Dec.
2004, Xene #43
Solo Female Traveler
By Vanessa Fortyn
女性の一人旅
取材・文 バネッサ・フォーティン
For a woman, the thought of traveling alone in a foreign
country can be daunting. We're always told it's a
dangerous world out there, and bad things happen to
women all the time. I've backpacked a lot by myself
and have a few nasty tales to tell. One story comes
to mind, not so much for the incident itself, but
more for what happened afterwards.
外国での女性の一人旅は常に危険と隣り合わせである。
In Spain I was cornered on the ground floor of an
apartment building by a straight-razor-wielding man.
I was so terrified by that flashing blade that I couldn't
help but scream. It was no ordinary scream: it was
a piercing, blood curdling, supernatural screeeeeeech
that froze my assailant into shocked immobility. He
seemed to waver about slashing my throat, but probably
realized that if he did so, he still wouldn't have
enough time to steal my valuables. Help had to be
on the way after that yell from hell. He quickly grabbed
my necklace and dashed away, leaving me quivering
with fear. Moments later, some worried tenants arrived
and whisked me into their home. I couldn't speak Spanish,
and they couldn't speak English, so they rang the
British consulate. (I have a British passport and
had been working in England.) The phone rang for a
long time before being answered by a woman with a
plummy accent and a hint of impatience. I was traveling
by myself and felt incredibly alone and afraid. I
couldn't think straight, and all I wanted was a calming
voice. However, I think I may have interrupted an
afternoon cocktail party or a siesta, so instead of
being given some comfort I was given a haughty lecture
on how I had brought this on myself because I was
traveling by myself.
私がスペインへ旅行したときのこと、刃物を振り回す男に建物の隅に追い詰められたことがあった。
あまりの恐怖に私は悲鳴以上の金切り声をあげ、驚いた相手は私ののどを切りつける代わりに
ネックレスを素早く握り締め走り去って行った。心配した人たちがスペイン語を話せない
私のためにイギリス領事館へ電話をかけてくれた。心細く混乱していた私は穏やかな声を
期待していたのだが、どうやら午後のカクテルパーティかシエスタを邪魔してしまったのか、
電話口の女性は私の一人旅に対して横柄なお説教を始めたのだ。
I squeaked, "What should I do now?"
The woman audibly breathed in, gathered every bit
of colonial superiority in her being, and in a voice
that suggested she was speaking to a complete imbecile,
pronounced, "Go back to Australia!"
I was furious. I pictured her with lips pursed and
eyebrows raised in contempt, a martini in one hand,
and a group of friends calling her back to the sun-drenched
balcony.
"Listen," I spat out in a strained whisper
(my voice had all but disappeared because of the scream),
"I may be a woman, but I have every right to
travel in the world and to see things that I've heard
and read about without being in a state of constant
fear for my safety. Just because I am a woman, why
should I never travel by myself? And why, when I am
the victim of a crime, am I considered the instigator,
or even deserving of such a fate, purely because I
am a female by herself. Should we women never go anywhere,
never do anything? Do you think that by merely being
alone in the same vicinity as a man, we're at fault
because we're tempting him to attack us? Go back to
Australia? Fuck that, lady! And fuck you for making
me feel bad. You go back to your cocktail party and
I hope you choke on a slice of chorizo!"
Utterly humbled, she murmured her apologies and even
invited me around for a glass of sangria. I declined.
Okay, so my comeback diatribe only ever took place
in my head as I rode the train out of Madrid and
off to my next destination. I was, after all, a
mere 22 and lacked the eloquence and confidence
that, now in my 30's, I develop after about five
beers. This is not the only bad experience that
I have had on the road, but I've continued to travel
by myself around the world. Why? Because traveling
is a wonderful experience, and sometimes, due to
timing or money or inclination, it's difficult to
get any friends to come along. But if no one can
go with you, it needn't mean that you don't go because
for all the bad stories, there are so many good
ones.
「じゃあどうすればいいのよ。」と言い返す私に、彼女は息を荒げて反論した。
「オーストラリアに帰りなさいよ！」
私は激怒し、「私は女だけど、世界中を旅する権利はあるわ。オーストラリアに
戻れって？あんたの方がパーティーに戻ってソーセージでものどに詰まらせてれば
いいのよ！」と言い放った。
一人旅の途中、良くない出来事はこれだけに収まらなかったが、
それでも私は一人旅を続けた。旅には悪いことも起こるけれども、
良い出来事もたくさんあるからだ。
Like the time an Egyptian family invited me to dinner
at their home in Giza. I was wearing cutoff jeans
and a T-shirt, and had dry, sun-bleached hair. Anyway,
after dinner, the women insisted on dressing me
up like an Egyptian woman. They chose a fuchsia
frock and coupled it with violently hot pink lipstick.
They tried to comb out my hair, and succeeded in
turning it into an electric frizzball. They cooed
with delight before taking me downstairs to show
the men. The men were so impressed they took me
on a walking tour of Giza to visit all the relatives.
At the first home we stopped at, they offered me
a cup of tea that was so strong and so sweet I had
to down it in one gulp so as not to prolong the
agony of drinking it.
"Oooh she loves tea!" They cried, and
promptly filled up my glass again. At every other
house the story was the same, but luckily the women
were there to touch up my lipstick.
There is also the time that I was on a crowded ferry
from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to the island of
Zanzibar. The ferry was so packed that it was riding
low in the sea. I was chatting to some Germans and
we had our feet dangling over the side, skimming
the water. All of a sudden we saw some grey fins
rapidly approaching. "Sharks!" we yelled,
scrambling to draw up our legs. Meters from us,
two magnificent dolphins leapt out of the water.
They proceeded to swim with the ferry for about
an hour, so close we could almost touch them.
エジプトのある一家の夕食に招かれた時のこと、日に焼けた髪にジーンズ姿の
私を見た女性たちは私にエジプト女性のの正装を着せてくれ、親戚に披露しようと
連れ歩いた。どの家庭でも紅茶が出され、私はその紅茶が苦手だったため一気に飲み干したのだが、
「まぁ！紅茶が大好きなのね！」とまた熱心に紅茶を勧めてくれた。
I'm not the only woman to have backpacked alone
with great stories. I only had to look as far as
the Xene office for others.
Our Editor-in-Chief, Lynn Onozuka, was travelling
alone in London, and happened to get lost in a quiet
neighbourhood. She was standing at a bus stop looking
at a map trying to work out where she was, when
she noticed a dodgy character coming straight for
her.
"He was huge," she says, "with long
moppy hair and bushy beard, wearing a black leather
jacket and pants both covered in pins. He was holding
a bottle in a paper bag which obviously was some
kind of alcoholic beverage." Lynn tightened
her grip on her handbag avoided eye contact. However,
the man began to talk to her.
"He asked me if I was a tourist and if I was
lost. I said yes, and he asked me where I was heading.
I hesitated for a moment, but then I told him the
name of my hotel. He pointed at the map where we
were, and started working out how to get to my hotel.
Eventually, he walked me to the subway station and
as soon as we got there, he turned away and walked
back. It's really not such a big thing or anything,
but this kind of small sweetness really touches
you."
心温まる話として、ジーン編集長からロンドンを一人旅したときのことを聞いた。
道に迷い地図を広げながらバス停に立っていると、怪しげな大男が彼女に近寄ってきた。
彼女はバッグを握り締め、目をあわせないようにした。でも彼は道に迷ったのか？
どこへ行きたいんだ？と聞く。彼女は迷ったがホテルの名前を告げると彼は地図上で
説明し始め、駅まで案内すると去って行ったという。
In Russia, Mariko, Xene Editorial Assistant, took
the weeklong journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway
from Vladivostok to Moscow. She shared a compartment
with three huge, menacing-looking Russian guys.
They were armed with handguns and automatic rifles.
Mariko had no language in common with them, but
nevertheless ended up hanging out with them.
"They turned out to be the loveliest guys,"
she says.
"Every mealtime, they shared their food with
me, urging me to eat more. The train journey was
really fun. All the people I met in Russia were
very nice. I had such a great time that I started
learning Russian back in Japan."
Mariko is a big fan of travelling solo, and her
most impressive travel tale happened in Stockholm,
Sweden. It was an event that changed her life. In
the kitchen of a youth hostel she met a Japanese
guy from Sapporo, who, a few years later, became
her husband.
他のスタッフがロシアのシベリア鉄道に一人で乗っていたときのこと、
銃を持った大きくて怖そうなロシア人3人と客室が一緒になったという。
彼女はロシア語を話せなかったが、結局最後には仲よくなり、彼らのおかげで
列車の旅が楽しくなったという。さらにスエーデンの旅では彼女の人生を変える
運命的な出会いがあった。一人旅の途中、ユースホステルで出会った男性こそ、
後に結婚相手となる男性だったのだ。
x
These stories are nice to hear, but I would never
say that as a solo women traveler you can do anything
or go anywhere. Women alone have to exercise caution.
女性の一人旅はどこに行っても何をしてもよいと言うわけではない。
常に警戒心を働かせなくてはならない。
Avoid bad situations. Don't go to neighborhoods
that have bad reputations. Don't go out by yourself
at night unless the area is well lit and there are
lots of people around. Don't parade valuables around
or flash open your wallet as that can make you more
of a target. Do your homework. Find out about the
places you are going to. Speak to other people,
read books, find out what's dodgy and what's okay.
In Mexico City, taxi crime is rife fine avoid taxis,
or get a hotel or hostel to call one for you.
まず、危険な場所を避けること。悪いうわさのある地帯や暗いところ、
人気のないところへは一人で出かけない、貴重品や財布をちらつかせない、
目的地を下調べしておくこと。
Always be aware. You don't need to avoid talking
to all local people, but always be aware of your
surroundings and go with any gut feeling you have
about people who start up a conversation with you.
I believe most people are good, and are curious
about visitors from other countries, but if they
start behaving strangely or asking you to go with
them to somewhere you don't know, then walk away.
Be confident. Walk like you always know where you
are going, even if you don't. If you're in a dodgy
area, don't take your map out in the middle of the
street and gaze around helplessly. If you look weak
and confused, you look vulnerable, and that can
make you an easier prey. If you do get lost, and
you feel nervous, try going into a shop or an office
and ask someone to help. Business people usually
don't want any trouble.
次に、常に回りに注意を払うこと。多くの人は親切だが、少しでもおかしな行動を
始めたら、無視して通り過ぎること。
自信を持つこと。道の真ん中で地図を広げたりせず、知らない場所であっても
知っているかのように歩き、もし道に迷ったら、お店などに入って誰かに助けを
求めること。
Talk with other travelers. You can make new friends,
and they can tell you about places you still want
to visit. Don't be shy about striking up conversations
with people even if they're in groups. Friends and
couples traveling together have probably spent a
lot of time in each other's company and would welcome
someone new to talk to. Also you might pick up some
travel companions to share your experiences with.
そして、他の旅行者と話すこと。新しい友達ができ、あなたの行きたい場所について
教えてくれたり、そこから一緒に旅を続ける仲間ができるかもしれない。
If you still don't feel comfortable with the idea
of traveling by yourself, then don't despair. You
can always join an adventure tour group. These tours
are just like backpacking. They take local transport
and offer a lot of independence, while still giving
you the safety of a group, organized accommodation,
and a tour leader. Try http://www.intrepidtravel.com/
for some great trips to out-of-the way places.
Women shouldn't be afraid to go see the world. Bad
things can happen, but it doesn't mean they always
will.
それでもまだ一人旅に抵抗があるとしても、あきらめる必要なない。
ツアーによっては個々の独立心を尊重してくれるものもある。
女性だからといって一人旅を恐れることはない。悪いことは起きるかもしれない、
でもいつも必ず起きるというものでもないのだから。
