一段充满波折的背包之旅
在抵达这座新城市的时候，我对接下来的旅程充满了期待。远离Kotor的海岸线后，我坐上了开往Dubrovnik的大巴，沿途的美景让我对未知的旅程更加期待。然而，一切的开始，却是那么不如意。
When I arrived in this new city, I was filled with anticipation for the journey ahead. After leaving the coastline of Kotor, I boarded a bus bound for Dubrovnik. The stunning scenery along the way made me even more excited about the unknown adventure. However, the beginning of it all turned out to be far from smooth.
入住这家青旅时，我就觉得有点奇怪。整个地方静悄悄的，一个人影都没有，甚至连青年旅社的接待处也空无一人。周围的寂静让我感到一丝不安，但我当时安慰自己这只是旅途中的小插曲，老板或许只是临时有事出去了吧。我把行李放在房间里，床单看起来是旧的，根本没有换干净。我在房间里等了两个小时，可依然没有人出现。于是我决定拨通电话联系老板。
When I checked into the hostel, I immediately felt something strange. The entire place was eerily quiet—there wasn’t a single person around, not even at the reception desk. The silence around me made me feel uneasy, but I reassured myself that this was just a small hiccup in my journey, maybe the owner was just out on some errand. I put my luggage in the room, and the bed linens looked old, clearly not freshly changed. I waited in the room for two hours, but no one showed up. So, I decided to call the owner.
直到太阳快要下山时，老板才终于姗姗来迟。他满怀歉意，动作熟练地帮我换好了床单和枕套，态度也十分诚恳，还特意倒了一杯饮料表示歉意。我原本打算出去逛逛，不想再耽搁，便礼貌地谢绝了他的好意。现在回想起来，我并没有预料到，这一切只是接下来折腾噩梦的开端。
It wasn’t until the sun was about to set that the owner finally arrived. He apologized profusely and quickly changed the sheets and pillowcases for me. His attitude was sincere, and he even poured me a drink as a gesture of apology. I was eager to explore the city and didn’t want to waste any more time, so I politely declined his offer. Looking back now, I had no idea that this was only the beginning of a series of exhausting nightmares.
老板坚持要亲自为我换床单，这件事让我一度觉得有些奇怪，但也没有多想，或许他只是对卫生很在意吧。安顿好之后，我赶紧拎起随身包，奔向市中心。经过一天的颠簸，我快速地洗了个澡，把东西放好后便开始了夜色中的探索，打算找个当地的餐厅好好吃顿晚饭，犒劳一下自己。
The owner’s insistence on changing the bed linens himself struck me as a bit strange, but I didn’t give it much thought—perhaps he was just particular about cleanliness. After settling down, I grabbed my bag and rushed towards the city center. After a day of traveling, I quickly took a shower, put my things away, and set out to explore the city at night, hoping to reward myself with a nice dinner at a local restaurant.
第二天清晨，我决定在青旅楼下的小店买一个面包当早餐，然后前往城里的古城区Grad散步。晨光穿过古老的小巷，洒在石板路上，让整个城市笼罩在一层柔和的金黄色中。我坐在一个视野开阔的观景台上，迎着清晨的微风，享受着手中的面包和眼前的风景。正在我沉浸在这份宁静时，突然感觉手上一阵异样，低头一看，竟然有一只小虫子爬在我的手背上。我赶紧将它甩掉，虽然心里觉得有些恶心，但也没有太在意。
The next morning, I decided to buy a piece of bread from the hostel’s downstairs shop for breakfast, and then headed towards the city’s old town, Grad, for a walk. The morning sunlight filtered through the ancient alleys, bathing the cobbled streets in a soft golden glow. I sat at a viewpoint, enjoying the morning breeze, the bread in my hand, and the scenery in front of me. Just as I was immersed in this peaceful moment, I suddenly felt something on my hand. Looking down, I saw a bug crawling on the back of my hand. I quickly flicked it away—though I felt a bit disgusted, I didn’t think much of it.
接着我继续在市中心漫步，参观了古老的石头教堂，穿梭在隐蔽的小巷中，偶尔停下来在咖啡馆稍作休息，或者走进手工艺品店看看当地的特色。街道上的石板在岁月的打磨下光滑得发亮，阳光照在上面反射出淡淡的金光，仿佛时光在这里静止。
I continued strolling through the city center, visiting ancient stone churches, wandering through hidden alleys, occasionally stopping at cafes to rest, or entering artisan shops to see the local specialties. The cobblestones on the streets were polished smooth by time, and the sunlight reflected off them with a golden glimmer, as if time itself had stopped in this place.
然而，到了上午，我的身上开始出现一些红色的痕迹，像是被什么叮咬了。最初我以为是普通的皮肤过敏，心想着回去吃点抗过敏的药，休息一晚就好了。然而，谁知第二天早上醒来后，红点变得更加严重，几乎遍布全身，又痛又痒，令我痛苦不堪。我意识到情况不妙，立刻前往当地医院检查。
However, by the late morning, red marks began to appear on my skin, as if I had been bitten by something. At first, I thought it was just a regular skin allergy, so I figured I’d take some antihistamines and rest for the night, and it would be fine. However, when I woke up the next morning, the red spots had gotten much worse, spreading all over my body, and they were itchy and painful, making me extremely uncomfortable. Realizing that something was seriously wrong, I went straight to the local hospital for an examination.
医生的诊断结果简直是晴天霹雳：我被臭虫叮咬。原来，入住的那家青旅竟然有床虱！我顿时感到恶心和恐惧。我被安排注射了一剂药物，医生还给我开了一些药方。打针后，我感到全身无力，疲惫不堪，只能回到旅舍休息。直到傍晚，稍微恢复了一些体力后，我还是决定按照原计划去Pile-Kono山顶看日落，尽管身心疲惫，我不想错过这次机会。
The doctor’s diagnosis was like a bolt from the blue: I had been bitten by bedbugs. It turned out that the hostel I had stayed in was infested with them! I immediately felt nauseous and terrified. The doctor arranged for me to receive an injection and also gave me a prescription for some medication. After the shot, I felt completely exhausted and weak, and I could only return to the hostel to rest. By evening, after recovering a bit of strength, I decided to stick to my original plan to go to Pile-Kono Hill to watch the sunset. Despite being physically and mentally drained, I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
将近两个小时的徒步后，我终于抵达了山顶。夕阳的余晖洒在大地上，微风轻拂，海面上泛起金红色的波光，映衬着沉入地平线的夕阳。那一刻，所有的辛苦仿佛都值得了。尽管浑身刺痒、身体疲惫，但此时此刻，心中的宁静与满足让我觉得，这就是我旅行的意义所在。
After nearly two hours of hiking, I finally reached the top of the hill. The sunset’s afterglow bathed the earth, a gentle breeze blowing, and golden-red waves shimmered on the sea, reflecting the setting sun as it dipped below the horizon. At that moment, all the hardships seemed worthwhile. Despite the itching all over my body and the exhaustion, the peace and satisfaction in my heart made me feel that this was the true meaning of travel.
第三天，痒感仍然非常严重，甚至比前一天更加难以忍受。我决定去旅游办公室投诉。对方的态度虽然很好，但事情的解决却显得遥遥无期。无奈之下，我只能再次前往医院接受第二次注射，并按照医生的建议，对所有随身物品进行了彻底清洗，以防虫卵残留。令人失望的是，即便到了2024年11月，我也没收到任何关于投诉结果的调查或处理信息，仿佛这份迟到的正义已经失去了它应有的意义。 入住这家青旅的经历，真的是让我记忆犹新。后来，我决定联系Booking的客服，希望能够得到合理的解决方案。然而，我很快意识到，想从中得到满意的答复简直比登天还难。客服的回复非常慢，处理问题的态度也显得敷衍。我提供了所有的证据——从医生的诊断证明到旅馆内的照片，甚至还有我打针的发票。然而，Booking最终只同意补偿我25%的住宿费用，这个结果让我十分无奈。
The experience of staying at this hostel is something I will never forget. Later, I decided to contact Booking.com customer service, hoping to get a reasonable solution. However, I quickly realized that getting a satisfactory answer was almost impossible. The customer service responses were extremely slow, and their attitude in handling the issue was dismissive. I provided all the evidence—doctor’s diagnosis, photos of the hostel, and even the receipts for my medical treatment. Despite all of this, Booking eventually agreed to compensate me for only 25% of the accommodation cost, which left me feeling very helpless.
尽管有些许赔偿，但和我在这段旅程中所经历的身心折磨比起来，这点补偿显得微不足道。在这段旅途中，我所遇到的不止是一个糟糕的住宿体验，而是整个旅途中的挑战与坚持。我原本对杜布罗夫尼克这座城市怀着满满的期待，想要感受它的魅力与风情，可这些突如其来的麻烦却几乎打破了我对它的美好印象。尽管如此，我还是不想让这些负面的经历完全摧毁这座城市给我的美好感觉。 Although there was some compensation, it seemed insignificant compared to the physical and mental ordeal I went through during this journey. What I experienced during this trip was not just a terrible accommodation experience but a series of challenges and perseverance throughout the trip. Initially, I was full of expectations for Dubrovnik, wanting to experience its charm and atmosphere, but these unexpected troubles almost shattered my positive impressions of the city. Even so, I still didn’t want these negative experiences to completely ruin the good feelings Dubrovnik had once given me.
最终，我离开了杜布罗夫尼克，前往了莫斯塔尔，希望在那里能找到一些平静，重新调整自己疲惫的身心。尽管这一段旅程如此坎坷，充满了各种意外和困难，但我依旧认为旅行的意义远远超越了这些短暂的困扰。在莫斯塔尔，我找到了一些我需要的宁静，阳光洒在河面上，小镇的节奏缓慢而平和，这些景象让我感到安慰和满足。
In the end, I left Dubrovnik and headed for Mostar, hoping to find some peace there and regain balance for my tired body and mind. Although this journey was so roug and full of unexpected incidents and difficulties, I still believe that the meaning of traveling far exceeds these temporary troubles. In Mostar, I found some of the tranquility I needed; the sunlight shimmered on the river, and the town’s slow and peaceful pace gave me comfort and a sense of fulfillment.
这段旅程中虽然有不少不愉快的记忆，但在这些波折背后，也隐藏着让我成长和领悟的经历。那些不可避免的困境，那些看似倒霉的遭遇，最终都成为了我故事的一部分，也让我更坚定地去面对未来的旅途。旅行或许不总是美好，但这些挫折教会我了包容和坚持，也让我更加珍惜旅途中的每一个瞬间。
Although this journey was filled with unpleasant memories, behind these ups and downs were also experiences that made me grow and understand more about life. Those unavoidable predicaments, those seemingly unlucky events, eventually became part of my story, making me more determined to face future travels. Travel may not always be wonderful, but these setbacks have taught me resilience and tolerance, and they made me cherish every moment on the road even more.
