Chapter 13 later

do you feel In fact, life is the most wonderful journey? It was fifteen months like a dream, and a whole vast world slowly unfolded in front of me.We live frugally and live without a fixed place. We have nothing and yet feel as if we have everything.Every day on the road is like a gamble—you never know what's in store for you.We have seen the majestic pyramid surrounded by macaws in the tropical rainforest, drove through the endless pure white salt fields that only God deserves to live in, and encountered a lake as bright as a ruby ​​in the desert at the end of the world, in the early morning mist Waiting for the four thousand ancient pagodas to wake up from the dream; however, at the same time, he was also attacked by mosquitoes and fleas in a small hotel, contracted a disease and developed a high fever, and was injured all over his body by swimming and exploring in dark caves. The small country was almost robbed by walking at night, and witnessed the hellish poverty and disorder in the world and the loss of life...

Still, my heart beats for every fresh color, new sound, and fresh smell.Compared to the days when I was in London, shuttling back and forth between home and work like the walking dead, I felt like I was "alive" again.In a strange country, I have neither a past nor a name, so I have the opportunity to be reborn and look at myself and the world with an unpretentious heart. The last stop on our gap year trip was Tibet.Yes, Tibet again.Nine years ago, Mingji and I came to this magical land by coincidence. Unexpectedly, that trip became a turning point and changed our lives ever since.Returning to Lhasa four years ago, I heard my inner voice on the roof of the Jokhang Temple, so I smashed the established life and started this journey around the world.Now we have revisited the old place in Tibet for the third time, drawing an end to the 16-month travel, and then went down the mountain to face the new unknown in life.Somewhere, maybe everything is predestined.

You can't help but believe in fate.The moment I walked out of Gongga Airport, I saw the two people standing under the strong sunlight smiling and slowly approaching. The word "fate" was like waves hitting the embankment of my thoughts. Fei hung two snow-white khatas around the necks of me and Mingji respectively. "Welcome to Lhasa." The corners of her mouth rose.The man standing beside her has gentle and open-minded eyes. I hug her tightly. The friends I met in London eight years ago have now settled down in Lhasa. The Chinese community in London is small, and we had a close relationship with Fei and her husband back then, and we still miss the lively and happy Chinese New Year making dumplings at her house.But one day, without any warning, Feiyuan's father in China went out for morning exercises as usual but never came back—he just disappeared.Hearing the news, Fei immediately asked for leave from her boss and rushed back to her hometown the next day.

And that's just the beginning of this tortuous story.Faye and Mom tried their best but they couldn't find Dad, not even heard from him until now.But tragedies happened one after another—first of all, Fei's marriage, she could not leave her mother and return to England, but her husband empathized with each other during this period, and their marriage came to an end.Then, as if God had purposely tested the limits of her endurance—Fee's mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer.She had to stay with her mother and take good care of her, but she couldn't go to Beijing to develop her career according to her inner desire.

Since Fei returned to China in a hurry, we lost contact until we saw Fei’s “Letter from Shudong” on the “Shudong” website of He Caitou (yes, He Caitou was promoted).Even though she used a pseudonym, I knew immediately - it was Fay!This is what happened to her!I was deeply shocked, and read that letter over and over again. I felt sorry for my friend deeply, and couldn't believe the cruelty and impermanence of fate. The end of the letter gave me some comfort: by chance, Fei met Basang, a Tibetan man in Lijiang, and the long-distance relationship has lasted for five months.You can see Fei's love for him between the lines, although she is also confused about the destination of this long-distance relationship.

By the time we met Fei and Basang at Gonggar Airport, another three years had passed. Fate played out its cruelty and compassion to the fullest on Fei.Yes, Fei and Basang are finally married, and their child is almost two years old.Fei's last marriage had never been able to conceive a child, but she became pregnant soon after being with Basang. This cannot but be said to be the arrangement of God.However, Fei's mother died of a serious illness in the end, and could not wait until the day when her grandson was born. Ba Sang is a civil servant, who happened to be going to work in the countryside that day, but still took time to meet Mingji and me at the airport, his sincerity was touching.Fee drove us back to the hotel.I was sitting in the passenger seat, looking at the ridiculously blue sky and the blue-black mountains outside the window, and Fei, who was holding the steering wheel by my side and hadn't seen him in four years, was in a trance for a long time.The years after the farewell seemed to be erased. The person I was familiar with appeared in a place where you thought she was the least likely to appear. The joy of reuniting after a long absence was intertwined with the confusion of time and space, which made me have a symptom similar to altitude sickness. ...I vaguely saw "Fate" like a Tibetan antelope jumping briskly across the road in front of me, turning his head and winking at me questioningly before disappearing.

During our stay in Tibet, we often got together with Fei.Now she has settled in Lhasa and warmly entertained us as a host, and we have gradually pieced together her life in Tibet from cups of coffee, conversations and afternoons.I was relieved that Fay looked very happy.She is radiant, easy-going, and has no discomfort with life on the plateau; her son Duoduo is clever and cute, with crooked eyebrows when he smiles, making it impossible to refuse any request from him; Language, on the contrary, is not easy to cause conflicts, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are very harmonious; let alone Basang, just seeing the way he looks at Fei, you know that his heart is no longer his own...

Of course not without regret.Shifei was a lawyer in London, but she was useless in Tibet, so she had to abandon her old practice and opened a small children's products store in Lhasa.But I saw her wearing a beautiful skirt and high-heeled shoes, inspecting the goods with full posture and instructing the clerk, and her gestures were still full of the brilliance of a professional woman.The sky always closes one window and quietly opens another. With Fei's intelligence and tenacity, I know that she can see the stars in the sky even in the dark. Before leaving Tibet, we bid farewell at Agang’s Fengzhuan Cafe.I suddenly realized that I have gradually developed a feeling of "mother's family" these days, and now we are going to leave Fei alone in Lhasa, although I am relieved, I am still reluctant to part.I gently stroked Duoduo's little head - when I see you next time, have you grown into a young man?

That night, I saw Fei posted on Weibo: "I just said goodbye to Mao Mingji and his wife in Fengzhuan Tibet Uncle Shu's coffee shop. We have known each other for eight years since we met in London in 2005! Because of them, I have long been fascinated by Tibet, and I never thought I would find a Tibetan husband. Because of them I I fell in love with traveling and tried to follow their footsteps through Oufei. Now they are saying goodbye in the city where they met and fell in love. Life is so dramatic. I wish them both continued wonderful lives!" I smirked at the screen alone. Fee, don't you think—in fact, life is the most wonderful journey?

The third time I went to Tibet, I felt completely different from the previous two times. It was a bit like...going back to my hometown to visit relatives? Although the street scenes are friendly, what is more worrying are those familiar faces.Fengzhuan Café is still our "base area". Ah Gang is still delving into Tibetan culture while being crazy. Eye-opening.Yang Zong, who worked in the shop back then, has also graduated from Tibet University and now works in a Tibetan hospital.The little girl has grown up and made a boyfriend, and the greenness on her face has faded away.I am too busy with work, and I feel a little tired when I smile, but the sincerity and boldness of the Tibetans are still exactly the same as in my memory.

God really treats us kindly, and even bigger surprises are yet to come—— Pingke (also known as the "yellow hair") is back. It is strange to say that so many people travel to Tibet every year, but we meet all the "weird" guys—perhaps those who choose to travel to Tibet during the "SARS" period are more or less "abnormal" Well... It's really interesting to think about it. When you are young, where you go, who you meet, and what kind of friends you make, there is actually no reason to explain it. The rest of your life is often influenced by that experience to varying degrees. . After leaving Lhasa in 2003, I have heard various news about them intermittently over the past few years, but they are not the ones who follow the rules: Jie resigned from a good job that everyone envied and went to support education in rural areas; The advertising industry once again left to travel the world; Pingke rode all the way to Tibet in the second year of our separation, stayed there to work for a while, and then returned to the mainland to change a few jobs, and stepped into the In 2009, he opened a family inn "Ping Xiaoke's Nest" by the Lhasa River... Pingke usually runs between Beijing and Lhasa. Due to work, I thought he would not meet in Lhasa this time. Unexpectedly, his job changed temporarily, and his cheerful voice came from the phone: "I will return to Lhasa the day after tomorrow. !wait for me!" Nine years later, we reunited on the road of youth in Lhasa. Three people can barely be called "youth", but time treats everyone equally fair and cruel.We smiled at each other on the streets of Lhasa, carefully superimposing the appearance of the person in front of us on the image deep in our memory.Ping Ke has gained weight, his hair has turned back to black, he has more stubble and black-rimmed glasses, but he is still an out-and-out handsome man.Both of his arms are full of dense and large tattoos, which are part of his experience—just like Mingji’s scar on my ear piercing, they are all a tiny part of the nine years we missed each other. We moved to "Ping Xiaoke's Nest" the next day.I thought it was a small inn, but it turned out to be three two-storey bungalows connected together, with a total of thirteen rooms, and three spacious yards that were full of sunlight.It's no wonder that the staff at the inn always jokingly refer to Pinker as "the big boss of the townhouse".Pingke has always had good taste. Each room is decorated warmly and elegantly, but each has a different style, and even the little details are done with great care.A gigantic Old Collie scurrying around the yard with a never-ending gusto of innocence, the dog lives up to its name, Happy.I leaned on the lazy sofa under the eaves of the corridor, squinting to see the purple curtains showing a wonderful luster in the sun, and the satisfaction in my heart flowed out like running water.In fact, Mingji and I have always had no special longing for a stable life. We always regard ourselves as "the generation of habitat" on weekdays, but when we come to this ordinary place, even if you are a wandering traveler, you will have the desire to ask for fields and homes heart. Living here can only be described by the simple word "comfortable".Having stayed in too many noisy youth hostels during our days on the road, we were happy to enjoy some quiet and relaxing time in this family hotel run by an old friend.Both Pingke and Mingji love to cook. We cook together every day, have dinner together, drink, talk, nostalgia, watch movies, and gossip about various entertainment news by the way... All these are so beautiful, sometimes even I feel that there is something wrong It’s too extravagant—really, I thought that spending time like this day and night, holding candles and talking about doing nothing at night was just a patent of student days. I never thought that I could relive the time when I was studying in Balang nine years ago in the world of adults. The time when I did nothing, the time when I felt at ease while doing nothing, seemed to be stolen from somewhere in the world... I sat in the yard listening to music and surfing the Internet, while waiting for dinner, I sighed contentedly. Pingke is half of the entertainment circle, so some "insiders" often come to the inn to stay.One day he casually mentioned to me: "Tomorrow there will be a non-famous actress living in your courtyard." I was amused at the time: "Not famous? How nonsensical?" At this time, Kaixin twisted its big butt I rushed over, and then I completely forgot about it. The next afternoon, I was sitting under the eaves of the porch reading a book, a tall and slender girl came out of the room, she stretched herself, turned around and saw me, greeted me with a smile, and sat down to chat with me .I chatted with her, applauding secretly in my heart: What a beautiful person!Even plain makeup is so delicate... I have lived in the UK for many years, and I haven't watched domestic TV dramas for a long time.By the time I finally realized it, I had already chatted with this beauty for a long time.Suddenly, a flash of inspiration flashed in my mind, and I was like waking up from a dream, and I couldn't choose what to say for a while: "Ah! You are that Feizh..." Reason arrived in time, and he swallowed the following words abruptly.I swallowed my saliva: "...not... a very good-looking actress!" Perhaps after being polished by the entertainment industry and various working environments, Pingke has obviously matured.Every time I think of him nine years ago, the word "hot blood" flashes in my mind.Mingji and I "broke the news" to the employees of the inn, saying that their boss was a passionate young man who used to read aloud his article "In the Days when SARS Spread" to everyone in the corridor of Balang School , everyone laughed in amazement, and even Pingke himself covered his face with his hands and kept moaning—that kind of youthfulness finally passed. If Pingke in the past was a rough stone, then he is now a beautiful jade carved out of the rough stone, with restrained brilliance, gentleness and warmth.His demeanor is calmer, his mind is more modest, and he no longer loses his temper easily.To be honest, I was really disappointed in the first few days when I returned to Lhasa this time, because the city has changed so much: the streets and alleys are full of soldiers, a sentry box is a few steps away, and even entering the square in front of the Jokhang Temple has to go through security checks; "modernization" There are more and more buildings in the city, which swell like ripe fruits, but they are not in line with the temperament of Lhasa... I complained to Ping Ke about all this, but he smiled and explained me with the principle of "the environment is born from the heart"—— Things turn according to the heart, the environment is created by the heart, and all troubles are born by the heart.At first I didn’t accept it, thinking that the facts were the facts, and there was no need to hide my ears and steal the bells; but after thinking about it deeper, I gradually accepted his persuasion—since the facts cannot be changed, instead of complaining blindly, it is better to actively adjust your mentality, If the environment changes with the heart, it will be pleasant, but if the heart changes with the environment, it will be annoying. Although the blood is no longer ready to burn, the composition of the blood has not changed.Pinker is still as delicate and emotional as it was nine years ago, and still lives a more real and free life than most people I know.In my life, I have seen too many people sign a Faustian contract, drained of all vitality by money, status and so-called "career".But Pinker never sold his soul, he was honest with himself, he was always free.When he wanted to go to Tibet, he immediately set off on his bicycle. If he wanted to stay in Tibet for a while, he tried hard to find a job there. When he fell in love with a girl, he stayed with her desperately. Put it into action down-to-earth... Everyone has dreams, but some people's dreams are always just dreams, because they lack the free mind and action power of Ping Ke. Of course, I know that the lives of people like Ping Ke and Huang Banxian may not conform to the mainstream values ​​of society, but I deeply respect them because they are always loyal to their hearts, because they never care about things that are not worthy of their care.In the movie, they are the so-called "supporting roles", but in real life, they have always been brave enough to dominate their lives and never follow the crowd. I believe that there are countless contingencies in life, and they pile up your destiny like a pair of dominoes; but I also believe that everyone's different attitudes and reactions in the face of these contingencies ultimately determine our different fates. The days of getting along with Pingke are leisurely and comfortable, but I didn't expect to be in a panic when we parted.We couldn't get a taxi temporarily, and worried that we wouldn't be able to catch the airport bus. We sank into anxiety and frustration, and almost lost the mood of saying goodbye.When I finally "grabbed" a taxi, the time was already very tight, so I had to give Ping Ke a quick hug, and then hurriedly stuffed myself and my luggage into the seat.The car started, and I leaned against the glass window and waved to him non-stop. Scenes of memories were woven into a web, dragging my gaze.Looking at his gradually shrinking figure outside the window, it feels as if he has just bid farewell to his youth—a fortunate youth that never followed the rules. Finally went to Ali this time.Compared with Lhasa, Ali is another world.It is the ancestor of ten thousand mountains, the source of all rivers, endless snow-capped mountains, and endless wilderness; here is as desolate as the surface of the moon, but the towering holy mountain Gang Rinpoche is regarded by believers as "the center of the world"; it is like life It is a forbidden zone, but it is also a paradise for wild animals; it contains all the past and all the tomorrows. The extraordinary magnificence between heaven and earth is awe-inspiring, but our trip to Ali is more like a comedy.Before we set off, we tried to search for various carpooling information, hoping to find a familiar and reliable Tibetan driver, or at least a local Tibetan car. On the day of departure, we found a jeep with a Guangdong license plate waiting for us... The driver is Lao He The Han nationality has a very cheerful and humorous personality and is very chatty, but as the journey progressed, we discovered to our horror that he was actually a tourist himself!Because the company was closed for a period of time, he specially borrowed a friend's car from Xinjiang to travel to Tibet (don't ask me, God knows why the car in Xinjiang has a Guangdong license plate), and after he came, he simply ran various routes and traveled. And earn some extra money by the way.Well, that’s all. Practice has proved that Lao He’s driving skills are really good. We gradually felt relieved. However, within a few days, we found out again in horror——except for the license plate of this car, all other documents are genuine. Fake... So every time he passed the checkpoint, Lao He parked the car far away, and then kept handing cigarette covers to the guards to almost divert attention, and we also squeezed a cold sweat secretly in the car every time. Lao He belongs to the kind of middle-aged people who refuse to grow old. There is always a young heart beating in his chest. He loves adventure, is not afraid of hardship, and can't get enough of playing.However, time and experience have created his "mature" side-maybe I have seen people who are longer-sleeved, good at dancing, and exquisite in all aspects, but no one can be as "exquisite" as he is naturally, even a quack air is quite attractive like.Lao He can quickly mingle with the locals no matter where he is, and his three-inch tongue is comparable to Zhou Xingchi in "Nine Pins of Sesame Officials". Xiangbeng has saved us a lot of money along the way. However, Lao He sometimes speaks outspokenly, which is quite shocking.Since running Tibetan antelopes began to appear on the side of the road, he kept drooling and urged everyone, "Let's get one and eat it." He saw a Tibetan antelope that was hit and killed by a car, but he hesitated: "Can't you stop? If someone sees it, they will think we killed it..." After driving for a long time, he regretted it again: "It's a pity, a pity !” At the foot of Mount Kailash, he pointed at the peak with one hand on his hips and the other, speaking nonsense in his southern accent: “sen san (sacred mountain), sen san, I want to see how sen you are?!” The result He fell ill that night, and was in a state of embarrassment with runny nose and tears all the way.On the return journey, he passed by the foot of Mount Shenshan again, and he knelt down with a plop: "sen san, sen san, I don't dare again!" Mr. He said that there must be a "noble person" among the five people in the car, because the luck along the way was extremely good: the car was full of doubts, but it was under the nose of countless checkpoints; the weather was always when we needed to get out of the car to take pictures It suddenly changed for the better; when looking at Shenshan from a distance, it was always covered by clouds and mist, but every time the clouds and mist would miraculously dissipate as soon as we arrived, the same unbelievable scene happened again when we went back to see Mount Everest; I lost my hat while watching wild donkeys on the side of the road, but I didn't find it until a long time after getting into the car.I thought that the field was open and the wind was strong, and the hat must have been blown away long ago. Who would have thought that when I came back a few days later and passed the same place, the hat was lying on the grass in good condition... "I just said it! It's so evil, there must be a noble person in the car," Lao He slammed the steering wheel with his right index finger, but the impassioned expression on his face was immediately replaced by a shy smile, "Hey, but it's not me anyway. " "It's not me either," I said reflexively, "I haven't even won the bottom prize..." "It's definitely not me!" "It's not me either!"... The rest of the people also shook their heads and waved their hands, eager to get rid of it. No one wants to be a nobleman, so two hours later, with a dull bang, the tire blew out. "It's okay! There's a spare tire on the car." Lao He finally came to his senses after being stunned for a long time. While comforting us, he climbed under the car and tried to remove the punctured tire. He can't take it off. He went to pick in the toolbox again.But no, there is no suitable tool at all. We stood in the barren mountains, helpless, looking at each other. Where are you, my lord? After a while, Lao He finally stopped a passing car.The owner of the car did not have any tools, but he agreed to take Lao He to a town ahead to find a car mechanic.And we just stayed in the car and waited for him to come back - if he ever came back. The road is as lonely as the trajectory of a shooting star, and the whimpering of the wind is perfectly integrated with the desolate openness.The companions stood or squatted, staring in a daze, kicking stones, and scratching the ground with small wooden sticks... They all had bored expressions on their faces. "Why don't we play poker?" Sister Tian suggested. However, I don't want to play poker. If... If I say, I don't feel bored at all, and I even enjoy this feeling, will Sister Tian think I'm perverted?But, really, deep down in my heart, I do secretly hope that Lao He will not come back so soon... Because Ali's trip is coming to an end.And in a few days, the trip to Tibet will come to an end, which also means that our 16-month long journey has come to an end.There is nothing more "on the road" than a jeep with a flat tire and passengers doing nothing on a lonely road.I seized what might be my last chance to enjoy being "on the road" - it would have been perfect if Rascal Flatts' "Life is a highway" was playing in the background. I stand on a real wasteland, but it seems to be standing in the wasteland of time. The past sixteen months are vividly reproduced in front of my eyes like a giant-screen movie-innumerable accidents, countless For the first time, there were countless surprises and shocks.Unfamiliar surroundings prompted me to look at my life from a whole new perspective, and now, at the end of my journey, I'm finally starting to feel the changes that have or are happening to me, and the emotions and concepts that really matter to me , and gradually become clearer. Traveling taught me humility and gratitude, and made me realize how lucky I am.It is a kind of luck to have a job that I didn't like, it is a kind of luck to leave it to travel around the world, and it is a kind of luck to get the understanding of my parents... But the luckiest thing is that I have been accompanied by him during the long journey by my side. I remember that on the seventh anniversary of our marriage, Mingji and I were studying Spanish in a remote mountain village school in Guatemala. The skin on my back, which was severely sunburned while diving in Belize, began to peel off a lot, and it was unbearably itchy.Every day before going to bed, we would check each other's peeling status - wow, a map of China has appeared on your back!what!Yours are just islands... Talking about such a wretched topic, I feel very warm in my heart.I did have some worries before the trip: we were both very busy at work in the UK, and spent most of the day in the office, and the time we really spent together was not as long as we spent with our colleagues.However, during the trip that lasted for more than a year, the two had to get along day and night, "sticking" together firmly every day, and facing various unknowns together.If the distance is too close, will it slowly wear away the beauty?If you face the same person from morning to night, will you gradually start to get bored with the other person? "It will," my colleague Yi Ran said emphatically, "I'm going on vacation with my boyfriend, and after a week we can't take it anymore!" However, as the trip progressed, I gradually realized that my previous worries were unnecessary.Aside from his love of singing Cantonese opera "Emperor Flower" in the shower (Daigou ah Daigou!) and being able to fall asleep after chatting before going to bed in less than five seconds, Mingji is the best travel companion I can imagine.He is optimistic, smart, and capable, and he can adapt quickly no matter what environment he is in. There are always endless topics to talk about with him.What shocked me the most was his enthusiasm for exploration, his curiosity and courage to try everything. In India he insisted on renting a motorbike to ride.After getting the key, I was a little suspicious: "Have you ever driven a motorcycle before?" "No wow!" he said cheerfully. Then he launched directly.He really dared to open it.And what's even worse - I actually dare to sit. Mingji not only always goes to the battle himself, but also encourages me to try all kinds of things that I have never tried before, and I never imagined that I would try: "Hey, see that swing in that tree by the river? Sit on it, swing out hard, get to the middle of the river, and then you jump off! Jump into the river!" "Come surfing with me! It's fun! Girls can surf too!" "Next we're going to cross this waterfall..." "It's snowing and you can hike!" "...Come on, your right foot can step here, this rock can support...Ah sorry...Are you okay?" "Let's sign up for a meditation class!" ... Although there are some more scars on my body, I am still grateful to him.If it weren't for his promotion, I don't think I would have appreciated the excitement of adventure, the joy of surfing, the purity of mind during meditation, the beauty of hiking among the mountains, and I would never have known how much I have yet to discover. potential. He made me realize that love is not something that freezes.On the contrary, love is endless exploration and learning, both of them should try their best to encourage and lead each other to see more and more beautiful things, and grow into a richer and more tolerant person. I turned my head to look at Mingji, who was looking thoughtfully at the distant sky.At this moment, my heart should have been filled with romantic emotions, but by accident, the first thing that came to my mind was his "heroic posture" crazily waving a rag a few days ago... While staying in Zada, our hotel room was taken over by a huge army of flies.With the windows open, the number of flies continued unabated.There were about a hundred flies bombarding the room, and I was driven almost insane by them, using all kinds of weapons, including books and shoes, to fight them with pitiful inefficiency.Mingji watched for a while, then calmly said, "I'll do it." He soaked a rag, twisted it into a long strip, and, grabbing one end, slammed it in the direction of the fly like a whip. You may not be able to imagine how useful and efficient this method is - he is like a brave general, who raised his "whip" and dropped it. Wherever he went, the "enemy" was defeated and fell to the ground; but you should be able to imagine I got my stunned and deep admiration at that time... This is him.Although sometimes silent as ice, sometimes as stubborn as a bull, he has always been an innocent and interesting person.It’s not that I’m ignorant of the world, but that I can look at things with a fresh mind, and because I have a true temperament, this naivety is more sober than others; and interesting—in a society where imagination is generally poor, Funny is almost a rare and precious quality.With him, I know that life will never be boring, and we will always have the courage and desire to pursue a more interesting life. So although I am nostalgic for the days of traveling, I will not escape the real life that is about to return. As Rick Nelson sang in "Garden Party", "if memories were all I sang, I'd rather drive a truck (if except Memories have no songs, I'd rather be a truck driver)".It would be a lie if I said that I have found the answers to all my questions once and for all from this trip - the meaning of life, the value of existence, the balance between ideal and reality... I would be lying, but everything I have experienced - including Those seemingly meaningless details-like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle scattered in time, as long as I follow the guidance of an honest heart, I know that they will eventually become one and show me their meaning. Just like when I came to Tibet nine years ago, I was ignorant and didn't know that my life was about to turn here.When I returned to Tibet five years ago, it was originally only to fulfill an agreement, but this triggered a gap year trip.But now that I think about it, was the idea that first sprouted on the roof of the Jokhang Temple really a kindling that was completely ignited by myself?When I look back, I realize that every encounter in life has its own meaning—Mingji, Pingke, Jie, Huang Banxian, Ah Gang... Our encounter in Tibet seems to be an unintentional coincidence, But their personalities and stories influenced me invisibly, and the changes happened quietly and slowly.So I have reason to believe that life on the road is like a key, and it will open a door—a door that I may not know, but will eventually find. Lao He came back in the mechanic's car.After changing the tire, we hit the road again. The sun is sinking slowly, and the road ahead is as endless as life.It is said that life is a long journey, but I think the inner voyage of those who actively choose their own destiny is the longest journey in the world.Dear readers and friends, I wish you a pleasant journey. There are a few places on earth that, like opiates, keep us wanting to go again and again: Paris, India, Tibet. Fifteen months on the road was indeed a colorful time, but we still miss that place.Although a little similarity can be found in the Andes in South America and Damsala in India, the difference is the difference.The sky, sunshine, mountains, lakes, religion and people are unique there, and even the feeling of breathing a breath of thin air is still fresh in the memory, and even the altitude sickness becomes beautiful in the memory. We decided to make Tibet our final destination for our gap year.Just like when I entered Tibet for the first time nine years ago, before returning to the right track of life, I would always do what I wanted and go wherever I wanted. I always think, if the legendary Mayan doomsday is true, then before this day happens, I will travel with my real arm to visit Ali’s holy mountains, holy lakes, Guge Dynasty, see Tibetan antelopes and bask in the giant Buddha, Then go to see the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. On August 13, 2012, Zhen and I set foot again on the place where we met nine years ago. The third time I entered Tibet, it is inevitable that I will compare my experiences with the last two.The experience of the last two trips to Tibet was undoubtedly very good for us, so we will have something to look forward to this time.In the old city of Lhasa, we have indeed seen some heartbreaking changes, such as too many tourists, it is too difficult to take a taxi, the security check is too strict, there are too few monks in the temple, and there are too many "convenience service stations" on the street, etc., but it may be With the growth of age or the experience of fifteen months on the road, the whole person has become more tolerant than before, so I am not disappointed.Perhaps the root of the pain is not the thing itself, but our attitude towards things.I don't know if the Buddha Sakyamuni would have the same feeling if he came to Lhasa today. This time, in order to travel to Ali by carpooling, I had to go to the message boards of major youth hostels to check carpooling information.We also came together because of the fate of carpooling. At that time, the Internet was not as developed as it is now. It is not like now that you can make appointments with travel companions on online forums before traveling, and book the car in advance.At that time, most of the opportunities for carpooling came from meeting new friends in the three major hostels in Lhasa (Ya Hotel, Jiri, and Balangxue).这一次我们来到如今拉萨人气最旺的平措青年旅社，一进去已经被那两块大大的留言板完全吸引住。八月份是拉萨全年最繁忙的旅游旺季，所以这个时候留言板上已经贴满了告示，有些地方甚至已经被重复贴上了好几层。我们一直在寻找“拼车”、“阿里”、“南线”等几个关键字，可是最先吸引眼球的却是其中一张告示里出现的“激情代排”四个字。 “激情代排？”我们异口同声，面面相觑。 细看下来，原来全文是“胖妹妹们激情代排布宫门票”。啊，原来只是收钱代人排队购买布达拉宫的门票……再看其他告示，不乏更直接更开放的： “萌妹子寻伴……” “单身男子徒步xxx地区，诚邀一美女作伴，住宿不用担心，本人有帐篷一顶……”（听起来很像是别有用心……） “……求被帅哥/美女捡” “……指定80/90后帅哥/美女，夫妻勿扰……”（已婚人士被赤裸裸地歧视了……） 见识了现在年轻人勇于直接表达的程度，我真的觉得我和傅真当年的交往过程实在是太太太缓慢、太太太含蓄了。我相信的故事如果是发生在现在的话，原来已经不多的内容应该还可以再减掉四分之三。 最后，我们把不带任何修饰的很“老土过时”的拼车讯息贴到留言板上。结果是可以预想到的：告示贴了四天都没有人来电查询，直到第五天发现告示已经不知所踪。 还记得那个教我如果写信的时候想不到写什么，就先从“你好吗？”开始的，八朗学301的室友——香港同胞阿明（也就是黄半仙）吗？他是我们当年在西藏认识的朋友，也是我们俩故事的见证人。这个家伙当年在八朗学给我留联系方式的时候，还一脸很酷的表情：“其实就算留下联系方法以后也不会真的用，等回去以后我们就会马上变回陌生人，相信再也不会有机会见面。” 真的不会有机会再见面吗？ 离开西藏以后，我们虽然各奔东西各有各忙，却一直保持着联系。所幸还有facebook和博客这些好东西，能够填补岁月和距离造成的不便。出版后，阿明非常兴奋地发来电子邮件问我哪里可以买到书，因为他在香港和深圳都遍寻不获。感念于他当年把喝得烂醉的我一路拖回八朗学301房间的“大恩”，我在2008年8月的某日带着有我们签名的和阿明约好在香港大围火车站附近的一个小酒吧见面。那天晚上，他还带了一本从西藏带回来的书——那本我离开西藏前“托付”给他的《Lonely Planet Tibet》终于在五年后物归原主。于是两个人的约会又变成了两本书的约会。 与我们在英国一成不变的打工生活相比，阿明的人生显然精彩得多。当年离开西藏以后，他辗转到贵州山区一所小学支教了一段时间，最后回到香港重新投入工作。他告诉我他有一个理想：在云南的贫困地区开办一所孤儿院亲自打理，让那些毫无依靠的小朋友可以在院里得到同样的家庭温暖。他也深深知道这是一个非常庞大的公益项目，需要详细计划资金的投入和以后的运营成本。我感觉到眼前的阿明已经不再是那个当年在西藏和我们一起风花雪月的他，离开西藏以后的经历和岁月的沉淀让他变得更加成熟，更有理想。2003年的春天，“非典”肆虐的时期，坐在大昭寺广场上聊天的四个人：我、傅真、平客、阿明，那时候的我们可能只想到自此一别大家都回归各自的平凡生活，却没想过那一次的藏地之旅让我们四人的人生都发生了翻天覆地的变化。 到了2010年，他老人家又坐不住了，把做得如日中天的广告公司的工作辞掉，然后在东南亚游历了一圈。我们那次见到他的时候，他刚刚结束旅行，回来以后打算全职攻读大学学位。他比我们早到了一个多小时，一个人坐在尖沙咀诺仕佛台的酒吧里自斟自饮，看起来却一副自得其乐的样子，像是早已习惯了孤独。就像我们每一次见面一样，源源不断的话语总离不开西藏、旅游、公益、计划与理想等平时我们很少遇到知音的话题，那份默契远胜过很多身边常常见面的朋友。得知我们在计划实行间隔年后，细心的他还叮嘱我们到时候要记得带一个小小的烧水壶，又鼓励我们尝试参加内观禅修。 从2012年开始，他尝试以自己的力量进行小型的公益事业，不依附任何机构，从筹款到选址策划和后期汇总都是以一己之力来进行。当我在网上看到他在马来西亚中部探访当地孤儿院的剪辑视频时，真的觉得他是一个身体力行的人，而且待人接物方面有极强的感染力。最近一次与他见面已经是在我们结束间隔年回来之后，当时我们正准备回国展开新的生活，而他也已经把学位完成并重新投入到工作中，同时一步一步地向自己的理想迈进。 我期待着有一天我们会去到云南的某个小村庄，在阿明开办的孤儿院里再次相聚。 还有续集的话 如果还有续集的话，内容应该离不开我们在英国八年的生活和离开英国以后在路上十六个月的经历。这些点点滴滴，大部分已经记录在傅真的博客“最好金龟换酒”里面。博客的内容五花八门：从家常小事、旅途感悟、娱乐八卦，到文学、艺术、政治。我曾经在接受杂志访问时说过最欣赏傅真的正义感、不做作和她独立的思想，可是还有一样同样重要的优点没有提到：她的写作天赋。在大大咧咧的性格背后，她却有着极为细腻的文笔。从2006年初到现在，她一直坚持在博客上写作。就算MSN Space被迫关闭了，她还是决定自己花钱租网域名和服务器来维持博客的更新，只是为了保留自己的一片天地。作为她每一篇文章的第一个读者，这一份荣誉足以让我骄傲一辈子。 虽然我的文学修养远不如她，但她还是非常包容地鼓励我多看书充实自己。在这点上我非常感谢她，也是因为她我才懂得发掘对方优点的重要性。如果不懂得互相欣赏对方的优点，那一段感情只会建立在彼此依靠的基础上。我们从来没有吵架，并不是因为我们完全没有意见分歧，只是大家实在是太珍惜对方，太不把面子当一回事，知道吵架的恶言会像一把刀一样割在对方身上，就算伤口愈合了还是会留下疤痕。我们都想把最好的东西留给对方，生怕对方为了自己而受委屈。在决定践行“间隔年”的决定上，我们都给予了彼此莫大的勇气，使我们两个人合起来的勇气比单纯相加更大。（传说中的“夫妻同心，其利断金”？）间隔年的经历将会和西藏的经历一样成为我们生命中极其重要的回忆。 从中美洲到南美洲，从印度到东南亚再到西藏，我们旅途中的每一天事无大小都是共同度过的：在墨西哥战战兢兢地开始旅途，在伯利兹浮潜后严重晒伤，在危地马拉学西班牙语，在委内瑞拉徒步天使瀑布和罗赖马山，在南美洲坐两天两夜的长途汽车，在秘鲁徒步印加古道，在玻利维亚的波托西当矿井工人，在阿根廷品尝葡萄酒和牛排、学跳探戈，在印度果阿骑摩托车穿梭大街小巷，在加尔各答的垂死之家当志愿者，在普什卡过撒红节，在清迈过泼水节，在蒲甘的清早骑自行车去佛塔上看日出，在槟城吃遍大街小巷，回泰国参加内观禅修，在越南河内跟滥收费的出租车司机吵架差点打起来……到最后重返大理，重返西藏。 当傅真背着15公斤重的背包依然健步如飞时，忍受着皮肤过敏的奇痒参观高温的矿井时，三天三夜悉心照顾生病的我时，我发现傅真原来比我想象中更坚强，更能吃苦。（不过傅真还是会偶尔跟我投诉：不要以为我背得起15公斤的背包就把我当成男人来看，我毕竟还是一个女生啊！）这些回忆无论甘苦都是属于我们生命中美好的一部分，足以证明我们曾经年轻过，有勇气去选择自己想过的生活。 如今486天的旅途已经圆满结束，一年多前鼓起勇气一起走出去，现在惬意地走回来。回国以后因为一个不错的工作机会，我们选择了暂居在美丽的青岛，生活从此回到正轨上。回国以前觉得以后一定会在北京定居，经过一年多居无定所的生活以后才觉得，只要两个人相伴，哪里都是家。 亲爱的读者朋友，我衷心地希望可以给予你在生命中的节点做出选择的勇气，哪怕只是一丁点儿也好。当我们在生命的大海上航行，有时可能就只差那一点点的勇气便能转动舵柄、改变航向，就像当年的我选择回到大理一样。