Yangshuo Revisited:the Crowds, the Creeks and the Climbs

By Frank Xu（徐涵 华南师大教师）

Upon working out the title I feel already obliged to the readers for their patience. The nationwide mania for vacationing may have understandably consumed the curiosity of many for another travel log.1. mania: 狂躁，狂热；travel log: 旅行日志。And who can blame them? Many vacations are exhausting even to read. Others are hilariously ironical, when one is summoned by a justi fied desire to escape the mad crowds of the city, only to find them again—so much escalated—many miles away.2. 另一些旅行经历则令人啼笑皆非，一个人出于一个正当的欲求，想要逃避城市中人头攒动的疯狂，却发现自己又走入了同样的情形——而且程度有增无减——只是距离在数里之外罢了。hilariously: 引人发笑地，滑稽地；ironical: 讽刺的，令人啼笑皆非的。

Cynicism aside, I do enjoy an occasional get-away.3. cynicism: 讥讽，愤世嫉俗；get-away: 逃脱，离开。That’s why I often find myself revisiting Yangshuo, despite its bad name of being too “conventional”. I like it, for the simple reason that it offers a genuinely easy and fun experience,the one we often recall from our childhood.4. 我喜欢它，理由很简单，它带给我们真正的放松和有趣的体验，唤起我们孩童时期的回忆。genuinely: 真正地，真诚地；recall: 回忆，回想。This huge terrain provides a best playground for the child in all of us,leaving out, of course, the inevitable prospect of a storming Mom at home.5. 这片广袤的土地为我们身体里的孩童提供了最佳的玩乐园地，当然了，我们再也无需担心在家里怒发冲冠的母亲。terrain: 地域，地势；leave out: 遗漏，省略；prospect:前景，预期。To me, the reunion with that long-lost kid is unconventional enough.

做好详细攻略，走马观花地掠过一又一个景点，所到之处人头攒动摩肩接踵……假期结束带着一身疲惫回来。这样的旅游真的有意义吗？本文作者带着一家老小重游阳朔，在绮丽的山群、青碧的河溪、蓝天白云间，白天浮在碧波上遐思，夜晚躺在屋顶赏星，住在民宿与一群民间艺术家说说笑笑，挑战自己攀登石岩……他们收获了满满的勇气、乐观和满足。

Naturally most of my trips to Yangshuo were utterly whimsy6. whimsy: 异想天开的，古怪的。,as any child play usually is. For a long month Lucy (the wife) had been worked up7. work up: 引起，激起。by the idea of the remote Yunnan. She had to go somewhere this summer, partly to take her younger brother out for a vacation, partly to blow off some steam8. blow off steam: 释放压力，放松。. I wasn’t too crazy about it, as per above(and the dire vision of a nerve-racking journey with the in-laws ).9. as per above: 根据上述，原因如上；dire:极端的，非常严重的；nerve-racking: 费脑筋的，令人头疼的；in-laws: 姻亲（无血缘关系的亲戚）。I’d much rather that we just slept the summer off. Eventually as a simple compromise10. compromise: 妥协，折中。, we thought it would be a sensible thing to drive up to Yangshuo where doing nothing has always been everything.

So off we went, with little or no planning for food,accommodation or even what to do. It was mostly a smooth ride,except for the hauntingly familiar toll booths.11. hauntingly: 令人难忘地，难以忘怀地；toll booth: 收费亭，收费站。But finally the Karst12. Karst: 喀斯特地形，水蚀石灰岩地形。skyline was in sight. Everybody was lifted from drowsiness by the magni ficence of the landscape.13. 无论如何，我们的困倦因眼前壮丽的景色一扫而空。drowsiness: 睡意，嗜睡。And as we drove near, the night started to fall, which represented Karst terrains in a mystic air. All the peaks amid the mighty darkness suddenly turn into impending monstrous figures, as if ready to come alive.14. 沉沉暗夜里山峰突然变成逼近的怪兽，好像随时可能活过来一样。impending: 逼迫的，迫切的；monstrous: 像怪兽的，丑陋的。

The Xijie Fiasco15. fiasco: 彻底失败，惨败。

My friend Tyson lived right by Xijie or the West Street. But we had to meet far outside the parameters16. parameter: 界限，范围。, for the whole area was an unpenetrable fortress. It was now humanly impossible to navigate through the crowds,much less to locate someone.17. 但现在要穿越人群基本不可能，更别说找出某人了。much less: 更别说，更不用说。Xijie was no longer one street, instead it was a myriad of alleys and pathways, each and every one of them teeming with heads and shoulders.18. 西街不再是指单独的一条街，而是由各式小街小巷组成，每一处都人头攒动。a myriad of: 各种各样的，形式多样的；alley:胡同，小巷；teem with: 充满，大量存在。The hot,suffocating summer air smelt of sweat, perfume and deep-fried snacks, a perfectly indescribable combination.19. 闷热得令人窒息的夏日空气夹杂着汗水、香水和油炸小吃的气味，混杂的气味完全无法形容。smell of: 带有……气息。It was a bizarre war, fighting our way against waves of equally bewildered faces.20. bizarre: 古怪的，奇异的；bewildered: 困惑的，不知所措的。But finally waves of crowds washed us ashore to oxygen.

The first tourist attempt in Xijie didn’t boost much the group’s faith in the trip. The Xijie fiasco was a wakeup call for my team members and the last flame of hope for a paraded holiday was thus smothered.21. 这次灾难般的西街游历为我们每一个人敲醒了警钟，掐灭了我们对于赶场般旅游的最后一丝希望。 parade: 游行，招摇；smother: 使窒息，闷死。

“Yamun”22. “Yamun”: 一旅馆名。!

Now that the crew had wised up, we eventually found a lodging far out the town center. The “Yamun” (literally the Jamaican“Hello”) house sitting between two curtains of hills and right by a secluded section of Yulong River, was a cozy rendezvous for underground musicians and other artists from local or outside world.23. “Yamun”（牙买加语中“你好”的意思）旅馆位于两山之间，玉龙河上一处偏僻的位置，为当地和外地的独立音乐人和其他艺术家提供了温馨的聚会场所。Jamaican: 牙买加的，牙买加人的；secluded: 隐蔽的，僻静的；rendezvous: 约会地点，集结点。Painted in the trademark Rastafarian colors of red, yellow and green, the building radiated beats of Reggae all day and all night.24. trademark: （人或物的）标记，特征； Rastafarian: （牙买加）拉斯塔法里教的，拉斯塔法里是牙买加和其他几个国家的黑人进行的一种政治宗教运动；radiate: 辐射，发射；Reggae:雷盖，牙买加流行的一种音乐和舞蹈风格。Heavy metal, too, when thunders rolling through the hills add to the drums. This place was far from a hotel, not even an inn, we soon learned, for no one was treating others or being treated like guests. A line of people kept flashing in and out every room, seemingly coming from nowhere only to vanish somewhere else.25. 一伙儿人在各个房间进进出出，不知打哪里来，然后又消失在某处。To my best recollection there was the Reggae musician, Jah, who wore what felt like a ton of Dreadlocks; an intoxicatingly friendly young man; a sharp-looking rock’n’roller whose mood swings instantly synchronized with the music;an elderly couple whom we took for the helps but turned out to be Jah’s parents.26. 如果我没有记错的话，有一位雷盖音乐家Jah，头顶相当重的细辫爆炸头；还有一位年轻人热情奔放；另一位神情严肃的摇滚歌手，他的心情时刻随着音乐节奏高低起伏，还有一对较年长的夫妇，我们以为是帮手，结果却是Jah的父母。recollection: 回忆，追忆；Dreadlock: 字面意义为“吓人的发缕”，从头皮处开始往下编一根根小辫子，全头蓬松像雄狮毛发。这种发型在拉斯塔法里教徒中甚为流行；intoxicatingly: 令人兴奋地；synchronize with: 与……同步，同时发生。They stayed in the house most of the day and answered actively to our demands, so I’ll say they are the hosts. But there were another cast of curious figures: a young blond whom I suspected to be a tenant, although she really made herself at home in the kitchen, a middle-aged woman with two kids.Two days later another family started appearing in the house.Throw in Lucy’s 9-year-old nephew and Jah’s huge dog,things really got complicated.

Yamun House Backyard

Our stay at the Yamun house was pleasantly unusual. The lack of hotel comfort was made up with family ambience27. ambience: 气氛，格调。.We had our first complaints about inadequate air-conditioners and persistent bugs,which were answered with sincere apologies and honest confession of inability. The hosts did offer us their tent on the roof, but how could we? After all,these were the people who grew their own pumpkins for breakfast and walk around all day without shoes! Sure their wi- ficonnection was zippy and a single guitar probably cost my monthly paycheck, but the Rastafarians aren’t comfortseekers.28. 不可否认，那里的无线上网信号很顺畅，一把吉他可能就抵我一个月薪水，但拉斯塔法里教徒并不寻求舒适。zippy: 敏捷的，精力充沛的。When in Rome, we soon figured, and learnt to happily settle as well. Whatever bugs can’t kill you will only make you spider-man, right?29. 这句话幽默地模仿常用说法“Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger”。虫子杀不死你，你就会变成强大的蜘蛛侠，对吧？

Between Rock and a Watery Place

Our big ideas for the vacation, apart from the starry nights on Yamun roof, were swimming and rock-climbing. The first was easy. Yulong River, the popular site for tourist rafting30. rafting: 筏运，筏流。was right there. But as you can see, rafting is for suckers.

The real Yulong spirit is in the swimming. This was a no-rafting zone, probably to preserve the crops, so we had the river all to ourselves. We didn’t really remember to pack our swimming suits,but who cares, it’s not like the hills or the clouds would mind.Floating on the water—I can think of a thousand things and care about none.31. 仰面浮在水面上，凝视着天空，思绪万千却毫不在意。My earthly endeavors, if any, went drifting with the clouds.

Ok, that was all made up. The truth was I was trying to get everybody in the water! The spoiled kid and the teenager were scared of the water plants, and the girls were concerned about the sunburn!

The first on the agenda didn’t go very well. But later that afternoon was a total blast32. blast: 〈美俚〉狂欢时刻。! We met up with my friends, two veteran rock-climbers, to try climbing for the first time. They took us to a starters’ route on a crag33. crag: 悬崖峭壁，攀岩路线。called “Swiss Cheese” ,which earned its name for the holes on the face of the wall, making it resemble very much a piece of cheese. Before we tried we’d thought—I’d thought—that it would be impossible for people as gravity-challenged as me to take both my feet off the ground.34. 在尝试之前，我们就想——好吧，应该说是我就想——对于像我这样难以驾驭重力作用的人来说，要让自己双脚离地简直就是不可能的。But as it turned out, our coaches knew what they were doing.The experience was safe and secure, of course, but by no means unchallenging. First, there was the fear, of heights, of falling down, of losing your grips. But as they said, fear, or overcoming of fear was really part of the fun climbing. Second, you wouldn’t know how physically unprepared you are until you are at your last breath and using up your last strength. I was literally just one meter from the top before I knew, all too well, that my strength had left me, and there was no way I could ever move a muscle.

Everyone else tried after me, presumably35. presumably: 据推测，可能。motivated by the idea of how much money we were saving. By the time everyone was beaten by the heat and the exercise, it was almost dark.

Homeward Bound

The climbing was summit of the trip. Everything went downhill from there. The boy, giving enough grief to the big dog, finally paid his due with a dog bite.36. 同行的小男孩将一只大狗折磨一通，最终罪有应得地被它咬了一口。grief: 悲伤，悲痛；pay one’s due: 还账，得到报复。Lucy and Me started our routine of fighting over who sacri ficed more in this marriage. And her brother started the routine of staring into his smartphone. It’s sad how all parties must depart, and all fun must end. I knew it was time to go home.

Of course we made the best of what was left of the trip. Boating on Li River was refreshing37. refreshing: 使人精神振作的，宜人的。, so were the day-trips to neighboring townships.But none of these planned tours scored38. score: 获得，赢得。as much fun as a quick dip in the water when the mood was with us, or the mad grabbing on the rocks when the muscles were not.

I remember how, as a child, I used to hate being taken to the park and put in lines for the slides. It was always on those unattended hillsides and in the unknown creeks that we first found the greatest courage, the utmost optimism, and the ultimate harmony with nature.39. 正是在那些不经修整的山坡上和不知名的小溪流中，我们第一次体会到了巨大的勇气、乐观和大自然的和谐。As it was with our rock-climbs, everything came down from there. We grew up to be more afraid, more inhibited, and considerably more bitter. Before anyone has realized, the young and daring was reduced to the old and fearful. So we try, all too hard, to retrieve40. retrieve: 恢复，找回。the positivity towards everything, and to relive the thrills life has to offer. But what was once human nature now is human toil41. toil: 艰苦的工作，辛劳。. Everything must be calculated, planned and implemented,even the very idea of having fun. Whatever happened to life with a little whimsy? The sweet chaos in our nature that slows us down in the diligent pursuit of the sadly predictable destiny?42. diligent: 勤勉的，坚持不懈的；destiny: 命运，主宰命运的力量。Of course, I am long past the wide-eyed kid when it comes to the weight of life, or the wife.43. 说到生活的重任，或者妻子，我可早就不是一个天真无邪的小孩子了。But as you can see, brief as it was, I just hung out with that kid again.

And that’s really the best relaxation, revelation, even, knowing that out of the deepest oblivion of growth, we could still come back as courageous, optimistic and naturally contented as we always were.44. 所以，这才是真正的放松——甚至说启示，我们知道：也许感觉不到自身的成长，但我们会带着一如从前的勇气、乐观和满足回归到生活中。oblivion: 遗忘，漠视。