獨旅之樂 The Joy of Solo Travel

這篇翻譯的很開心，因為講到了我去過的地方: P (竟然有Dana！該不會是我之前工作的那個旅館)
仍請大家不吝指教囉～

獨旅之樂 The Joy of Solo Travel
Solo travel is not always easy. It tests my patience, courage, and willingness to adapt to situations outside of my comfort zone. But, despite the challenges, because of solo travel, I’ve met people and had opportunities, adventures I don’t think would have had otherwise. Traveling alone has taught me many things and opened up many great doors. Some of my favorite memories are:
獨旅並不容易，它考驗人的耐心、勇氣和適應舒適圈外世界的意志。但是撇開這些挑戰不談，我也因為獨旅認識了許多人，而且得到很多除此之外我大概不會有的冒險機會。獨自旅行教會了我非常多事，也為我開啟了新的視野。以下是幾個我最喜歡的經驗。


Come Stay with Me
While laying at a pool in Aqaba, Jordan, I was approached by two women who were teaching in Amman. One of them had seen me running that morning and informed me that she was also running in the Dead Sea races. She graciously invited me to stay with her in Amman. Although we had less than a five-minute conversation, I contacted her on my way to Amman and ended up staying five nights with her. I could have been cynical and suspicious but instead decided to take this stranger up on her offer and go with my intuition. Because of that, I had a great time making new friends, getting to know both the local and expat community. Had I been in a group of 3 or 4, this offer might not have come my way.  
來我家吧
那時我正攤在約旦阿卡巴的泳池邊曬太陽，有兩個在安曼教書的女生來和我攀談。其中一人早上看到我在跑步，她說她也有參加死海賽跑活動，她很慷慨地邀請我去安曼找她住幾天。雖然只講了不到五分鐘的話，我在往安曼的路上依然聯絡了她，後來在她家住了五個晚上。沒有心存懷疑，我決定相信直覺接受這個陌生人的邀請。因為這樣，我玩得很開心，交了新朋友，認識當地人和住在當地外國人的生活。如果是三四個人一起旅行，可能就不會有這個邀約了。

You Need a Ride? 
A hotel worker in Dana had a friend going to Amman who offered to drop me off in Madaba on the way. It was a bit out of his way, and I wasn’t sure about getting a ride from a random guy. But I also knew how seriously Jordanians in the hospitality industry value reputation. My hotel worker wouldn’t send me with someone he didn’t trust. His friend had a small pickup truck so there was only room for one passenger. I took him up on the ride, and he even called later in the day to make sure I had found my way around in Madaba. It turned out the friend was a geologist and during the ride, gave me a science lesson about the surrounding environment as well as showed me his lab when we stopped to drop off samples.
搭順風車 
達娜風景區的旅館員工有個要去安曼的朋友，他提議順道載我一程到馬達巴。其實對他有點不順路，我也對要搭一個陌生男子的車有點不信任；不過我也知道從事旅遊業的約旦人對「名聲評價」有多謹慎看重，這個旅館員工不會隨意把我交給一個他不信賴的人。他朋友有輛小型貨車，只有一個乘客的位子。我搭了他的車，他當天稍晚甚至還打給我確認我在馬達巴有無迷路。結果發現這位朋友是個地質學家，一路上他為我解釋四周環境，賺到了一堂自然課；經過他的實驗室時，我們也停下來存放一些標本。

Come to Dinner
After making it to Namibia, I went skydiving for my birthday in Swakopmund. It was here that I met three people from Ireland who were intrigued that I was a female traveling alone. They were doing consultant work for the government back in the capital city Windhoek and invited me to come to dinner with them when I got back to Windhoek. They wanted to know all about my trip. I took them up on the dinner, since they’re Irish, they also insisted I have multiple drinks! I had a lot of fun making new friends simply because I was alone.  
共進晚餐
我到了納米比亞，在史瓦克蒙送自己「跳傘」當作生日禮物。在那我碰到三個愛爾蘭人，對我是個獨自旅行的女孩感到非常好奇。他們在首都溫得和克從事政府機關的顧問工作，邀請我回到溫得和克時和他們共進晚餐，他們想了解關於我旅行的一切事情。我們一起吃了頓晚餐，他們是愛爾蘭人，當然堅持我得喝上好幾杯。我交了新朋友，享受了很多開心的時光，都因為我是一個人。

The Kindness of Strangers 
In many places I traveled, it wasn’t common to see a woman traveling alone. As a result, I often had people looking out for me, whether it was catching the right bus or finding my guesthouse. On a bus to Monkey Bay in Malawi, my seat buddy was getting off before me. He gave me his cell number and asked that I please text him when I got there safely so he wouldn’t worry. And no he wasn’t some creepy guy; he was in his 40s, had kids, and was genuinely looking out for me. In Malaysia, I met an older gentleman on a bus who offered to take me sightseeing around Penang, because he and his wife love to show people around. And in Italy, I had so many people graciously give me directions when I had the lost, glazed-over look on my face. These are all opportunities that occurred because I was alone and not with a group.
陌生善意 
許多我旅行過的地方，獨自旅行的女孩是很少見的。所以，我往往吸引到眾人的幫助；無論是搭上正確的巴士或是找到居住的旅館。在我要去馬拉威猴子灣的巴士上，我隔壁的人比我早一站下車；他給了我他的手機號碼，並且拜託我平安抵達後務必傳個簡訊讓他放心。噢不，他不是什麼怪怪男；他大概四十來歲，有小孩，而且很誠摯地關心我。在馬來西亞巴士上我碰到一個年長的紳士，他邀我一起遊覽檳城，因為他和他太太都熱愛當地陪。在義大利時遇見許多迷路時熱情地為我指路的人，讓我臉上重拾笑容。這都是因為我自己旅行而非一群人才有的機會。

While people have been more than willing to help me out even when I have a travel partner, I like knowing that as a solo traveler, I’m bound to have interesting and unexpected adventures and meet some really great people, as a result of being alone. And it is because of this that I’ll probably travel alone again and why I think, at some point, everyone should travel solo, if only for a little while.
當我有旅伴時，人們都很樂於幫助我們；我發現身為一個獨旅者，勢必會有些有趣且出乎預料的冒險，認識一些非常酷的人，這是自己一個人的收獲。因為這樣，我應該還會再一次獨自旅行；也因此我認為有些時候每個人都應該獨自旅行，就算只是短短的一段旅程。

原文轉自The Joy of Solo Travel
中文翻譯@Reddy Ting Ho