friend to pick me up at the train station.
还是在台湾，我遇见两个女孩儿。她们偷偷地把我带进旅店的房间，让我睡其中的一张床（她们俩挤另一张床），还带我和她们的旅行团一起吃了顿丰盛的饭。当她们听说我下一站要去她们的家乡时，又安排了一个会说两种语言的朋友到火车站接我。
8 But there has also been the downside of those not-so-pleasant experiences. In Indonesia, a cute boy gave me a ride on his motorbike, and thought that gave him license to grope me illicitly. Many times in Indonesia, boys menaced me, assuming I was willing to pay for their company. In Japan, I was picked up by a young man who refused to drop me at my Youth Hostel; he insisted I stay with his friends. The friends turned out to be four girls; I was safe, but one snored like a lawnmower, and it took me two days to escape.
当然也有一些不太愉快的负面经历。在印度尼西亚，一个长相可爱的男孩儿让我搭乘了他的摩托车，认为这样他就可以非礼我。在那里，常常有一些男孩儿威胁我，认为我同意付钱让他们陪游。在日本，一个年轻男人让我搭车，却拒绝让我在青年旅馆下车，他坚持让我和他的朋友们呆在一起。结果我发现，他的朋友是四个女孩儿。我很安全，但是其中一个人打呼噜就像割草机一样。我花了两天时间才逃走。
9 I've been irritated and perplexed many times — not speaking a language, not understanding or being understood. Once, in Italy, a hotel clerk tried to overcharge me and only gave up after 10 minutes of arguing. Another time in China, a taxi driver insisted I pay more, and I was rescued by the doorman of a fancy hotel.
很多时候，我很苦恼，感觉不知所措，因为不懂当地的语言，不能理解别人的意思，别人也听不懂我说的话。有一次在意大利，一个旅店接待员试图问我多要钱，争论了十分钟他才放弃。还有一次在中国，一个出租车司机坚持问我多要钱，最后还是一个豪华宾馆的门卫帮我解了围。
10 Having a companion might have helped safeguard me from some of those problems. But it would have suppressed other opportunities — a long afternoon in Thailand all alone in the back of a hay wagon and then seven days in the back of a truck with a Brit, two Aussies and two Norwegians! Eating ethnic food on my way through eastern Korea with four youthful Japanese salarymen. Getting sick in China, and being nursed with chocolate bars and tissues by a couple from Texas.
如果身边有一个同伴陪着我，也许就能使我避免刚刚讲的那些问题。但是这也会使我错失其他的机会，比如我在泰国装干草的马车后面独自坐了整个下午，然后和一个英国人、两个澳大利亚人、两个挪威人在一辆卡车的后车厢里呆了七天；我在去韩国东部的路上和四个年轻的日本上班族品尝了民族风味的食物；在中国生病了，有一对来自得克萨斯州的夫妻照顾我，给我吃巧克力棒，递纸巾。
11 The few times I have traveled with a companion, I haven't had the same ample opportunities to meet people. Other travelers can swap stories with you about the local folklore of the places they've been to and often have credible insights into the place you're visiting. Locals are also more likely to see you as approachable and be upfront with you when you're on your own.
在我为数不多的几次结伴旅行中，我就没有那么多的机会结识那么多的人。其他旅游者会给你讲他们到过的地方的民间风情，对于你正在旅行的地方，他们也有令人信服的见解。当你独自一人旅行时，当地人也会觉得你更容易接近，从而愿意和你坦诚相对。
12 Of course you have to be careful not to endanger yourself by throwing caution to the wind. Watch your back, but don't presume the worst and be overly fearful. Be friendly with people, but watch out for those who are too friendly with you. Don't disregard your instincts. If you hear stories about criminals on a road, take the road – just don't take much cash, and don't accept Coca Cola from strangers.
当然，你必须当心，不要因为大意而使自己处于危险的境地。要处处提防，但是也不要把什么事都想成最坏的，过于担惊受怕。要对人友善，但需防备那些对你过于友好的人。别忽视你的直觉。如果你听说某条公路上曾经有坏人出现，你可以走这条路——只是不要带太多的现金，不要喝陌生人给你的可乐。
13 The key to solo travel is to open your mind, close your eyes and leap in! Everything that happens to you is an experience, and good, bad or neutral, they will all benefit you in some way. Take those little annoyances, those inefficiencies,
20 / 41