1. Who are you?
My name is Aiyu, someone who’s constantly finding out who she is.
2. Where are you now?
Shanghai. More specifically? A cafe on a weekend. There’s no one here; in this huge cafe, I’m the only customer. It feels really good.
3. What do you do when you’re not travelling?
I work and live an ordinary life. I learn to get along with my co-workers, my friends, my husband and myself. I teach yoga: I teach a few classes every week. It feels quite good to be in class. Aside from all of this, I’m learning about Buddhism. I’m interested in Gautama Buddha’s philosophies. I think they’re really useful to me in my life, so I want to understand them more.
4. What was the last piece of music you listened to?
A song by Amanda Palmer called “Vegemite.” It’s cute and funny.
5. Tell us briefly the travel story you shared in LOST.
I wrote about my experience living in Gaomin Temple in Yangzhou. It was an experience that was completely different from city life. Whether it was the daily routine, having meals, labour, meditation, or people’s viewpoints, etc. it was all very fresh and very beneficial to me.
6. What do you love about travel?
The freshness, curiosity I feel towards the unknown—I very much enjoy this feeling. I’ve come to like the many things I encounter on my travels very easily. Whether it’s people, sights, or things, I like all of them. Like the owner of some tiny shop, a cute-looking cloud in the sky, a stray puppy at a seaside, etc.
7. What do you hate about travel?
It’s really bad if you have the wrong travel partner, because you have to take into account all of their expectations. Maybe you don’t think their expectations are terribly important, but there are times when you still have to go through with them.
8. Do you like to travel alone or with people? Why?
It depends on the situation. Some places suit solo travel, while some places suit group travel. It depends on my mood at the time.
9. What do you think about during travel?
I tend to live for the moment.
10. Any future travel plans?
This year, I plan to stay in China; I’m preparing to go to Tibet again, and two places in Garzê, Sichuan. If I have a chance, I’ll go to Dali again. It’s because there’s someone there who fascinates me.
Photo: This photo is from the time I lived in India for a month. I spent every day in the company of bananas and coconuts!
English translation by Kelly Yuen
1. 你是誰?
我的名字是愛瑜Aiyu。一個也在不斷認識我自己是誰的人。
2. 你現在在哪?
上海。具體嗎？一個周末的咖啡館，沒有一個人，偌大的cafe裏面就我一個客人，這感覺很爽。
3. 你不在旅行時平常會做什麼？
工作、過柴米油鹽的日子。學習和同事、朋友、丈夫還有自己相處。
教瑜伽，每周都有幾堂課要帶，上課的感覺很不錯。
除此，我還在學習佛法。我對釋迦牟尼佛的“理論”感興趣，我感覺對我的生活有用，所以想要了解更多。
4. 你最後聽的一首歌是什麼?
Amanda Palmer的一首歌叫 “Vegemite”，可愛又搞笑。
5. 用一段話，簡單地告訴我們你在《LOST》分享的個人旅行故事。
我寫了自己在揚州高旻寺生活的經歷，這是一段和在城市生活裏完全不同體驗的日子，無論是作息規律、就餐、勞作、冥想、人們的思想觀點等等，很新鮮，又很受益。
6. 旅行最讓你喜歡的是什麼？
對未知總是充滿新鮮、好奇，這個感覺我很享受。
我很容易喜歡旅行中的很多東西，人、景、物，都會讓我喜歡。比如某個小店的老板，天上的一朵可愛的雲，海邊流浪的小狗等等。
7. 旅行最讓你討厭的是什麼？
如果旅伴不對，比較糟糕，因為要顧及很多對方的要求，這些要求也許你並不覺得重要，但你又不得不做的時候。
8. 你喜歡獨自旅行還是跟朋友一起？為什麼？
分情況，有些地方適合一個人，有些地方適合和朋友一起，看當時我的心境。
9. 旅行時經常會想到什麼？
會比較融入在當下。
10. 接下來有什麼旅行的打算嗎？
今年準備在中國內，準備再去西藏，還有四川甘孜州的兩個地方，如果有機會再去大理看看。其實，都是因為那裏有吸引我的人。
圖：這是我在印度生活一個月時的照片，每天都有香蕉和椰子陪伴！
