當沙發的主人 - COUCHSURFING (PART I)

COUCHSURFING﹐如果直接譯的話﹐應該是找沙發吧﹗﹗之前在吉布提工作時﹐因為計劃到埃及去游蕩兩個月﹐為了節省住宿費用﹐所以就加入了COUCHSURFING成為會員﹐希望可以借住其他會員家裡﹐一來除了節省費用﹐二來也可以結識當地人以更能體驗當地的生活。結果後來因為接下了秘魯的工作﹐到埃及的計劃也就告吹了﹐也無緣體會成為COUCHSURFER借宿陌生人家中的經驗了。

到了秘魯後﹐因為有了自己的雙房公寓﹐反正另一間房間空置着挺浪費的﹐而且裡面安置了一張雙人床和衣櫥﹐所以我就開始在COUCHSURFING的網頁上大開門戶﹐歡迎背包客到我家來借宿。成為COUCHSURFING的HOST(主人)是屬于義務性質的﹐不能向求宿者收費﹔剛開始到秘魯的幾個月﹐因為人生地不熟﹐所以也未敢接受住客。後來漸漸熟悉了當地生活﹐西文也起碼可以與當地人溝通後﹐我才開始接受住客。剛好五月開始時是旅遊旺季﹐在加上秘魯本身屬于南美洲其中一個旅遊熱點﹐所以來電郵求宿者竟也不少﹔通常我都會查看來電郵者的推薦﹐或者他/她有沒有其它投宿的經驗﹔就這樣的我就在這三個月裡陸陸續續接收了五位背包客。

第一位住客是個來自香港的女子MANDY ﹔比我年輕好多的她﹐毅然放下朝九晚五的工作而決定流浪一年。當時的她好像已經離家半年了﹐旅途中的差不多每一站都是從COUCHSURFING或HOSPITALITY((類似COUCHSURFING的團體)裡找地方投宿的﹐這不但為她省下許多住宿費用﹐也在沿途中結識了不少朋友﹐體驗到平常旅行中沒有機會遇到的經歷。MANDY在我家只小住了三天﹐可能我在秘魯沒有太多機會說廣東話﹐而她流浪了半年也鮮少遇到華人﹐更沒想到來秘魯投宿的家裡主人竟會說中文﹐所以雖然初相識但彼此也挺投機的。

MANDY把自己的頭髮剪得比一般男子還短﹐應該是為了不讓自己引人注目﹐心想她一個單身的年輕女子背包客﹐而且又是亞洲人﹐再加上中南美許多地方的治安不太好﹐語言溝通也不容易﹐我真佩服她敢獨自流浪的勇氣。她已經走遍了真個南美洲了﹐包括自己很嚮往的巴西和智利﹐都已經給她走透了﹗她整個行程都是沒有計劃的﹐愛在什麼國家停留多久都隨心所欲﹐只要最後一站是阿根廷以乘搭回港的飛機就行了。聽她說現在剛回到了香港稍作休息﹐以為下一站印度之旅做好準備﹐真是羨煞旁人﹗

有了第一次愉快的HOSTING經驗後﹐不到一個星期後我又接收了第二位住客。STEPHAN來自德國﹐在拿到經濟學位後﹐就在智利當了兩個月的義務工作者 - 當導遊帶遊客去觀看企鵝﹐而且本身也要照料企鵝的居住環境。STEPHAN的計劃是在三個月裡由秘魯開始一直玩到墨西哥。在秘魯裡除了遊覽新世界七大奇觀馬丘比丘外﹐他也在亞馬遜河流上渡過了整整一個星期﹐為的是想體驗當地人的生活方式。他試過自己租了一只小木船獨自劃在亞馬遜河探險﹐半途中遇到蜜蜂攻擊﹐他竟想也沒想就跳進河裡﹐也忘了著名的吃人魚就在亞馬遜河裡。當然STEPHAN沒有遇到吃人魚﹐他從亞馬遜回來後當笑話般告訴我他的經歷﹐不過我就為他捏了一把冷汗。

STEPHAN在我家前後住了兩個星期﹐而我也一盡地主之誼帶他到市里的觀光區和一嘗當地秘魯餐和不同的亞洲料理。他第一次喝珍珠奶茶後﹐也竟立刻上癮﹐差不多每晚晚餐後都是珍珠奶茶當甜品的。古零精怪的他也突發奇想地到我家附近的女子監獄想要探訪一些女犯以給她們精神上的鼓勵﹐誰知他竟選擇要探訪兩位前秘魯恐怖份子SHINING PATH的女死囚﹐結果當然不得已﹐還被盤問了一輪以確定他不是她們的一份子。

與他也談了很多關於我們亞洲人和他們歐洲人的文化差別。STEPHAN辯護似地向我解釋他們德國人因為二戰時的惡行讓許多人一直到現在都認為他們為人冷血和不近人情﹐但其實他們只是比較慢熱而已﹐不象拉丁人般表面熱情洋溢﹐但友情快來快去﹐誠意不足。他們德國人會用上些時間先去觀察﹐適應﹐然後才接納其他人﹐卻被別人誤解為冷漠和無情。我不能完全認同他說的是完全正確﹐但起碼他讓我認識到一個容易相處和熱愛冒險的德國人。

剛開始時我還以為COUCHSURFING這類玩意兒只有西方人才熱衷﹐卻在網上發現不少馬來西亞人也是會員﹐還時不時有組織聚會活動呢﹗有些朋友會覺得貿然接收陌生人來家裡住是很冒險的﹐可能會引賊/狼入室﹔我也承認每一次接收住客時都抱着五十五十的心情﹐萬一真的不好運收留了一個精神有問題的或態度很差的住客﹐我也只有不客氣的下逐客令的了 - 幸好直到現在都還沒遇到任何不開心的事情。

親親和擁抱

在西方國家﹐男女性朋友間碰面時會擁抱與親吻面頰以示友善 - 我也已習慣每當與女性朋友見面時需要互相吻一次或兩次﹔但之前在吉布提時稍微不同﹐不知道是當地人或埃塞爾比亞人的習俗﹐每次與女性朋友見面時卻需要互吻四次﹐也就是左右面頰各兩次。一般上不止男方吻女方﹐就算女性朋友間也會互親對方面頰以示禮貌。不過男性朋友間當然不會彼此親吻面頰﹐只是握手或來個擁抱就行了。


在秘魯辦公室裡的女同事們通常一大早來上班時﹐第一件事就是與每一位同事輪流互相親吻面頰問好。其中一位女同事後來決定不要再這樣子下去了﹐她告訴我不想每天一來上班臉上就有幾十個人的口水。有些人是真的用嘴吻的﹐曾經見過一些朋友真的每次都很用力的吻下去﹔有些人卻只是用面頰輕碰對方面頰﹐然後嘟着嘴‘咀咀’ 聲地作狀當吻了 - 我就是屬于後者的‘吻’法。因為之前在吉布提已習慣了這種見面方式﹐所以去到秘魯後也很容易地入鄉隨俗了﹐只是有時可惜為什麼不能吻對方四次 :P


不過來自巴基斯坦的一位工程師﹐也是一名回教徒﹐開始時就對這種見面方式避之則吉。記得第一天他來報到時﹐其中一名女同事很熱情的上前要吻他的臉﹐他把臉一避開﹐那女同事見他反抗﹐竟吻了他的頸項 (幸好沒留下口紅印)﹐ 弄得大夥兒哭笑不得﹐說這男的被非禮(MOLEST)了。不過過了幾個星期後﹐這工程師好像開竅了﹐以後見到女同事後都會主動趨前擁抱及親吻對方面頰。


我就曾經與我的西文老師談到關於親吻面頰的見面方式。老師是個典型的古巴裔女子﹐熱情豪爽﹐一點也不扭扭捏捏。記得她有一次上課時突然發表她的性愛觀點﹐說她喜歡沙灘裸晒﹐又說她天天都需要性愛﹐把當時初來報到的我嚇了一跳。


一次閑談中我告訴老師﹐象他們拉丁式的見面方式在我的國家是很少見的﹐有也大多數是受英文教育或放洋回來的人才會這樣子。年輕的一輩我不清楚﹐不過一般我與朋友間見面時只是握手﹐點頭﹐說聲嗨而已﹐擁抱和親吻面頰都不常見﹐與友族朋友更不用說了。誰知她聽了後竟難以置信的問我﹐你不親吻或擁抱對方﹐如何表示你當他是朋友﹐表示你關心他呢﹖我就反駮除了擁抱和吻﹐還有很多其他的方式來表達你關心方的。可能這些做法沒有那麼直接﹐但效果還是一樣的啊﹗也有些事情只要意會就可以了﹐不是每種感覺一定要用直接的行動來表示的。可能一般東方人表達愛或關心的方式不一樣吧﹗就好像‘我愛你’這類對白﹐我們也不常常括在嘴邊﹐但不代表我們不愛對方啊﹗(不過現在想起來﹐有時候還是直接爽快地說出口更好。。。自相矛盾)


我也向老師解釋亞洲國家的文化背景不一樣﹐思想也比較傳統保守﹐更何況馬來西亞是個回教國家﹐男女性朋友之間通常不會有太親密的動作。老師她還是覺得我所說的一切不可思議﹐剛巧我們留意到隔壁座的一對中年夫婦﹕太太離座上廁所﹐彼此就吻對方一下﹔從廁所回來後﹐雙方又再吻一下﹐點完菜後﹐侍應生一走後﹐對雙方又再吻一下﹔她然後就問我﹐情人或夫妻間總會親嘴吧﹗我說當然有啦﹐不過不會象他們西方國家般開放﹐爽爽要在那裡吻都可以﹐我們大馬人比較少人會在大庭廣眾親熱的﹐如果有的話﹐反而會被人家嘲諷有傷風化﹐或教壞細路呢﹗(記得幾年前一名華裔青年在SRI HARTMAS 一帶只因在大庭廣眾下發表愛的宣言而被群毆至重傷不治的新聞﹐如果告訴老師的話﹐她一定不敢踏足馬來西亞了。)


她後來又告訴我她不能一天沒有親吻或擁抱﹐因為她需要感到被人關心和愛﹐而且這是她能量(STRENGTH)的來源﹐對我所說得所謂的保守社會認為是很冷漠的行為。我告訴她我無可否認擁抱是很窩心的動作﹐但也只有在適當的時候才會發揮它的作用 -比如朋友需要鼓勵時﹐一個擁抱可以讓他感覺到你對他的支持﹐或者祝福朋友時加上一個吻﹐才會感到POWERFUL。如果這是常常做的動作﹐在這些特別的時刻就它們的感染力就相對的減少了。


不過也難怪她不能相信我所說的﹐ 因為她從來未去過亞洲﹐ 而在南美洲的亞裔們也早已入鄉隨俗了﹐ 所以她對得我所說的一切難以相信。她反而很想去馬來西亞見識一下﹐看看沒有親吻和擁抱的社會是怎樣的。我笑她說如果她真的來馬來西亞就要暫時封嘴了﹐不然見到人就吻的話可能會被人誤以為發花痴呢﹗


最後老師又問了我﹐有吻過我媽媽沒有﹐那時我才突然發現﹐別說吻額頭﹐我好像連擁抱都沒有一個給過老媽子﹐當下我提醒自己下次如果一回馬來西亞後﹐遇見她的第一件事﹐就是一定要給她一個深深的擁抱。。。不過親吻的話﹐還是免了吧﹐我可不想嚇着了我老媽子。。。

吃在秘魯

My No.1 Favourite in the Peruvian Cuisine - Ceviche!

I have to admit that have never had any idea about Peruvian cuisine before coming to this country. As a Malaysian I am lucky to have the opportunity to enjoy all kind of fusion from all over Asia. I think that this is why our taste buds are a bit difficult to satisfy. But luckily as a ‘Fan Tong’ (rice bucket), I am glad that rice is also a main meal in the Peruvian food and that’s why I have put on much weight recently. A normal set lunch in the local restaurant is about 5-7soles (about USD1.80 - 2.20) and you have an entrada (appetizer), a main course and a drink (either inca cola or the blackish maize juice chicha morada). And with such a price you can easily get full and satisfied.

Anticucho (Cow's heart) and Conchita (Raw mussel with only lime and onion)

First thing I was being recommended when arrived in Lima is the Peruvian national meal: ceviche, a smoked raw fish fillet (with lime / lemon sauce) served with sweet potato, maize and onion. It is right now my favourite appertiser and always more onion or cebolla is more delicious! However, after a few stomachaches, I realized that as a foreigner we better choose to take ceviche from a decent restaurant, which at least manages their fish well and clean. I have tried the ceviche from a 6soles menu including chicken rice and ended up half day sitting in the toilet. It does not mean that the small restaurant is not clean, but just that as a foreigner our stomach is not ‘acostumbre’ and should carefully choose the place to eat ceviche. Ceviche can be an appetizer or a main course itself. But I prefer to have it as an appetizer (to have a big plate of raw fish not my idea of a main course anyway)….

Cuy - the fried guinea pig - irritating but yummy....

Pachamanca - a traiditonal food for people fromthe highland

During my visit to Huaraz I’ve got the opportunity to try the fried guinea pig ‘cuy’ and pachamanca. The latter consists of meat (chicken, beef, pork or all three together) baked in an earthen oven. You can see how they make it as shown in the pictures from Wikipedia. The dish served with sweet potato, tamale and Lima beans. I am not sure the one I’ve tried is baked in a traditional way but the restaurant I went ‘La Colina’ is a local favourite restaurant (and luckily it was not recommended by the travelers’ bible Lonely Planet’ yet, so the price is still local rate and not many gringos there.

As for cuy, I’ve seen some restaurants cut off the guinea pig’s head so they can attract and sell to more travelers, who feel better eating it without seeing the head. But sad to say that the meat at the face is actually one of the most delicious parts - I almost left the cuy’s head faceless and the photo I’ve taken on the leftover is just like the mummy I saw in the museum. It is served with potatoes and salsa picante. As a first timer I suggest to order only ¼ which is enough for one person. I also want to apologise for those who think I am a bad person for eating guinea pig - Im just following my motto - do whatever the locals do, eat whatever the locals eat!!

Parihuela - Seafood chowder, looks spicy but actually not at all.

Chupe, a kind of seafood chowder with milk, served with with prawn (chupe de camarones) or with fish (chupe de pescado) is also my favourite. Another type of chowder is parihuela de mariscos, mixed seafood chowder. My personal favorite is chupe de pescado, which is normally served with rice in it, with a fried egg and maize. The chowder is rich and sometimes a bit spicy. But as a Malaysian who likes Thai food and curry so much, this is far too mild.

Lomo saltado - means salty beef steak, stir fried with onion and tomato, and served with french fries

Arroz con Pollo (Chicken rice in Spanish) and Arroz con Mariscos (Rice with Seafood)

Chicken rice a.k.a arroz con pollo is a friendlier dish to visitors / tourists in Peru. Sometimes the rice is served in green colour with a chicken breast. Other touirists friendly dishes are like chicharon de pollo (chicken), or de mariscos (seafood) or camarones (shrimps). Normally these are served with the yellowish spicy sauce called ‘aji’. They can be found in almost all local restaurants. Lomo saltado, or pollo saltado is beef fillet chicken or fillet stir fried with tomato and onion. This is one of my favorite which normally served with rice, and all these dishes are ideal for foreigners who dare not risk their stomach for ceviche or weird tasting chupe.

Chicharone de pollo (Chicken) and Mariscos (Seafood) - a friendlier choice to visitors who are just arrived in Peru and have not got their stomach ready for Ceviche

Chicharon de Chancho (pork) - like the Cantonese BBQ pork (siu yuk)

Churros - breadstick best served with hot chocolate or black coffee

Avolcado salad

Another thing surprises me in Peru is Chifa: local Chinese owned restaurant, serving Chinese-Peruvian fusion food. The word chifa comes from the Chinese word: eat rice, and they somehow translate it to chifa and now it becomes one of the most popular eatery at Peru. The locals like chaufa, which is a direct Cantonese pronunciation of fried rice. And the quantity served in chifas is always more than it should be. Normally a fried rice for one person is served in the amount of two, where to take away the leftover (para llevar) is a very common thing here, even in a decent restaurant. Chifas can be divided into two major types: owned by Cantonese and owned by Hokkiens. I would say the more famous restaurants and more delicious food are from those owned by Cantonese, which normally have longer history in Peru.

The quantum of food served in Lima (or perhaps the whole Peru?) is always big, and I have observed even locals they cant always finish such quantity and have to ask for takeaway, or order only half of a personal meal. I am not sure how they measure a personal meal would be here…at first I always ended up takeaway my leftover food and now, I rather order half whatever personal meal on the meal, then it will be a real ‘personal meal’ for me.

I’ve also found out that Peruvians prefer stronger tastes, for example when a dish is served the first thing most the people will do is put some salt or soy sauce on it before tasting whether it is salty enough. For me most of the food, especially those served in the chifas are always too salty as per my level. Asking for less salt or ajinomoto has become the first thing I’ll ask when ordering my meals.

There are still a lot to share when it comes to Peruvian food. It is actually a very unique cuisine like and unfortunately not widely recognized internationally. It should have got the same attention like Thai, Chinese, Indian or Japanese food. Perhaps the Peruvian government has to put more afford into it.

Fried rice in a personal plate - this is how I gained my additional 5kg during my stay in Peru

Huaraz - 我希望退休後養老的地方

除了 Isle of Skye以外﹐Huaraz 應該是另一個給我感覺象世外桃源的地方。一個高度在3000米以上的秘魯小鎮﹐到處都可看到雪山﹔當地的居民還是很樸素﹐沒有象旅遊聖地 Cuzco 般的商業化﹔雖然第一天剛到時有不輕的高山反應﹐但喝了至少五杯的 Coca 茶﹐第二天也就精神奕奕了。

如果可以的話﹐真希望退休後就在此定居下來。在這兒養老應該可以活得更長命些吧﹗

在這裡就遇到了一個泰國人﹐17年前來這兒登山﹐因為太喜歡這裡了﹐從此就在這兒定居下來﹐還開了一家泰國餐館﹐連 Lonely Planet 都有介紹。他還在這裡娶了一個哥倫比亞裔的太太﹐生了兩個可愛的小美眉。知道我是馬來西亞人﹐雖然不是同鄉﹐但好歹也是鄰居 (大家都來自東南亞) ﹐所以對我也特別優待﹔他太太還拿出他們的家族相簿來告訴我他們相識結婚的過程﹗

不過相信當初他決定拋開泰國的一切而跑到秘魯來﹐應該是下了很大的決心和勇氣吧﹗為了實現夢想﹐就會有所犧牲 - 有時候顧慮太多可能到頭來只會一事無成。。。。