摩洛哥奇遇記 是婚禮還是騙局(上)
Two men on the train invited me to their sister’s wedding, but they didn’t look at all like brothers.
火車上認識的兩個人邀請我參加他們妹妹的婚禮，但是他們完全不像是兄弟倆。
Tall, fair-skinned Achmed and short, swarthy, moustachioed Mustafa entered my cabin midway between Marrakech and Fez. “A thousand welcomes to Morocco,” they said, putting their hands over their hearts.
又高又白的艾哈邁德(Achmed)和又矮又黑、還留着小鬍子的穆斯塔法(Mustafa)半路走進了我從馬拉喀什(Marrakech)到非斯(Fez)的車廂。“非常歡迎到摩洛哥，”他們說，並將他們的手放在心口。
I gave them a noncommittal nod, wary of yet another scam, having spent most of my time in Marrakech fleeing from touts, tour guides and con artists. Lacking contacts, a guidebook or much cash, I was essentially a refugee in this land, dependent on the good will of people I didn’t know.
我禮貌性地點了點頭，謹防這又是一場騙局，因爲在馬拉喀什的大部分時間我都疲於應付各種兜售、導遊和騙子。不善交際、也沒有旅遊指南或很多現金，我基本是這片土地上的一個流浪漢，依賴於我不認識的那些人們的善意。
The duo asked why I was visiting Morocco. I was too embarrassed to say it was actually just a cheap side trip from my stay in Spain. I didn’t want to admit I chose Marrakech because of a Crosby, Stills & Nash song and that I was travelling to Fez because of the funny hats.
那對兄弟問我爲什麼要來摩洛哥。我尷尬不已，不好意思說這只是我在西班牙逗留期間的一次窮遊而已。我不想承認我選擇馬拉喀什只是因爲美國民謠合唱團體“Crosby, Stills & Nash”的一首歌，而我到非斯旅行則是因爲滑稽帽子。
So I made up a story with the old clichés, telling them I had always wanted to visit the land of the Arabian Nights, snake charmers and exotic desert adventures.
因此我編造了一個陳腔濫調故事，告訴他們我一直都想拜訪天方夜譚之地、弄蛇人和異國沙漠之旅。
They laughed.
他們大笑。
“Well, perhaps those tales have some truths. But if you want to see the real Morocco, you must come to our sister’s wedding tonight,” Achmed said.
“好吧，或許這些故事不無道理。但是如果你想見識真正的摩洛哥，你一定要來參加今晚我妹妹的婚禮。”艾哈邁德說，
“Really?” I said, slowly looking them up and down. “I’m supposed to believe you two are actually brothers?”
“真的嗎？”我說，一邊上下細細打量着他們。“我應該相信你們是真的兩兄弟嗎？”
“We have different mothers. Our father has three wives, you see. And 15 children! What do you think about that?”
“我們是同父異母的兄弟。我們的父親有三個妻子，你看。還有15個孩子！你覺得呢？”
“Your father must be a very energetic man.”
“你們的父親一定精力充沛。”
“Oh yes! He once played for our national football team. But nowadays, we usually only take one wife here in Morocco. It is too expensive to support all those women.”
“當然！他曾經入選過我們國家的足球隊。但是現在，在摩洛哥，我們通常都只娶一個妻子。要養活這些女人可是太貴了。”
“Plus it’s less trouble with one – you don’t have to worry about the other wives ganging up on you.” They laughed.
“而且一個妻子也會少很多麻煩——你不用擔心其他妻子聯合起來對付你。”他們大笑。
“You will see all this and so much more at the wedding.”
“在婚禮你不僅能見到這些，還有更多其他方面。”
“You will come, yes?”
“你會來的，對嗎？”
They both looked at me intently, awaiting my reply. The rhythmic “ca-chunk, ca-chunk” of the train filled an awkward moment of silence.
他們倆認真地看着我，等待迴應。在這略顯尷尬的沉默時刻，只有火車發出有節奏的“咔嗒、咔嗒”聲。
I tried to find a face-saving excuse.
我試圖找到一個不太丟面子的藉口。
“But I’m just backpacking here,” I said, gesturing to my dirty bag on the luggage rack. “I don’t have anything to wear to a wedding.”
“但是我只是在這裏自助旅行，”我說，用手指着行李架上的髒袋子。“我並沒有參加婚禮可穿的衣服。”
They smiled at each other. Achmed said, “Oh, not to worry at all! Of course, we will help you buy a genuine Morocco djellaba robe at the market!”
他們相視一笑。艾哈邁德說：“完全不用擔心！我們當然會幫你到市場買一件正宗的摩洛哥長袍！”
Mustafa then asked me if I had a hotel already. “No? Of course we will find you a good hotel in Fez, very safe, very clean and very, very good price!”
穆斯塔法然後問我有沒有預訂酒店。“沒有？我們當然也會幫你在非斯找一家好酒店，非常安全、非常乾淨而且價格非常實惠！”
Ok, I thought, this was the old “help for a commission” scam. They’d lead me to a hotel and market and get a cut of my purchases. Still doubting the wedding story, I shrugged and agreed, figuring it would be a small price to pay for temporary guides.
好吧，我想，這就是古老的“助人爲錢”騙局。他們會把我帶到一家酒店和市場，然後從我購買的東西里得到回扣。對婚禮的故事將信將疑，我聳了聳肩表示同意，心想在臨時導遊上也花不了太多錢。
But when we arrived at Fez, Achmed grabbed me just before we exited the rail station. “I will say goodbye for a moment. You will meet me at the end of the block, by the cafe, in a few minutes. It wouldn’t look good if we walked out of the station together.”
但是當我們到達非斯時，艾哈邁德在我們要走出火車站時抓住了我。“我要離開一會了。幾分鐘後我們在街區的盡頭見面，咖啡館旁邊。如果我們一起走出火車站的話，會不太好看。”
“What, why not?”
“什麼，爲什麼不好看？”
“People in Fez are funny. Don’t worry. No problem.”
“非斯的人們很有趣。不用擔心。沒問題的。”
Confused, I walked to the end of the block by the cafe and waited. A few minutes later, Achmed emerged, leading me to a dingy nearby hotel where he negotiated a rate and had me store my backpack.
帶着疑惑，我走到了街區盡頭的咖啡館等待。幾分鐘後，艾哈邁德出現了，帶我到了附近的一家有些昏暗的酒店，他跟老闆商量好價格後就幫我存放揹包。
We then went me to Fez’s Old Town market, where shouting merchants stood behind stone counters covered with kaleidoscopic arrays of shimmering cloth. He asked me to choose my favourite robe and secretly signal it to him so he could haggle for the best price.
然後我們去了非斯的老城市場，在那裏叫賣的商販站在石頭櫃臺後，上面蓋着閃閃發光、五彩斑斕的桌布。他讓我挑選最喜歡的長袍然後悄悄向他示意，然後他去向老闆討價還價。
I selected a long white robe with an embroidered collar and a silvery hue, with a pocket on one side and a slit cut in the other. The shop owner declared that such a fine robe could not be sold for less than the absolute final and rock bottom price of 550 dirham – double the price of my hotel room.
我選了一件帶有刺繡衣領的銀白色長袍，一側有一個口袋，另一側則是一條狹縫。店主表示這麼好的一條長袍，最低價至少550迪拉姆——是我酒店房間價格的兩倍。
