PAGEPAGE9Unit7TheJoyofTravelTransformativeTravelTwenty-fiveyearsagoIfeltlikeawreck.AlthoughIwasjust23,mylifealreadyseemedover.ThefutureappearedasmuchlikeawastelandastheemptinessIcouldseewhilelookingbacktothepast.Ifeltlost,withoutchoices,withouthope.IwasstuckinajobIhatedandtrappedinanengagementwithawomanIdidn'tlove.Atthetime,bothcommitmentsseemedlikeagoodidea,butIsupposeitwasthefantasyofbeingasuccessful,marriedbusinessmanthatappealedtomefarmorethanthereality.Idecidedtotakeaclassjustfortheentertainmentvalue.Ithappenedtobeanintroductorycounselingcourse,onethatinvolvedpersonalsharinginthegroup.Wewerechallengedtomakecommitmentspubliclyaboutthingswewouldliketochangeinourlives,andinamomentofpureimpulsiveness,IdeclaredthatbythenextclassmeetingIwasgoingtoquitmyjobandendmyengagement.AfewdayslaterIfoundmyselfunemployedandunattached,excitedbythefreedom,yetterrifiedaboutwhattodonext.Ineededsomekindoftransitionfrommyoldlifetoanewone,asortofritualthatwouldhelpmetotransformmyselffromonepersonintoanother.SoIdidsomethingjustasimpulsiveasmypreviousactions:IbookedatripforaweekinAruba.Inspiteofwhatothersmighthavethought,Iwasnotrunningawayfromsomethingbuttosomething.Iwantedacleanbreak,andIknewIneededtogetawayfrommyusualenvironmentandinfluencessoastothinkclearlyaboutwhereIwasheaded.OncesettledintomyroomonthelittleislandofAruba,Ibeganmyprocessofself-change.IreallycouldhavebeenanywhereaslongasnobodycouldreachmebyphoneandIhadthepeaceandquiettothinkaboutwhatIwantedtodo.Ispentthemorningsgoingforlongwalksonthebeach,theafternoonssittingundermyfavoritetree,readingbooksandlisteningtotapes.Probablymostimportantofall,Iforcedmyselftogetoutofmyroomandgotomeetpeople.Ordinarilyshy,InowdecidedthatIwassomeonewhowasperfectlycapableofhavingaconversationwithanyoneIchose.Sincenobodyknewthe"real"me,thewayIhadalwaysbeen,Ifeltfreetobecompletelydifferent.Ittookmealmostayeartopayoffthattrip,butIamconvincedthatmysingleweekinArubawasworththreeyearsintherapy.Thattripstartedanumberofprocessesthathelpedmetotransformmyself.ThisishowIdidit:Icreatedamindsetthatmademereadyforchange.Iexpectedthatbigthingswereonthehorizon,thatatripsuchasthiscouldchangemylife.IbelievedwithallmyheartthatIcouldchange,ifonlyIcouldfindaquietplacetosortthingsoutandexperimentwithnewwaysofthinkingandacting.Iinsulatedmyselffromtheusualinfluencesinmylifeandthepeoplewhoseapprovalwasmostimportant.Oneofthereasonsthattherapyoftentakessolongisthat,onceyouleavethesafetyandsupportofasession,youreentertheworldwherefamiliarpeopleelicitthefamiliarreactions.Byseparatingmyselffromothers'approvalandinfluences,IwasabletothinkmoreclearlyaboutwhatIreallywanted.Istructuredmytimeinordertoproducechangeandgrowth.Solitude,isolation,ornewenvironmentsinthemselvesarenotenough;youmustalsocompletetasksthatarerelaxingandeducational.Themostimportantpartofanytherapyisnotwhatyouunderstandorwhatyoutalkabout,butwhatyoudo.Insightwithoutactionisentertainingbutnotalwayshelpful.Insteadofreadingnovelsandcallinghomeregularly,Itookthetimetoparticipateindifferentactivitiesthatwouldmakemechange.Ipushedmyselftoexperimentwithnewwaysofbeing.Isampledalternativelifestylesandpretendedtobeadifferentperson.Iactedinunfamiliarwaysjusttoseehowitfelt.WhateverIwouldusuallydoinvariouscircumstances,Iforcedmyselftodotheopposite.Thisreinforcedtheideathatanythingwaspossible,thatIcoulddoanythingIwanted.ImadepubliccommitmentsofwhatIintendedtodosoitwouldbehardertobackdown.ThereweretimeswhenIwantedtoavoiddoingthosethingsIfoundmostfrightening.Untilthistrip,Ihadnevertraveledtoastrangeplacedeliberatelyalone.WheneverIthoughtabouttakingsaferoutes,IimaginedthatIwouldsoonhavetofacemyclassmatesandthatIwouldhavetoexplainmyactionstothem.Iprocessedmyexperiencessystematically.IwroteinajournaleachdayandspoketopeopleImetaboutwhatIwasdoingandwhy.WhenIreturned,ItalkedtoseveralpeopleItrustedaboutwhathadtakenplace.EachofthemofferedadifferentperspectivethatIvaluedandfoundusefulinincorporatingtheexperienceintomylife.ImadechangeswhenIreturnedthatcontinuedthetransformationthatstartedwhileIwasinAruba.Itiseasiertomakechangeswhenyouareawayfromhomethantomaintainthechangesafteryoureturn.TomakesureIdidn'tslipbackintooldpatterns,Iimmediatelymadenewdecisionsaboutmyworkandmyrelationshipsthatkeptmemovingforward.Idecidedthatmuchofmyfuturetravelingwouldhavesometransformativedimensiontoit.Althoughitispossibletomakeextraordinaryprogressinasingleweek,transformativechangetakesplaceoveralifetime.IpromisedmyselfthatIwouldmakeothertripsfromtimetotimeinordertocontinuemygrowth.新生之旅25年前我感覺自己成了廢物。盡管那時我只有23歲，但我的生活似乎到了盡頭。我的未來看起來好似荒漠，就像回顧過去時，看到的是一片空虛。我感到迷茫，毫無選擇余地，毫無希望可言。我當時被困在兩件事中：做著一份我憎恨的工作，并與一個我并不愛的女人訂有婚約。當初，兩個承諾都好像是不錯的主意，但是我想吸引我的只是成為一個成功的已婚商人的幻想，而遠非現實。我決定進修一門課程，僅僅為了好玩而已。這剛好是一門咨詢入門課程，需要個人參與到集體中去。（這門課程）要求我們對生活中要進行的變動做出公開承諾。出于一時沖動，我宣布在下次上課之前，我會辭去工作并解除婚約。幾天后，我失業了，也解除了婚約，為獲得的自由而興奮，但又因為不知道下一步做什么而惶恐。我需要某種從舊生活到新生活的轉變，一種有助于我從一種人轉型為另一種人的（必不可少的）程序。于是我做了一件與我前面的行為同樣沖動的事情：我預定了到阿魯巴島為期一周的旅行。不管別人會有什么樣的想法，但是我并不是在逃避現實，而是在追求未來。我想有一個徹底的決裂，而且我知道我需要離開自己熟悉的環境，擺脫原來的影響，以便考慮清楚自己將何去何從。在阿魯巴小島上的房間里一安頓下來，我就開始了自我改變的進程。其實只要沒人能打電話找到我沒讓我能平靜安寧地思考我想做的事，我到哪里去都可以。上午我在海灘上長時間地散步，下午則坐在我喜愛的樹下看書，聽錄音磁帶。最重要的也許是我強迫自己走出房間去與別人交往。平常我很靦腆，但這時我確信自己是一個完全能和任何人交談的人。因為沒人了解“真實的”我，知道我過去的樣子，所以，我感到自己可以自由自在，一改常態。我用了將近一年的時間才付清那趟旅行的費用，但是我相信在阿魯巴島上僅僅一周的效果就相當于三年的治療。那次旅行啟動了一系列有助于自我轉變的過程。以下是我具體的做法：我讓自己在精神狀態上做好了轉變的準備。我期待重大的事情將會來臨，期待這樣的旅行會改變我的生活。我真心實意地相信我會轉變，只要我能找一個安靜的地方來理清頭緒，來嘗試新的思維和行事方法。我使自己擺脫了那些常常對我生活會用影響的事，遠離那些非要得到其首肯的人。治療之所以往往需要很長的時間，原因之一是，一旦給予你安全感和幫助的一個療程結束后，你重新又回到了原來的世界，那兒你的熟人會誘使你重蹈覆轍。通過把自己置身于別人的肯定和影響之外，我能對自己真正想要的東西有更加清楚的認識。我把時間安排好，以便使自己開始轉變并取得進展。僅僅依靠獨居、隔絕或者全新的環境是不夠的；你還必須完成那些輕松而又能使自己受教育的任務。任何一種療法的關鍵不在于你領悟到什么或談論了什么，而在于你做了什么。未付諸行動的認識固然可喜，但往往無助于事。我沒有把時間花在看小說和定期給家里打電話上面，而是花在能促使我自己轉變的種種活動之中。我敦促自己嘗試新的生存方式。我體驗不同的生活方式，佯裝自己是另一個人。我采用有別于從前的行為方式來體驗自己的感受。同時，在各種情況下，不管我通常會怎樣做，我總是迫使自己反其道而行之。這進一步堅定了我的想法：世上無難事，只要我想要做的事，我都能夠做到。我就自己想做的事情做公開的承諾，這樣我就沒有退縮的余地了。對于那些讓我非常害怕的事情，我有過想回避不干的念頭。在這次旅行之前，我從沒有特地一個人外出旅行過。每當我想走保險棋的時候，我就會想到馬上不能不面對我的同學，要對自己的行為做出解釋。我系統地分析我的經歷。我每天寫日記，并且告訴我遇到的人自己正在做什么以及為什么這樣做。旅行歸來之后，我和幾個我信任的人談論所發生的事情。他們中的每個人都有獨到的見解，這些見解都彌足珍貴，而且我發現他們的見解有助于我把這種經歷融入到我生活中去。我回來后做了一些改變，使我能夠把在阿魯巴島上開始的自我改造繼續下去。當你離家在外時做些改變比較容易，而回來后要保持這些變化就難了。為了保證自己不重新回到老路上去，回來后我馬上對自己的工作和與他人的關系做出了新的決定，這些決定會繼續推動我前進。我決定我將來的很多旅行將會具有自我改造的意義。盡管在短短的一星期之內也可能取得驚人的進展，但是自我改造的過程將貫穿于一生之中。我向自己保證我將不時地去旅行，以便不斷地取得進步。TheRomanceofTrainTravelIfthereisonemaincharacteristicofthemodernworldthatmakesourlivesdifferentfromourgrandparents,itisprobablyspeed.Wearealwaysonthemove,andwedon'thavemuchpatiencewithslowsystemsoftransportation.Wewanttogetthere,andwewanttodoitfast!Carmakers,airlineowners,andtheplannersofmasstransitsystemsallshareacommongoal.Theyarealltryingtoprovideuswithfasterandfasterwaystoreachourdestinations.Nevertheless,manyofusactuallywanttoslowdown.Althoughwecomplainwhenourplaneisn'tonscheduleorwhenwehavetowaitinatrafficjam,wealsocomplainaboutalwaysbeinginahurry.Everyonceinawhile,wehearthesoundofatrainwhistle—clearandhighinthenightair—andwefeelsad.Thereisastrongsenseofnostalgiaforotherplacesandothertimes,whenlifewasslowerand,perhaps,better.Whydoesatrainwhistlebringonafeelingofnostalgia?Perhapsit'sbecausemanyofusrememberafavoritenovelormoviethattookplaceonatrain,andthestorytoldofdangerandexcitement.There'sasenseofromanceaboutatrainthatsimplydoesn'texistonamodernjetplane.Severalrailroadcompaniesaretakingadvantageofthenostalgiafortraintravel:Theyareofferinguniquetoursfortravelerswhoaren'tinahurryandwhoenjoytheromanceofthepast.Foralmostahundredyears,thefamousOrientExpresscarriedroyalty,therich,spies,anddangerousinternationalcriminals.Itwasthesceneofmystery,crime,andoftenhistory.ButafterWorldWarII,whenairtravelbecamepopular,itnevergotbackitsoldsenseofromance,anditfinallywentoutofbusinessin1977.Soonafterthat,however,anAmericanbusinessmanbegantobuytheoldOrientExpresscarsandfixthemup.Herestoredthetraintoitsformercondition,andsince1982,thetrainhasruntwiceaweekfromLondontoVeniceandback.Althoughthetwenty-four-hourtripdoesn'tofferthedangerandexcitement—theadventure—ofthepast,itoffersluxury:richdarkwood,freshflowers,champagne,veryspecialfood,andliveentertainmentinabarcarwithapiano.AnotherfamousexcursionbytrainistheTrans-SiberianSpecial,whichmakesjustthreetripseachsummerfromMongoliatoMoscow.Aspassengersboardthetrainatthebeginningoftheirtrip,theytoastoneanotherwithRussianvodkaatawelcomingparty.ForthenextweektheycrosstheformerSovietUnionwithoccasionalstopsforsightseeinginbigcitiesandsmallvillages.Inaddition,thereisabonusonthistrip;thisextraadvantageisadailylectureonboardthetraininwhichanexpertexplainsRussianhistoryandculturetothepassengers.Ifyouarelookingforfunandadventure,youmightwanttotrythe"MysteryExpress",whichrunsfromNewYorktoMontreal,Canada.ThistripinterestspeoplewhohavealwayswantedtoplayaroleinanAgathaChristieplayoraSherlockHolmesdetectivenovel.AtypicaljourneyontheMysteryExpressofferstheopportunitytosolveachallengingmurdermysteryrightthereonthetrain.Inthemiddleofthenight,forinstance,theremightbeagunshot;soon,thepassengerslearnthattherehasbeena"murder"onboard.Fortherestofthetrip,everyoneonboardparticipatesinsolvingthismysterybyexchanginginformationandopinionsaboutthecrime.BythetimethetrainhaspulledintoMontreal,thetraveling"detectives"willhavefigureditoutandcaughtthe"criminal."Ofcourse,norealcrimetakesplace.The"murderer"—aswellasseveralotherpassengers—areactuallyactors.Thetripisasafe,entertaining,andverycreativeweekendgame.Ifyou'relookingforvarietyandbeautyonatrainjourney,youmightwanttotrythetrainsofIndia.TheIndiangovernmentoffersseveralspecialtours.One,afifty-miletriponthefamous"ToyTrain,"takessevenhoursoneway.Thetraintravelsthroughrich,luxuriousforestswithflowers,trees,andmorethansixhundredvarietiesofbirds.Beforeitreachesitsdestination,itmakesseveralstopssothatpassengerscantakephotographsorhavepicnicsiftheywantto.Anothertour,"PalaceonWheels,"isfortravelerswithmoretimeandmoney.EachoftheluxuriouscarsonthistrainusedtobelongtoanIndianprince.Forsevendays,passengersgosightseeingtopalacesandcitieswheremusicians,camels,andwomenwithflowersmeetthem.PerhapsthemostunusualIndiantrainis"TheGreatIndianRover,"fortravelerswhoareinterestedinreligion.Onthissix-daytourfromCalcutta,passengerstraveltoatowninNepal,whereBuddhawasborn,andalsototheplacewherePrinceGautamasatunderthebodhitreeandbecameBuddha.浪漫的火車旅行如果說現代世界有一個重要特點能使我們的生活與祖輩的生活不同，那可能就是速度。我們總是在不停地奔波，我們沒有耐心忍受速度慢的交通工具。我們想去一個地方，就得快點兒到那兒。汽車制造商、航空公司老板以及大運力公共交通系統都有一個共同的目標。他們總是想方設法讓我們越來越快地到達目的地。然而，我們當中也有很多人實際上想慢下來。盡管飛機不準點我們抱怨，交通受阻我們抱怨，但我們也抱怨自己總是來去匆匆。有時，當我們在夜晚聽到清晰而高亢的火車汽笛聲時，總會感到憂傷。心中有一種強烈的懷舊感，懷念往事、他鄉，那時日子過得比現在慢，也許是更美好。為什么火車的汽笛聲會引起懷舊感呢？也許是因為我們中間有許多人記得自己最喜愛的小說或電影的背景是在火車上，故事里有危險和令人興奮的情景。有一種關于火車的浪漫情愫是在現代噴氣式飛機上根本不存在的。有好幾家鐵路公司正在利用人們對火車旅行的懷舊心理：為那些不急著趕時間又喜歡過去那種浪漫的人提供獨特的旅游觀光。將近有一百年的時間，著名的“東方快車”運載過王室成員、富人闊佬、間諜分子以及危險的國際罪犯。這里是疑案和罪行發生的現場，也是經常見證歷史的地方。但在二戰以后，當飛機旅行變得流行起來時，它再也沒有了那種老式的浪漫，最終在1977年倒閉。然而沒過多久，一個美國商人著手購買并整修了老“東方快車”的車廂。他把火車修復成原來的樣子。從1982年起，火車每周在倫敦和威尼斯之間開兩個來回。盡管這24小時的旅程并無過去的那種危險和激動，或者說歷險，但它極盡奢華：深艷色的木制裝潢、鮮花、香檳、非常獨特的伙食、酒吧車廂里有鋼琴伴奏的現場表演。另一個著名的短途火車旅游項目是“跨西伯利亞專列”，每年夏天從蒙古到莫斯科僅開三趟。當登上列車開始旅行時，旅客們就有一個歡迎會，互相祝酒暢飲俄羅斯伏特加。在接下來的一周里，他們穿過前蘇聯，不時在大城市和小村莊停下觀光。除此之外，這趟旅行還有一個意外收獲，就是車上每天有講座，由譯為專家向旅客講解俄羅斯歷史和文化。如果你想找樂子。冒險，你也許會要乘一下“神秘特快”，該車從紐約開往加拿大的蒙特利爾。那些總想在阿加莎·克里斯蒂的劇本里伙食在夏洛克·福爾摩斯偵探小說中扮演一個角色的人們對這趟旅行特別感興趣。典型的“神秘特快”之旅會給乘客們提供機會，讓他們偵破一起發生在這列火車上的難解的謀殺謎案。比如，午夜時分槍聲響起，很快乘客們知道車上發生了“謀殺案”。在本次旅行的其余時間里，車上的每個人都來參與偵破這個案子，相互交換與此案有關的信息和意見。當火車進入蒙特利爾站時，這些在旅行的“偵探們”會偵破“案子”，抓到“罪犯”。當然并沒有真正的罪案發生，“兇手”以及好幾個其他乘客實際上都是演員。這種旅行安全、娛樂性很強，是一種極富創意的周末游戲。如果你想追求火車旅行豐富多彩的生活和美不勝收的景色，你也許可以坐坐印度的火車。印度政府提供了好幾種特別旅程。著名的“休閑火車”之旅，全程50英里，單程要花7個小時。這趟列車穿過有鮮花、樹木以及600多種鳥類的茂盛森林。在到達目的地前，它還會停靠好幾個站，以便乘客們拍照或是野炊。另一種叫做“車輪上的宮殿”的旅行是為有更多時間和金錢的旅客提供的。該列出的每個豪華車廂過去都屬于某位印度王子。在7天的時間里，乘客們會去宮殿、城市觀光，那兒有樂師、駱駝以及手捧鮮花的女子迎接他們。也許最不尋常的印度列車是“偉大的印度漫游者”號，它是給那些對宗教感興趣的人準備的。在這趟從加爾各答出發為期6天的旅行中，旅客們會去尼泊爾的一個小鎮，那里是佛陀的出生之地，還會去喬達摩王子在菩提樹下修煉成佛的地方。Aruba"Thegreatnessofourpeopleistheirgreatcordiality"isalinefromthenationalanthemofAruba,andfromthemomentonesetsfootonthisbeautifulislandinthecenteroftheblueCaribbeanSea,thiswillbefoundtobetrue.TheArubans,descendedfromnativeArawakIndiansandSpanishandDutchsettlers,offerawarmwelcomeatanytimeoftheyear,buttheyshowunusualhospitalityandspecialhappinessduringtheNewYear'sholiday,whentheisland'smanygamblingcasinosandnightclubsaswellasothertypesofentertainmentplacescelebratetheNewYearwithgreatfestivityandwarmth.Aspectacularmidnightfireworksdisplaywilladdtothecelebrationandmusicianswillwalkfromhousetohousesinginggood-luckgreetingsfortheNewYear.Butbeforeputtingonapartydress(dressingupisexpectedatAruba'snightclubs)oneshouldseetheisland'smanyspectaculardaytimeattractions.Sunbathersandswimmerscanstretchoutonsevenmilesofbeautifulsunnybeaches.Theycanalsoheadtothenortherncoastwithitsuncrowdedbeachesandsnow-whitesanddunes.DiverswillmarvelatoneoftheCaribbean'slargestshipwrecks,a400-footWorldWarIIGermanfreighterthatwasabandonedbyitscrewandlatersankoffoneofthefamousbeaches.ExperienceddiverswillwanttoexplorethenotoriousCALIFORNIA,theonlyshipthatreceivedthesinkingTITANIC'sdistresssignalsinthatAtlanticOceantragedy.Unfortunately,theCALIFORNIAfailedtorespond,thusitwillbeknownforeverasthe"notorious"CALIFORNIA.Experiencedwindsurferscanridethefast-movingwavesofftheisland,butbeginnerswillwanttotrythecalmer,shallowerwaterneartheshore,anddiverswillfindmanyreefsfullofcolorfulundersealifeincludingcoral,marineworms,andfishofunbelievablevarietyincolor,shapeandsize.Arubaalsohasmanysportsfacilitiesforsailing,deep-seafishing,water-skiing,golf,tennis,horsebackriding,andlessdemandingactivitieslikeshuffle-board,tabletennis,andcountlessboardandcardgamesOfcourse,there'smoretoArubathansunnybeachesandnightclubs.Theislandboastsafascinatinghistoryandhasmanyhistoricsitestoshowforit.TheserangefromtheStoneAgecave-walldrawingsattheNationalParktothemarvelous20th-centuryDutcharchitectureinthecapitalcity.Fornaturalwonders,therearethebackroadsofthenortherncoastwherestrangelookingtreesandrockformationscanbeseen.TheNaturalBridge,adramaticcoralstru