，离Upper Town不是太近，要走一下，但离长途车站很近，附近还有比较便宜的超市。
吃：Quebec City的Starbucks很远，Second Cup是比较大的咖啡店连锁，和Starbucks很像，在城墙外面St Jean上有一家，Grande Allee和Senezergues路口也有一家。
购物：如果想买纪念品，逛的时候可以留心一下，比较价格，走之前奔过去买就可以。Syrup中等大的一瓶多卖$9.99，有的卖到$11，St Jean城墙内有一家只要$8.59，叫Tabagie（地址在1114 Rue St-Jean）。我住的地方附近Rue St-Joseph E往东走到头有个比较大的超市，价格还好。从大公园那边走回住所的时候，路过了Avenue Gartier和St Jean两条街，路边的超市都蛮贵的。
August 28, 2009
Grand Canyon
Las Vegas – Grand Canyon – Hopi Indian Reserve – Antelope Canyon – Arches National Park
Maps and Directions are given when entering Grand Canyon and Arches National Park, but it’s hard to find them on the internet, so I put them on:
Las Vegas: http://picasaweb.google.com/lium.intl/LasVegas#
Arches National Park: http://picasaweb.google.com/lium.intl/ArchesNationalPark#
http://picasaweb.google.com/liumchina/GrandCanyonTripScenery#
8/20 We arrived in Las Vegas at 2:15pm.
Arizona Landscape
Shuttle bus costs $6 to your hotel in downtown Las Vegas, but you can take the Rent-A-Car Shuttle Bus to Car Rental Center and change to bus No. 301 which costs only $3. It is not slower because it won’t make detours to all the hotels to drop off guests.
Other people recommended the Volcano and Treasure Island（TI）performance. Volcano is around 8pm, very interesting, but it is not as good as expected. TI’s performance drew a lot people because of all the beautiful girls and Universal Studio kind of settings.
TI Performance
It is the best show among all the hotels, maybe just second to the famous music fountain.
As for the shows, Jubilee might be better for Las Vegas. We went to the Blue Man Show, but even at half price, it is still more expensive than Chicago, and it is a little too serious for Las Vegas.
8/21 We took bus 301Duece to Car Rental Center early in the morning, and rented a Alamo economy, $168 for a week. Insurance is $19.9 if you don’t have one, $25 more per day for those who are younger than 25 years old, and Student Advantage card can be used for discount.
We set off at 11:30am, driving along I193. The trip bypasses Hover Dam. Some pictures would be sufficient for the visit. We arrived at Williams, the last town before entering Great Canyon, at around 5pm. There is a Safeway supermarket for replenish your supplies. You can buy a big bottle of water if you don’t have a big bottle to get water for the hiking. After Williams, it took more than 1 hour to Mather Campground.
Aug 22: The main trails are Bright Angel and Yaki. We started out at 9am from Bright Angel. There are two rest stops with toilet and water. Section between stops takes 1 hour to cover, and you need about 1 liter of water for that time period. Continue after the second stop, you can reach Indian
Interesting Look
Garden and Colorado River. It is said that it is really beautiful down at the bottom and Indians live there as well, but it is very difficult to complete a round trip if you don’t get up super early. Weather changes really fast. It started to rain on our way up, and the temperature dropped dramatically. A thick raincoat is very necessary just in case you are stuck in the middle. There are a lot of view points along I64 (Desert View Rd), and Yavapai Point is recommended – very open view, and you can even see a corner of Colorado River and Indian Garden. Another good sight is the Desert View Point on the east-most point. It is more than 20 miles away and views here are a little different. A flat-top mountain and Painted Desert can be seen far away floating in the mist. The sunset should be beautiful here, but we are not lucky enough to see a good one. After a couple of days spent here, I feel the sunset at Great Canyon is not as good as Beijing Jian Kou Great Wall or Ankor Wat, maybe it is just because of the cloudy weather.
Aug 23: We started along I164 to Hopi Indian Reserve and Navajo National Monument. After turning on I264, it is a flat desert with no end in sight.
Vast Land
We lost clue where to go when we reached Hotevilla, a small village with scattering houses, some of them look like being deserted with cars buried halfway in the sand.
Deserted Car
We stopped, knocked on the door of a local family, and it turned out to be our lucky day. The owner of the house, whose name is Kenny Quanimptewa, told us that there is an Indian dancing event on the market. He asked us if we’d like to go have a look and offered to take us by car. The road is bumpy and sandy. He reminded us many times that photos are not allowed. When we got there, dancing hadn’t started yet, and to our surprise, local Indians prepared food for all visitors. It is simple but very delicious. We sat on the roof watching the dance the whole afternoon until 6pm.
Aug 24: We got up early at 5am to watch sunrise at Yavapai, but it is not very good at this spot. We continue our trip to Antelope Canyon. Best tours are around noon when sunlight can shoot into the roof hole forming mysterious light poles, which is the biggest attraction.
Antelope Canyon
The tour took two and half hours. We left at 2pm to Arches National Park. Monument Valley can be seen on the way, very impressive scenery.
Aug 25: We again got up at 5pm, hoping to see a beautiful sunrise, but it is not very impressive either. A better plan is to go into Devils Garden Trail before sunrise to see the stones reflecting red beams from the sun. The highlight is Landscape Arch and Delicate Arch.
They are completely supernatural work of the nature. A round trip to Delicate Arch requires 2 hours under strong sunlight and no water available.
Delicate Arch
Aug 26: We did a brief tour in Las Vegas. Interesting casinos includes Luxor, MGM Grand and Flamingo.
August 10, 2009
Book flights:
Website: http://www.cheapflights.com/ can compare prices on many websites, but note that it doesn’t have travelocity. Check travelocity also, it might have the cheapest price.
Student discount card: both Student Advantage Card and International Student Identity Card (ISIC) can be used to get discount from Amtrak, but as for flight ticket, Student Advantage Card cannot be used on http://www.studentuniverse.com, which has really really cheap tickets for students. Student Advantage Card costs $20, and ISIC costs $22, but if you only want to buy one card, ISIC is recommended.
Book hotel/campingground:
If sometimes the place is fully booked for the period you chose, don’t forget to check the availability for each day. Usually when the website shows “not available”, it assumes that you will stay in the same room or the same site through out the period you chose, but you can always move spot if it’s not a big trouble for you.
August 20, 2008
I just talked with a very good friend on the internet. He’s been outside Chinese for a long long time, has seen get-togethers and separations, smiles and tears…maybe too much of that in life. Here are the two real life stories he told me:
1. Our office manager is a lady of my age she immigrated here when she was a teenager from Brazil. She does not look anything special, her parents are Chinese, but she does not speak Chinese she has an outgoing personality, that perhaps is her only strength. She is not outstanding in anything else, just an ordinary girl in terms of looking, smartness, knowledge and what not. Her first marriage turned out to be a nightmare. She married a Japanese American, a poor guy with bad habits such as smoking, gambling. They had a baby, and the baby died inside a closed car due to her husband’s negligence. She was completely disappointed and screwed up. Then they had a second boy followed by constant family fights. He beat her, and she decided to divorce and went back to university. In a program there she met a professor and somehow they fell in love. Everything changed several months after she graduated. They got married (a professor is not allowed to have a relationship with a student). I can tell you that her husband is the best man I have seen. He is now vice president of the university, and used to be the best welcomed professor, a very fun guy. Based on the Chinese standards this lady is too ordinary to marry an outstanding professor but she made it, and they live together very well. He raised her child and they did not have any other kids. This marriage changed her life from a mess to an something enviable. When people are young, they date blindly. You can see how dramatic that change can be. Her first marriage put her in the lower twisted living state, and her second marriage led her to an enjoyable life. They know how to enjoy life, and they travel the world.
2. One of our founders of the company married a Chinese girl. They have two kids, very beautiful kids, and they look like a perfect couple. The girl is good looking, and the guy is handsome, only a little bit too tiny among westerners. They divorced a year ago. What happened is that he is bisexual, and cannot change his sex orientation. The Chinese girl of course cannot tolerate it. It is a sad story because the guy is actually a very nice guy, excellent education from MIT but he told me that he could not change his orientation. He tried, he went through therapy and counseling, and he had lovely kids, he wanted to keep this marriage. He was willing to change and hope she could give him time. If you have seen Li An’s movie “Brokeback Mountain”, you will know this type of phenomena. After the divorce he finally found a new partner who was a boy but went through sex change operation to be a woman. They seem to have a very good relationship. The Chinese girl came to US on J1 visa, she must have been very happy to meet an intelligent well educated guy and married him but what happened later must be heart broken. Who wants to divorce after having two kids? All kinds of things happen not really anyone’s fault.
Can anyone tell what will happen with your marriage in the future? We set up standards in our head regarding education, work, wealth and future. But are standards that important? How many marriages failed and suffered when people think they found a good match based on standards? What is the most important thing in finding your partner of life?
We are passionate when we are young, and we like to hear the other person say that he is willing to die for us, we like to be with someone who hit the bottle with us like heroes. But to die for somebody is easy, what is so hard is to live for someone; pouring alcohol down your throat is easy, what is difficult is to stand straight and keep your head clear after that for a long time. Gradually, we found that we need somebody patient, somebody who understands daily life, who can drink with us little by little, tasting the sweet and the bitter.
August 8, 2008
1. Life is too short to be misarable.
2. Work hard, play hard.
3. Standards of being mature: control and tolerance.
4. If you think something is worth it, you fight for it.
February 26, 2008
2/2 早上7点街上就很热闹了，于是第二天搬过去住。
搞定住处后出发。金边很小，如果只转皇宫附近一片走着就可以。延184街一直往东半个小时就走到国家博物馆（National Museum）了，沿路正赶上一个中学课间休息，闪进去参观了一下，你会惊诧于这个国家首都的学校竟然都如此之破；看到一个露天的理发馆，可能比中国村里的还不如；还看到一个和尚化缘，口中念念有词，那家的女孩儿跪在他面前唯唯诺诺很惊恐的样子，不知道是怎么回事，但可以感到和尚在这个国家中确实起着举足轻重的作用。国家博物馆建得像个庙一样，门票3元，大部分雕塑都是关于Vishnu, Civa, Naga, Yama, Rama, Garuda等后面经常会看到的宗教形象，先参观一下再去看其他景点和吴哥窟会有帮助，博物馆不大，2个小时左右就转完了。出门看到有导游柜台，不知道是否收费，可以问一下。大皇宫和×××塔中午休息，下午2点才开门，所以可以上午先参观皇宫，中午休息时去博物馆。大皇宫门票6.25元，挺壮观的，The Throne Hall北面是国王办公的地方，升国旗了说明国王在，没升说明出去了，这点很像英国的温莎堡。皇宫南边的院子围墙四周都是壁画，逐渐发现柬埔寨的文化（壁画雕塑等）大部分都是围绕那么几个神话如“乳海翻腾”，Lanka之战中Rama国王于他的神猴军队，《罗摩衍那Ramayana》和《摩珂婆罗多Mahabharata》中的情节，如果有时间走之前可以做做功课。这里呆了也有2个小时左右，出来后取道Independence Monument回家。
住：所在街上问了几家，都至少是4元一个房间，Capitol明码标价最便宜的单间3元，可以email预订：capitol@online.com.kh, 电话855-23-217627或724104，传真855-23-214104，网站：www.bigpond.com.hk/users/capitol
吃：没什么经验，只买了一个柚子，当地人要价至少2500瑞尔，可以砍到2000，后来跟当地人聊天说他们自己买也是2000到3000之间的价格，不知道柬埔寨人民这么低的收入是怎么活的。
行：Capitol有自己的旅游巴士，等车就在旁边，很方便，去暹粒Siem Reap只要4元，售票的说旺季6.25元，7:30出发，下午1:30到。网上常说的是10元的，但觉得Capitol的已经可以了，不是很差。
购物：Capitol附近大概是107街上有个超市，但东西并不一定比路边小摊便宜，1.5升的水只有0.9元的一种，住的地方楼下有卖0.5元的，所以尽管常说当地人向外国人要价贵，但也不要迷信超市的明码标价。从Independence Monument回家发现Sihanouk Blvd上有一家很大的中国人开的超市，可以买点吃的东西。
2/3 早上坐车发现托运折叠自行车的不止我一个，心中窃喜。7:30的车其实是7:30才到，去暹粒的人行李特别多，装了一刻钟，真正出发已经7:45了。一天前刚到金边完全是一种新鲜和兴奋的状态，仅仅一天之后我就已经深刻了解到为什么有人会在游记中说他“感受到战争带给这个国家的苦难和心酸。”学校、理发店、光着脚在街上跑的脏兮兮的孩子和被地雷炸残的小商贩……这些真实的画面给人留下了很多思考与感受的空间。9:30和11:30左右路上休息。汽车站在暹粒的东北角一个尘土飞扬的所在，一下车很多人会提出1美元把你送到你要去的旅馆，我骑车自己走，但找不到方向，汽车站的人英语都不太好。边走边问，路上碰到一个骑摩托车的当地小伙子，让我跟他走，一直把我送到Wat Bo那条街上之后就回去了，完全是为了送我过来，也没有要钱。暹粒城市很小，好的街道都在Siem Reap River的西岸old market附近。河东岸只有沿河的路还可以，再往里一条就是尘土飞扬的土路，但是有很多住宿的地方。我颇费了一番时间才找到我在网上订的Green Town Villa。
3:55骑车出发去Angkor Wat，10分钟就骑到买票的地方，5点之后才能买从第二天开始计算的票，于是在外面等，买票的小姑娘对我的自行车很好奇，都围上来看，她们的英语很好，都是一边上学一边来这里工作，他们说从来没见过新的自行车，柬埔寨的自行车和汽车都是从中国和日本进口的，怪不得我在金边看到的自行车都很烂。据说骑车转吴哥每个景点都有保安看车，但是私人的，每处收500瑞尔。5点钟买了40美元三天的，又10分钟左右骑到Angkor Wat，没有专门的人看车，转了一会儿，一个会英语的小女孩凑过来说免费帮我看着，如果我愿意在她那里买点水之类的就可以（不太值，一小瓶水要1美元呢）。日落不太好，太阳下到一半就钻到云里去了，但阳光照进第一层长廊李德壁画上是那种桔红色，很漂亮。大部分人看过日落就走了。我又转了转，直到突然发现前后左右一个人都没有，只有小吴哥灰黑色的塔楼，偶尔有几声鸟叫声，确实有些吓人。这时对小吴哥唯一的感觉就是神秘，似乎转过下个弯就可能看到一个12世纪的公主。小吴哥晚上会打黄色的灯光，但也不怎么特别好看。等我出去时，几乎所有摊子都收了，小女孩那家还在，我不想买东西，白给他们500瑞尔他们却不要，只说明天我再来到她家买些东西就可以，真是和四川那边让孩子带路之后又伸手要钱形成鲜明的对比。回城路有一段没有路灯，一定要带手电。
2/4 女皇宫（Banteay Srei）à高布斯滨à奔密列。7:15出发，我们的司机开得很快还走了1个小时，8:10到女皇宫，人很少。往里走水池旁边有个采莲花的小姑娘，很多人给她照相。女皇宫的浮雕都有些讲头，可以蹭蹭别人的导游。我们9:30出来时游客就很多了。10:00-10:30半个小时的路程到高布斯滨，上山40分钟去看小河边的石刻，因为是热带的丛林，一路有很多藤类植物和大根榕树很好看。下山后发现这里的厕所竟然收费，其他景点都是有门票就可以免费的。12:45出发去奔密列—最远的一个景点，走了2个多小时，3点才到，司机中间休息了一刻钟。这一路土非常大，最后头发都粘在一起了，可以带上口罩或者多功能头巾。奔密列不在吴哥景区范围内，另买5美元门票，但这里人少，建筑大多都坍塌了，堆着碎石，感觉更加凄凉一点。当地小孩子给我们指路到废墟里，比划着告诉我有一边不要去，上面的石头可能会砸下来，但似乎也没有他们说的那么危险。如果有时间这个地方一定要去，没有了游客的喧闹，完全自然的古迹会给人一种与众不同的感觉。从奔密列回暹粒是另外一条路，修得不错，1个多小时就到了。暹粒凌晨和太阳下山后还是有点凉的，再一吹风有点冷，可以带件衣服，但不带坚持一下也冻不死。
2/5 大圈，上午：圣剑寺（Preah Khan）à龙蟠水池（Preah Neah Pean）à塔逊寺（Ta Som）à东梅奔（East Mebon）à班提色玛寺（Banteay Samre）；下午：罗洛古寺群（Roluos Group），包括Lolei，Preah Ko和Bakong三个寺庙，最后到比粒寺（Pre Rup）看日落。
早上5:30出发去去Angkor Wat看日出，云很厚，等到快7点放弃了，出来奔圣剑寺（Preah Khan）。圣剑寺比较好看的地方是它一层层的门和窗户，总让人产生照相的欲望。
龙蟠水池也有翻译成盘蛇水池的，构造比较简单，中间圆岛上的塔，塔东边马身人腿雕塑，讲述的是阿瓦奇特舒华的传说，原来四个方向都有，现在只剩下一个。再有就是四面的四个喷水口，北面象头，看的人比较多，还有卖香火的老太太；东面人头，保存的比较完整；南面狮头；西面马头，损坏的比较严重了。
塔逊寺主要是看被榕树干缠住的东门
东梅奔很漂亮，和比粒寺都是10世纪时期的建筑，
班提色玛寺印象比较深的是它上上下下的台阶很陡，每个房子都有被架起来的感觉，比较中间的塔顶是封死的，用手电照一下，上面蝙蝠乱飞，吱吱的叫，挺吓人的。
下午2:30才出来，和司机聊了一会儿，他是佛教徒，做过2年和尚，主要只学了做和尚的规矩和梵语，要研究佛教是需要用一生的时间的。但他不喜欢和尚的规矩，太辛苦，就还俗了。他说当和尚下午到第二天早上都不能进食，走路要目不斜视，只能看面前3米远的地方，但现在已经完全不是这样了，我看到金边很多和尚都东张西望探头探脑。而且书上说所有佛教徒都要有做和尚的经历，他说不是这样，完全看自己的意愿。
罗洛古寺群最好看的是巴孔寺（Bakong），很壮观。Lolei比较小。Preah Ko的塔门被侵蚀风化得很厉害。
比粒寺的墙砖是红色的，据说是看日落的好地方，但太阳又钻进云里去了，搞得大家很扫兴。
晚上在旅馆里碰到一伙中国人向旅店伙计挑衅，他们向老板订了车票，第二天在街上看到便宜的又自己去买，没和老板说，结果老板已经帮他们订了，他们就赖着不交钱，最后把警察都找来了，被他们吵得不行，真是很丢人。但在旅馆订票一定问清楚是不是可以退，提前打招呼。
2/6 小圈。小吴哥（Angkor Wat）à吴哥城（Angkor Thom），路线为巴戎寺（Bayon），巴芳寺（Ba Phoung），皇宫（Royal Palace），站象台（Terrace of Elephant），赖王台（Terrace of Leper King），南北仓和十二塔（North&South Kleangs and Prasat Suor Prats）à茶胶寺（Ta Keo）àBanteay Kdaià皇家玉池（Sras Srang）。
5:55才出发去Angkor Wat看日出，结果还不如昨天。Angkor Wat第一层的浮雕还是很有讲头的，可以蹭蹭其他人的导游听一下。吴哥城南门外可以骑大象进城游览，不知道费用几何。吴哥城是个很好看的地方，巴戎寺的四面佛和“神秘的五个微笑”给人的印象很深，四面墙壁上的生活场景浮雕很有名，值得好好看看，里面还有对中国人的刻画。
巴芳寺顶部在维修，可以看到中间塔墙围起来的是一堆乱石，可惜上不去。
皇宫的台阶是吴哥景区中最陡的，喜欢探险的外国人会从正面爬上去或爬下来（下来的比较牛）。西面有好走的木梯，叫爱情梯，据说是曾经有人从上面掉下来摔死了，她丈夫于是建了这个梯子防止别人再掉下来。皇宫几乎全都塌了，远观很有感觉，攀爬的过程也很有意思。
战象台壁有象鼻子的雕刻，赖王台则刻有九头灵蛇，与旁边的仙女一一对应，顶上是Yama的坐像，这个人物长小胡子，很好认，在金边国家博物馆有他的雕像。
吴哥城东边的南北仓和12塔简单的看了一下就过去了。
坐tuk-tuk出东门到Ta Keo，这个寺的雕刻工程没有完成，像是光光的石头堆起来的，看上去与众不同。
Banteay Kdai只记得柱子上舞者的浮雕，建筑上没有什么太大的特色。从Banteay Kdai西门进去，东门出来街对面就是皇家浴池了，当地的孩子都跑到这里来游泳。
塔布笼寺（Ta Prohm）应该很好看，在网上可以看到树和房屋纠缠在一起的照片，可惜我是下午的飞机。其实时间挤一挤是有的，只是没想到去这个地方很麻烦，光进去就要至少40分钟，事先没和司机问好，让朋友和司机都坚持着不吃中午饭过去也很不人道，于是只好放弃了。
晚上6点飞机去河内。
住：在hostelworld上定的Green Town Villa，每晚2美元，email: vi_chhay@yahoo.com，地址Wat Bo, Siem Reap，电话：855-12933080，在网上订要收2美元手续费，可以试试发信预订，但房间条件不是很好，木质地板和墙壁隔音差，第一晚半夜竟然还窜出来一只小老鼠！不是很好找，但沿着Eo Street往北走，注意丁字路口旅馆的小牌子就会比较容易找到。
吃：酒吧街上有很多饭馆，路旁晚上有卖炒饭和面食的小摊，吃饭3000瑞尔还可以，面条4000瑞尔，做出来像方便面，还卖鸭蛋，但一定要问清楚，我们以为是普通鸭蛋，结果却是毛鸭蛋，1000瑞尔一个。水果做的shake最便宜的2000瑞尔，有的卖3000，饭馆里的都比较贵就算了。Old Market附近还有水果摊，红毛丹和人参果都要价每公斤1美元，芒果每公斤1.25美元，火龙果的价格也还行，但葡萄很贵，大概要每公斤4美元。
行：租了一辆tuk-tuk，4天75美元，司机是一个25岁的小伙子，虔诚的佛教徒，人很好，讲信用。最后一天下午免费把我送到机场，我因为信任他上午已经把钱付清了。只是他下午丢了tuk-tuk的钥匙，来晚了，让我郁闷了一阵，但他最后骑了摩托车赶过来，走得太急连头盔都忘了带出来。他的email: seounkimson@yahoo.com，但他上网不方便，不知道是不是容易联系。
从暹粒到河内的机票北京问价格为至少1700元，在暹粒买165美元，并可以免费更改时间。春节从北京往返的机票很贵，我只买了单程的过去，不知道如果回程到了金边再买是不是也会便宜，有兴趣可以试一下。
购物：Old Market酒吧街附近有超市。1.5L的水和牛奶最便宜的都是0.45美元。他们的收款机坏了一次，手工算错了钱，所以熟练掌握瑞尔和美元的汇率还是必要的。
印象：讨厌的地方，讨厌的人，英语极差，没什么好玩的地方，到处对外国人多收费。
2/7 头天晚上是大年三十，河内湖边零点放花10分钟，回旅馆收到伙计给的红包500盾，他们还提供了一些小桔子和可乐啤酒给客人。今天早上8点才起来，骑车转河内，春节的主题是烧香拜佛，湖上Ngoc Son Temple的香火很盛，没有进去直奔西湖（West Lake），湖上的Tran Quoc Pagoda人也很多，去文庙路上途径胡志明墓（Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum），文庙因为被看出是外国人被多收了2000盾门票，没有多少我也就没有和他们争，但越南人简直没组织没纪律，买票乱挤不排队，参观之后最深的体会是越南拜金主义盛行，到处拜的都是财神，他们会用钞票虔诚地在佛像手上腿上擦一擦，再在自己头上和孩子头上擦。经验是在河内没有明码标价的地方，花钱之前先问好旁人要多少，能假装当地人就别说话混过去，否则容易被多收费。
2/8 早上买了火车票，在咖啡馆里等了一天看书。下午6:30上火车，直走到最后一节车厢，和火车都没挂上，坐车的大部分都是外国人，11:30左右到同登（Tong Dang）被叫起来出关，换中国的车。中国的车厢条件比越南的好多了，有热水，被褥也是新换过的。不同的人来查护照，也分不清谁是越南的谁是中国的，最后车票和护照都被收走了，折腾了得有近1个小时才踏实睡觉。
住：旺季还是提前预订好一点。Hoan Kiem湖西边Joseph’s Cathedral Church往北有条小路叫Ngo Huyen，里面有hostel，我没有提前预订，他们连续2天都订满了，附近的旅馆都是满员。Nha Chung街往南逐渐开始有房间了，基本都是13-17美元间不等，比北边路上的便宜一点。最后在Nam Phuong落脚，地址26 NhaChung，电话84-4-8246894，要价13美元，砍到10美元，条件还可以，但老板很不专业，帮我订去南宁的车票，头天晚上才告诉我汽车公司休息4天，我告诉他一定有什么方法让人离开这个城市，他却坚持没办法，让我再住2天，结果我自己跑到hostel问到火车票的信息。
其他住宿：
LP上标出来的Lotus Guesthouse似乎没营业，看门的小女孩不说英语，没法沟通，但拿到联系方式email: lotus-travel@hn.vnn.vn，电话84-4-8268642/9344197，手机0913356155。
Khanh Sinh Tours, email: khanhsinh@khanhsinh.com，地址24C Ly Quoc Su, Hanoi, Vietnam，电话84-4-9261718。要价17美元。
吃：春节期间很多Café不开，Joseph’s Cathedral Church对面街上的Moca Café人很多，做得不错，服务也好，主菜79,000盾，咖啡32,000盾。
行：在暹粒机场等待时遇到一对已经去过河内的夫妇，说当地人坐机场小巴进城只要2个美元，他们两个人付了10个美元。我晚上将近8点到河内，出门问了机场工作人员说2美元就可以，结果小巴司机竟然狮子大开口要8个美元！我说钱包丢了，只剩2个美元了，他都皱着眉头只是摇头，根本不理你，越南人民的品质可见一斑。最后遇到两个在新加坡念书的小姑娘帮我去说才2美元成交。
河内市内有辆自行车很方便，存车给号，有人看，没锁都没有问题，我托运的自行车于是派上了用场，但记住存车2000越南盾，不会说越南话的别张嘴，塞完钱走人，否则他们会管你要5000盾。市内有和柬埔寨一样座位在前面的人力三轮车和摩托车，老远就会招呼你，三轮车上还有铃铛用来引起游客注意。据说三轮要至少5000越南盾一趟。
火车站早上8:30开始卖国际车票，去南宁的周五晚上6:30有一班，46美元，第二天早上7点到，到北京130美元，第三天下午2点多到。据说汽车票才7美元，火车票可能也被多收费了，有时间的可以让旅馆的人帮忙订。
购物：因为是春节，超市不好找。Hang Bo Street上有一个。
2/9 早上中国时间7:30到南宁，被列车员叫起来后不到10分钟就到站了。骑车出站也没人查票，包存在车站5元/天。车站卖地图5元，朝阳路上旅行社有卖4元的。骑车去附近的人民公园门口看了一眼，一座山，似乎没什么意思，就转而奔向邕江。据说南湖公园不错。中午在路边小摊吃过饭，剩下的时间在麦当劳看书了。晚上7:20的飞机，10点到北京。
January 4, 2008
12/28 下午4:02乘坐K51次快速从北京站出发，晚上9:30半左右到达济南。
12/29 从火车站坐3路车穿过商业区，在趵突泉北门站下车。趵突泉门票40元，没有学生票。泉水比我想象的好多了，老早就听人说趵突泉早就没水了，但最近两年保护得比较好，还是可以看到三个泉眼在往外咕嘟咕嘟的冒水，只是水不是很大而已。除了趵突泉，还有。。。等其他泉，基本只能看到从池底冒出来的一串串小泡泡，像珍珠一样，还是挺有意思的。还有一个池子里养了海豹，但看过著名的美国三藩市海豹后就没什么新鲜的了。园子里还有几处关于画家。。和诗人李清照的展览。中午朋友带我到济南市中心最破的地方转了转，感受一下穷苦老百姓的生活，其实和北京和上海的破巷子差不多。这里将被改建成住宅和综合性商业楼，墙上贴着拆迁补偿条款，边上是老百姓贴的泄愤书，报怨补偿太少。吃了饭下午朋友开车带我到济南东南的千佛山，门票30元，没学生票，很多人都是进去烧香拜佛的，每个拜佛场所都另收5元门票，山也不高，但在山顶还是可以俯瞰一下济南全景的，如果觉得30元看个全景不太值去不去也都无所谓了。之后朋友带我到市政府办公地转了一下，这里原来不让进，现在对外开放了，也有不少泉，养着鱼。最后我到泉城路钻进新华书店钻研了一下关于山东的旅游书籍。
住：火车站周围很多招待所，有人在车站门口拉客，最便宜的在火车站广场东边15元就可以住一晚，20元一晚的还是满好找的，但没敢住，天又晚了，就钻进旁边的铁路招待所，但大家千万不要去。30元一晚，条件实在不怎么样，不能洗澡，床还很硬，而且服务人员素质有问题。他们楼上楼下都有人，如果砍价，楼上的人不会同意，看你实在要走，就让下面的人拦截，假装帮你砍砍价同意你的价格，到交钱的时候又会加上所谓两元的保险（没有保险收据，就是多要钱）。铁路招待所旁边一条小路往里走有个泉城招待所性价比比较高，我第二天一早找过去，60多元的单间给了30元，可以洗澡，就是只有一个澡堂，要排队。冬天去济南住招待所一定要多穿点衣服，或者多要一条被子，到后半夜会冷。
12/30 早上8点朋友接上我去泰安。路上开得比较慢，10点到达泰安市，从一天门爬到中天门用1个半小时，10:15到11:45。中天门有吃饭的地方，比较贵，几乎所有的菜都在20元左右，店家特别推荐当地的红磷鱼，说只有在泰山才能活，80元一份，是炸的一盘小鱼，味道一般，可能是我不喜欢吃炸的东西。黄焖兔肉很好吃，一大盘，很过瘾。1点钟继续上路，路上看到几个挑山工，扛着煤气罐、电视或者椅子摇摇晃晃往上爬，真是辛苦，好像一趟才18块钱。最后还有两个人一起抬了个冰柜。东西都挺破的了，不知道整天这样抬上抬下做什么。前面体力都还好，到了十八盘就明显觉得不对劲了，每次休息之后开头几步都觉得肌肉在做无氧运动，挺酸，要过一阵才能缓过劲来。朋友在路上买了一听温热的红牛，15元（超市里好像才5块多），挺好喝，而且对缓解疲劳确实很有用，但好像有激素喝多了不好，学校里3000米比赛之前要喝也只是两口而已。3点到南天门，用了2个小时。算下来，全程只用了3个半小时，应该算爬得很快了。冬天爬泰山的人很少，沿天街走到瞻鲁台，沿途很多住宿的地方，问了一下，带空调的100元一晚，没有的30，这种天气估计也没人住没有空调的。瞻鲁台是观景的好地方，冬天只有两三个人，很清静，想怎么照像都行。都说1月份来泰山看日出最好，可惜这天是万里无云的好天气，没有云海，远处也雾蒙蒙的。玉皇顶海拔1545米，是泰山的最高峰，香火很旺，挂满了游客购买的铜锁，盖着厚厚的炉灰，路上的庙里到处可以看到这种锁，有一处管理人员还在费力地把锁敲下来，估计可以洗一洗再继续卖钱。山顶风很大，帽子和围巾都是很必要的。转了一圈，从南天门坐缆车下到中天门，费用45元，再坐汽车到山脚下的天外村，车票18元，3路车到火车站买去日照的车票，N397次38元。火车站附近也有很多招待所，三星级的飞龙宾馆200多的标准间淡季打折到160元。
12/31 早上9:13的火车，下午1点左右到达日照。因为是看亲戚，她家住在火车站附近，吃住都不用自己操心。看了网上的功略，本想看看海边的养殖场，结果两年前就都建成了很现代化的蟹湖和试帆基地，真的是一尘不染，所有的建筑都整洁如新，比国外还干净，经常看见环卫工人在草地里捡捡纸屑之类的，但我觉得根本没什么可捡的。冬天来的好处是人少清静，要想体会日照的干净整洁最好不过了，但沿海的场馆、商店全部关张了，想坐下来喝杯咖啡的地方都没有。灯塔景区的海滩礁石比较多，景色非常美。而蟹湖另一边的万平口景区是一片沙滩，据说夏天的时候人山人海。很多名人到这里买别墅，私家车很多，公共交通只有主路上有一些。我们从火车站坐当地的三轮到灯塔景区附近，从灯塔景区走到万平口再回火车站，边走边看，用了3个小时左右。
1/1在网上查了太阳新年左右升起的时间大概是7:10，姨夫说太阳6点多就升起来了，所以我早上5点钟起床去海边看日出，5点半出门的时候天还是黑的，星星看得一清二楚，但街上路灯都没有了，随身带把手电比较好。慢慢骑到灯塔景区大概不到6点的样子，有很多老年人已经在摸黑锻炼身体了。海滩上一个人都没有，如果想看看夜里的海和星星这个时间还是比较好的。6:30的时候人逐渐多起来，还有人扛了专业相机来等日出。东方泛起鱼肚白之后才看到头天晚上早有人在沙滩上写下了“新年快乐”几个大字。等到7点左右我有点失去耐心了，东边海天交界处和泰山上看到的有点像，灰蒙蒙的带着些橘红色的晨辉，除此之外一片云彩都没有。我觉得是不是可能看不到太阳了，但所有的人还是在耐心等候。大概7:10左右终于看到了一个金色的小亮点，天空在太阳周围一个锥形的范围内被照亮了，远处的云也依稀可辨，太阳的脸被一些絮状的东西隐约遮住了一块，不知道是云还是停泊在远处的外轮，我突然明白了什么叫“拨云见日”。这是2008年照在中国的第一缕阳光！
回到家已经8点多了，姨和姨夫出去买了很多海鲜回来，什么凤稍、八带、高眼儿、大龙平、细鱼、黑鱼……各种鱼和扇贝，在北京从来没听说过的名字。中午是家常海鲜大餐，从来没吃过这么好吃的鱼，那真是鲜啊，口感完全不一样！他们说新鲜的海货这个季节也不多，当天早上刚捞上来的最贵，运到北京和其他地方的都是外面反复蘸水冻冰的，冰裹的层数越多价格越便宜（买的都是冰了）。下午不到12点出发，徒步从北京路向北，穿过政府大楼后面的公园向海边方向去。早上起得太早，我困得不行在公园里一处靠湖的咖啡馆里喝了杯巧克力咖啡，环境非常好，咖啡也很好喝，感觉比Starbucks高级一些，20元/杯。剩下的时间我们沿着蟹湖的内侧一直走到头在返回来，足足走了5个小时左右。
1/2 一早出门坐1路车到老城区看了一下，新老城区之间的地区很荒凉，像村儿一样。老城区沿海曲东路两侧都是商业楼和政府部门大楼等主要建筑，和一般的城市没什么两样，又在新华书店看了看书，发现李清照、《文心雕龙》的作者刘勰、姜太公等都是日照人。之后坐10路一直北上到森林公园附近，这里靠山面海，满眼都是别墅，沙滩很干净，一看就是一个夏天的避暑胜地，如果有钱我肯定要在这里买房子了。剩下的时间会火车站附近转了转超市，发现牛奶没有低于1.4的，据说日照的物价比较高，通货膨胀肯定也有一定作用。这一趟逛到下午2点，5:48分的K51次夜车回京。
December 4, 2007
12/1 下午1:30出发，路线：京承高速à宽沟出口à怀柔县城à雁栖湖环岛（没有环岛了，旁边有个税务局）转去深堂峪方向à莲花池直行。路上近两个小时，4:00左右到达住宿的地方“箭扣村”。附近有不同的路上长城，我们四人“赶死小分队”当天下午先走了东边一条，从神犬守城附近的一个缺口上长城。当地人生财有道，搭了梯子方便游人上下，每人2元。一个同伴试图“逃票”从另一边爬乱石上城未遂，却使我们有借口要求买3送1，省下了2元钱。在这里逗留了一下，看到其它大部分人似乎都只是过来看一眼，有些人当天就要返回北京城区，向我们这种做好走夜路准备的不多。我们选择了往东走，爬了不久之后就是一个平台，“摄影师”在这里支起三角架，准备蹲点拍日落和晚霞了，我们3人便继续东进。上次来箭扣已经是四年之前了，心里隐约有一些古长城的影子，只记得同伴指着三条长城的汇合点说箭扣于弦上，记得踩着乱石遥望鹰飞倒仰，更多留下的是树、山石、走得酸疼的脚和一天结束时香喷喷的红鳟鱼。此时天色渐暗，在淡红色的晚霞之下，我重新认识了箭扣。不长的一段长城，我们走了很久，很多时候都是手脚并用，最险的一段所有的石头都是松的，“女侠”沿着残存的城墙往上爬，保证不会滑下去，但一不小心就可能翻到城墙外面摔个半残，“IT专家”恐高，宁愿踩在松动的石头上，也不愿越雷池一步。我选择了“女侠”的道路，紧紧抱住城砖不撒手才得以活着到达了另一个山头，成就感不言而喻。随着山势升高，夕阳逐渐从山后显现出来，被深色的层云夹在中间，像个被挤扁的橘色鸭蛋黄，下面是破败的古长城和我们走过的路，我想2000多年前一定出现过同样的景色，相同的城砖，同一个夕阳，只是时过境迁，不知道有多少生命转瞬即逝，化入我们脚下的尘土，他们当时是否曾有过这样的闪念，2000年后会有人踩着他们的足迹在垂直线上追太阳，试图想象他们当年的生活。也许没有，人生苦短。“摄影师”孤独的身影在我们的视线中越变越小，逐渐成为大山中一个鲜红的点。人在大自然中是如此渺小，而恰恰在这种渺小中可以更深刻的体会人类与生俱来的征服心的伟大。这种孤独的画面往往会触及人心深处，令人感动。箭扣壮观不如八达岭，秀美比不过慕田峪，它的无穷魅力来源于它的孤独与沧桑。经过一段同样艰辛的回程路，我们在天完全黑下来之前赶回平台，小憩后下山。从来没有在山里走过夜路，终于体会到为什么大家都说天黑之后走山路是危险的，不光脚下瓣蒜，而且很容易迷路。走到一半的时候天完全黑下来，头顶出现了无数的星星。生活在大城市里很难见到群星闪耀的夜幕，如果天暖和一点，拿瓶酒在山里看星星真是一种享受。
12/2 我们早上6点起床，6:20出门的时候东方已经显出微微的鱼肚白。今天是从中间的一条路线上山，山间的清晨格外冷，刚出门不适应比较容易涕泪交流。行程30到40分钟，走到山腰的时候山顶的烽火台已经被照成橘红色了，“摄影师”是专门来照相的，照不到日出岂不很扫兴，我琢摸着要不要往前赶一赶，而“摄影师”好像并不在意，似乎很满足于看到的被晨辉照亮的一切。平时出游的机会本来就少，早起看日出更是一件罕事。我们从转角楼附近上了长城之后就可以看到远处的云海了，此时的群山早已被分成半山仄仄半山红的两个世界，而太阳还躲在山后不肯出来。今天向西走，路上看到搭在城墙边的三个帐篷，里面悉悉索索的响，有人在哆嗦着抱怨天冷，黄工擦汗的毛巾都冻冰了，不冷才怪。爬到将军守关后，只听“摄影师”在烽火台里大叫太阳出来了，我们几个三步并作两步赶进去，只见太阳正在云层中寻找一个突破点，要奋力冲出重围。我们更上一层楼，爬到烽火台顶上，眼前豁然开朗，太阳已经露除了脑门儿，能感觉到自己和周围的一切都突然被照亮了。背后是几座又细又尖的山峰，上面挂着著名的天梯，据说不久之前一位游人刚从上面掉下来摔死了，足见其陡峭。这曲折和陡峭纠缠在一起，形成一幅让人难以忘记的画面。照了好一阵之后，人都冻僵了，我们继续向天梯挺进。李白诗曰“蜀道难，难于上青天”，到了天梯不得不感叹箭扣难，难在攀登之维艰。以“女侠”为首，“摄影师”背着20多斤的摄影包紧随其后。如果天气好，爬这段路只要慢点是完全不成问题的，但今天有些风，在手脚被冻得僵硬的情况下不能不感觉脊柱一阵阵发凉，登顶后心里一块石头腾的落了地。我们在这里遇到一队人马从旁边小路迎面而来，从我的角度看上去，他们好像在绝壁上爬行。为首的是个似乎很牛的帅哥，警告我们不要在长城上走下去了，前面是一个有名的2米高的断崖，结尾还加上一句说他以前爬过，暗示自己伸手高强。尽管有这样的恐吓，我们还是决定去看看。其实断崖之前还是有好长一段路可以走，只是上卧佛岭的路艰苦一点，虽然只有几米高，却比天梯还陡。爬到一半的时候，觉得有点抓不住石头，下是下不去了的，但爬得越高摔得越狠，进也不是退也不是，在这么冷的天原地不动更是死路一条，于是硬着头皮往上爬，过了这段路之后我对“女侠”和“摄影师”简直崇拜得五体投地。之后便是一段长满枯树杂草的“平坦大道”，直到断崖。站在断崖上看不到下面是什么，而且这段是比较陡的下坡路，好像要被倒下去的感觉，真的很吓人。旁边也有小路，但只能下到一半，剩下2米左右还是要手脚并用爬下去。我们决定就此打住往回走。回去的路走得异常轻松，大概走了1个钟头，回到箭扣村已经11:30了。吃过饭回城，路上不堵车，1小时40分钟。
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