盤點世界上的十佳旅遊城市(3)
, Egypt
3.埃及的吉薩First, the dream. You are awoken at dawn in your Bedouin tent by a sonorous call to prayer. After a breakfast of strong Egyptian coffee, sticky dates and flatbread, you mount your trusty camel and follow your guide on a four-hour trek along the lush banks of the Nile into the heart of the desert. As you summit a massive sand dune, you catch the first glimpse of the Great Pyramid, flanked by two smaller pyramids and the infamous stone-faced sphinx.
首先，印象中的埃及旅遊應該是這樣的：住在貝都因（Bedouin）帳篷裏，拂曉被響亮的禱告聲喚醒。享用完一杯濃咖啡，幾顆大粘棗和薄鬆餅做的早餐後出發，出門跨上忠誠可靠的駱駝，跟隨嚮導沿着鬱鬱蔥蔥的尼羅河岸前進，經過4個小時的長途跋涉進入沙漠中心地帶。登上大沙丘之巔，終於目睹了雄偉的吉薩大金字塔（the Great Pyramid），兩座護衛在側的小金字塔，當然還有神話中惡貫滿盈的斯芬克斯石像。
Now, the reality. You are awoken in your Cairo Holiday Inn by the incessant honking of a billion taxi drivers. After a breakfast of watery instant coffee and instant scrambled eggs, you board an incessantly honking taxi for a traffic-clogged 35-minute ride across town to the Great Pyramid of Giza, flanked by two smaller pyramids, the sphinx and a combo Pizza Hut/KFC directly across the street.
然而事實是，住的是開羅城市之星酒店（Cairo Holiday Inn），早上叫醒你的不是禱告聲，而是無休止的出租車鳴笛聲。早飯很隨意，一杯速溶咖啡，攤幾個雞蛋就完事了。出門坐上一輛不停地按喇叭的出租車，一路上堵得和停車場一樣，35分鐘顛簸穿過整個城鎮到達吉薩大金字塔，還是熟悉的配方：兩旁護衛着小金字塔以及獅身人面像。但是街對面的必勝客和肯德基是什麼鬼，畫風一下就變了。
Yes, the pyramids at Giza are easily the most impressive man-made structures you will ever see. Standing next to the colossal blocks of stone is a humbling and awe-inspiring experience. Unfortunately, the experience is nearly made unbearable by the constant harassment of droves of men hawking camel rides. Our advice, if you can swing it: bring your own camel.
沒錯，毫無疑問，吉薩的金字塔是最令人印象深刻的人造建築。當你站在金字塔腳下，仰望着這些巨石時，你會頓生謙恭之心和敬畏之情。然而不幸的是，靠騎駱駝賺錢的人會不停地騷擾你，讓原本美好的旅行變得無法忍受。所以我們的建議是，如果你夠搖擺的話，去的時候把駱駝也一起帶上吧。ce, Italy
2.意大利的威尼斯
If you visit during the right time of year -- preferably months that don't rhyme with "dune," "reply" or "dog guest" -- Venice is one of the most enchanting, romantic and remarkable cities in the world. That's when the city's 60,000 full-time residents go about their daily routine of eating delicious regional cuisine, wandering through world-class museums and hanging out in the Piazza San Marco sipping cappuccino and eating gelato.
如果你在合適的時間去威尼斯的話，尤其是在最適宜的幾個月裏——既沒有乾旱，也沒有暴雨——威尼斯便是世界上最迷人，最浪漫，最引人注目的城市之一。尤其是當城市中的6萬居民日復一日的品嚐着美味的食物，徘徊在一流的博物館，逗留在聖馬克廣場喝咖啡、吃冰淇淋。Or at least that's what we assume the locals do. We've never seen an actual local, because like the rest of the world's tourists, we visit Venice during the summer, when it's hot, smelly and teeming with loud Americans complaining about the price of a gondola ride.
這至少是我們認爲當地人做的愜意事。但我們從來沒真正看見當地人是怎麼做的，因爲像其他旅遊者一樣，我們來威尼斯的時候正是夏天——一個熱烘烘的，臭氣熏天的，熙熙攘攘的美國人抱怨纜車價格高的季節。Speaking of complaining about gondola rides, have you seen the price of a gondola ride? Eighty euros ($107) will buy you and five friends 40 minutes on the crowded Grand Canal. The price jumps to 100 euros after 7 p.m. And if you want the gondolier to sing a romantic tune while you dig through your fanny pack for more traveler's checks, that's going to cost you extra, of course.
提到人們對威尼斯小舟的抱怨，你可曾見過它的價格表？在威尼斯擁擠的大運河上，你和5個朋友一起坐船遊行40分鐘需要花費80歐元（107美元）。而下午7:00以後價格就上漲到100歐元。如果還想要船伕唱一首浪漫歌曲，你就更需要掏腰包額外交費了。The moral of the story: If you don't want to be treated like a tourist, don't visit Venice in August, or take the water bus like a local, wherever they are.
這個故事告訴我們：如果你不想被當作一個旅客來對待，那就不要在八月份來威尼斯旅遊，只需像當地人一樣乘坐小舟，隨意去任何地方。ún, Mexico
1.墨西哥的坎昆市
Cancún is exactly what you think it is, a great place to lounge drunkenly on the beach all day, then head out at night to dance drunkenly on top of a table wearing a sombrero before passing out with a stranger and waking up (still pretty drunk) to your all-inclusive breakfast buffet. If you are looking for an authentic Mexican travel experience, look elsewhere. Cancún is about beaches, booze and reinforcing every ignorant stereotype you have about Mexico and its people. Body shots, anyone?
正如你想象的那樣，坎昆是一個很棒的地方：適合醉醺醺的整天漫步，天黑後帶着寬邊帽，站在桌子上跳舞，直到和陌生人喝得爛醉，並在宿醉中醒來，品嚐着豐盛的自助早餐。如果你想尋找正宗的墨西哥旅遊體驗，那去別處吧。坎昆就是一個關於海灘、酒和你對墨西哥及當地人根深蒂固的刻板的印象。各位，要不要來點重口味的？OK, fine, this is mostly true of the Spring Break version of Cancún, which is when the town and its underage tourists are on their worst behavior. But that doesn't mean that Cancún is exactly a cultural mecca the other 11 months of the year. The beaches are beautiful and the snorkeling and diving in nearby Isla de Mujeres is world-class, but prepare yourself for a hundred daily conversations with aggressive timeshare salesmen, snorkeling tour hawkers and insistent young ladies who really think you'd look great with a head full of braids.
好吧，“春節版的墨西哥”這大部分是真實的。在這個月裏，整個城鎮的人及未成年旅客行爲舉止最是瘋狂。但是這並不意味着坎昆在剩下的十一個月裏就是一個聖地。附近女人島（Isla de Mujeres）的潛水是一流的，但是你要準備好應付那些積極的分時銷售員、潛水旅行小販，以及引人注目的年輕女性——她們認爲你很帥，但腦子並不怎麼靈光。You can try to escape the tourist bubble, but you'll have to go pretty far afield to find peace and tranquility. Don't expect it in nearby Playa del Carmen, which boasts a main drag lined with every tourist cliché short of a wax museum (too hot, probably). The much-advertised "eco parks" are like snorkeling in an aquarium -- pretty, but pretty weird. The ruins at Tulum are a better bet, and the two-hour bus ride to the Mayan temples at Chichen Itza is well worth the trip. That is, if you can go half a day without a body shot.
你可以試着逃脫旅遊罩現象，但是你不得不走得很遠去尋找那份靜謐。不過不要期盼着在附近的卡門海灘找到那份寧靜——這兒以一條主要街道爲主，街道兩旁排列着千篇一律但受旅遊者歡迎的蠟像館（很可能太受歡迎）。經大量廣告宣傳的“生態公園”就像在水族館裏潛水一樣——相當怪異。圖盧姆廢墟（The ruins at Tulum）是一個很好的去處，兩個小時到奇琴伊察瑪雅寺廟（Mayan temples at Chichen Itza）的車程是值得的，也就是說你得放棄拍全身照而行半天路。審校:喵喵 校對:丸子 編輯:旭旭
