終于，有了一次和妻子單獨出去的旅行安排，目的地斯里蘭卡，沒錯，就是它——“印度洋上的明珠”，被馬可·波羅認為是最美麗的島嶼。

Finally I was able to go on a trip with my wife to Sri Lanka， yes， you heard me – the crown jewel of Indian Ocean and the most beautiful island deemed by Marco Polo.

出發(fā)前的不順

An Episode before Departure

6月26日，早早出發(fā)來到首都國際機場，想著即將開啟的旅程，心情既激動又興奮，行程計劃是先去香港，然后轉(zhuǎn)去斯里蘭卡。安檢、登機一切都很順利，可登機后飛機遲遲不起飛，焦急地等了四個小時后被告知飛機故障，航班取消，之前躍躍欲試的好心情頓時一落千丈，更倒霉的是轉(zhuǎn)機過程中，托運的行李箱也被弄壞了。

好在經(jīng)過幾個小時的協(xié)調(diào)、溝通，終于確定了我們的轉(zhuǎn)機航班，凌晨1點，直飛斯里蘭卡。經(jīng)過漫長的等待和煎熬，飛機終于起飛，斯里蘭卡，我們終于要來了。

June 26， we showed up early in Beijing Capital International Airport， totally excited about our trip. The plan was to go to Hong Kong and transfer to Sri Lanka. Security and check-in were smooth， however， the plane just wouldn't take off. After waiting for four hours， we were notified that there was a mechanical malfunction and the flight was canceled. Our good mood was completely spoiled. To make it worse， we also broke our luggage through the transfer process.

After several hours of negotiation， we finally confirmed our connecting flight and departed for Sri Lanka at 1AM. Through a long turmoil， we were finally heading for Sri Lanka！

有來有往是常情

Warm Welcome

辛苦了棕櫚酒店派過來接機的小伙子。航班的取消、晚點也打亂了他所有計劃，本來人家是要第二天開啟蜜月之旅的。盡管如此，小伙子也沒什么怨言，還貼心地為我們拎包推行李，指引我們順利地找到買電話卡、換貨幣的地方，去酒店的路上也一直熱情地為我們介紹當?shù)氐娘L土人情，路上我看到攻略里提到的當?shù)氐摹包S金椰子”，不禁脫口說出名字，小伙就立馬讓司機師傅下去買來送給我們，由衷感動，真切體會到斯里蘭卡人民的純樸和友好。到達酒店后知道接下來的行程中恐怕都再見不到他，有點小遺憾，不過人家是去度蜜月，所以我們用中國的方式，包了個紅包給他，表達我們的感謝和祝福。

Our delay due to flight cancellation had also spoiled the schedule of our local guide， a very kind guy from The Palms hotel to pick us up who had originally planned on going to his honeymoon trip the second day. Even though， he did not complain but instructed us very patiently where to buy phone card and make currency exchange. On our way to the hotel， he also introduced to us the local cultures. He was so enthusiastic that he immediately asked the taxi driver to buy us \"the golden Coconut\" that I mentioned from reading a travel book. When we arrived at the hotel， knowing that we might not see him again， we gave him a red envelope to express our gratitude and blessings.

歲月安好復何求

Good Days Like This

終于來到棕櫚酒店，它與鋼筋混凝土的高樓大廈完全不同。這家酒店充滿濃濃的熱帶情調(diào)，目之所及是成片的綠草地、高高的椰子樹、回轉(zhuǎn)的木長廊、寬敞又通透的休息廳、精致又小巧的酒吧、溫馨又典雅的餐廳、漂亮又清澈的游泳池和周邊悠然呼應的排排躺椅，既浪漫又愜意，雖簡單卻有情調(diào)，讓你第一眼便情不自禁地喜歡上這里。而且酒店是鄰海而建，軟綿細膩的沙灘蔓延進酒店的圍欄，一直連接到泳池。出酒店小后門十步遠就是波浪翻涌的印度洋，它像個耍脾氣的少女，嬌俏又霸道。

酒店的主體建筑是它的客房部，只有4-5層，錯落有致地排布在草地與泳池之間?？头亢啒愣匀?，基本每個房間都有一個很大的開放式陽臺。坐在陽臺的休閑椅上或閉目傾聽海之囈語，或憑欄遠眺，感覺歲月靜好。很喜歡客房的沐浴乳和洗發(fā)液，有清雅微甜的花香，仿佛把大自然的味道裝在了瓶中。

We have finally arrived at The Palms hotel. It's completely different from the high-rise building with reinforced concrete. This hotel has a strong tropical atmosphere， all you see were meadow， coconut trees， winding wooden hallway， spacious resting space， sophisticated bar and elegant restaurants， you cannot help but fall in love with this place immediately. The hotel is built by the sea， the beach extends all the way into the hotel fence and onto the swimming pool. Ten steps outside the hotel door， you are within the reach of the most volatile Indian Ocean， like a willful girl， sweet yet potent.

The main building of the hotel is its guestroom department， which is only a four-five floor building， located between the meadow and the swimming pool. Every guest room has a spacious open terrace and a fresh decoration style. Lying on the loungers， listening to the sea， you will know what a good day means. I especially liked the body wash and shampoo provided by the hotel， one sniff and you feel like they have bottled the sweet fragrance of nature inside.

返璞歸真 與卿同醉

Return to Innocence

最神奇的是酒店的院子里有很多機靈可愛的小松鼠，它們一點也不怕人，拿些餅干、堅果之類的小零食很容易就能把它們吸引過來。膽子大些的直接扒著你的手指細細碎碎地吃，謹慎些的迅速從你手中捧起美味跑去一旁慢慢享用。通常還會飛來很多烏鴉，也想討一杯羹，或者干脆從松鼠手中搶食，雖然你爭我奪但并不傷害對方?？此鼈兡阕肺叶?、你進我退的斗智斗勇，著實有趣。在這里真切地體會到什么叫人與自然的和諧相處，奇妙而感動。

我和妻子都很喜歡這里，因此決定放棄原先“東奔西走”的旅行計劃，就窩在酒店里，充分地放松和享受。清晨我們一起光腳漫步，感受沙灘的柔軟與清涼，感受海風的輕撫，陽光的親吻，暢快地在泳池里嬉水，累了、乏了就悠哉地躺在舒適的木椅上，聽著波聲滔滔，看著海浪拍岸，享受陽光的沐浴。夜晚，一起走在松軟的沙灘上，追憶起戀愛時的甜蜜往事，仿佛回到以前的青蔥歲月。偶遇共享迷人月色的可愛小螃蟹，不禁興起一路追逐，最后在雙方的對視下嘻笑收場，各自打道回府。

沙灘旁的小酒吧，時而傳來旋律悠揚的經(jīng)典老歌，雖在異國他鄉(xiāng)卻仍感熟悉親切，不同的民族，不同的文化，但有同樣的渴望，同樣的向往。

The most magical thing was the cutest little squirrels in the hotel courtyard naturally not afraid of human. It's easy to lure them over with cookies and nuts. Some squirrels would eat by directly holding onto your fingers， other more conscientious ones would grab the food from your hand and run away to enjoy. There were also many hungry ravens， sometimes they just snatched it away from the squirrels' hands. Though fighting for food， they did not hurt each other. And it's so interesting to see them fighting each other with wits， and it's here that I could feel the true meaning of harmony between man and nature.

Since my wife and I both liked this place so much， we abandoned our original separated travel plans， and decided to stay inside the hotel to fully relax and enjoy. In the morning we took a walk on the beach， felt the sea breeze， sunshine， and then we went to soak in the swimming pool. When we were tired， we lied on the comfortable wooden chair， and again enjoyed the ocean and the sunbathing. At night time， we walked on the sands， recalling our sweet memories when we were young， as if we went back in time. We even chased the little crabs on the beach before we headed back.

Now old classic songs were heard through the bar by the beach， we felt extremely familiar. Although we were in another country， with different ethnic groups and different cultures， we had the same desire and the same longing.

跨越國際的友誼

Cross-Border Friendship

很巧，接待我們的一個服務(wù)生YaLi，是當?shù)貏偖厴I(yè)的一位大學生，曾在吉林大學留學一年學習中文。恰好，我妻子也是吉林人，這一下子拉近了我們的距離。在酒店的幾天里，YaLi盡心盡力幫助我們克服語言交流上的困難、解決飲食差異上的習慣問題，給予我們?nèi)缂胰税愕年P(guān)心和照顧?；貒?，我們也仍有聯(lián)系，希望這跨越空間的國際友誼能延續(xù)下去。

Our waiter YaLi is a local student freshly graduated from the University， who has studied Chinese for one year in JiLin University. Coincidentally my wife is from JiLin， this has really shortened our distance. In the next few days， YaLi has done his best to help us overcome language difficulties， food flavors， and took care of us like family. We remain in contact after we went back to China， and we hope that this cross-border international friendship would continue.

短暫的斯里蘭卡之行結(jié)束了，我們收獲了滿滿的快樂與幸福，還有很多小驚喜。感謝曾給予我們幫助的酒店人員，感謝別致浪漫的棕櫚酒店，感謝熱情善良的斯里蘭卡人民，一切都是最美的安排。

Our short trip to Sri Lanka has ended， and we have harvested much happiness and joy， and a lot of small surprises. We would like to thank all the hotel staff that had helped us in the most romantic The Palms hotel， and the kind and passionate Sri Lankan people. Everything is the best arrangement in life indeed.