One of the many names for the river 1)Ganga (or Ganges) translates to “roaming around delighting in 2)Apple Tree Island.”
印度的恒河有许多名字，其中一个用英文去理解，意思就是“在苹果树岛欣喜漫步”。
Anyone who has 3)plotted the course of this river knows that this is exactly what the Ganga likes to do. Her riverbanks have changed many miles over the course of time and then there is the yearly 4)monsoon when she breaks her banks 5)exuberantly. Slow travel is a bit like that. I have had the luck to roam around delighting in India like a river, slow and 6)languid at times and rushing with purpose and intent at others.
只要给这条河标绘过河道走向的话，就会明白这正是恒河很乐意参与的事。亘古通今，恒河曾无数次变道，有好几英里的河岸已然改变，此外，她还会在每年的雨季汹涌破堤。慢游正好跟那有点像。我曾有幸像一条河流一样满心欣喜地慢行于印度这片大地上，时而慢吞吞地，无精打采，时而又目标明确地匆匆前行。
India lends itself easily to the charms of slow travel; in fact it’s almost 7)obligatory. Nothing moves faster than 40kph here, unless it’s a plane that isn’t8)stranded on a runway. If you look at a distance chart in order to map a journey in India, it always pays to follow the local habit of measuring a journey in time passed to reach rather than measuring miles in speed per hour. Unlike the West, where time is spent or invested or sometimes even wasted, time, like a river, is something that is passed in India. Travel, therefore, is more about the journey than the arrival.
印度很轻易地就能散发出一种引人慢游的魅力。而事实上，慢游印度几乎是毫无选择的事。在这里，除了没有被困在跑道上的飞机外，没有什么东西的移动速度会超过40公里的时速。如果你在印度想查看各地距离表来给自己的旅行做个计划的话，最好的办法就是依照当地的做法，用旅行所需的时间估量行程而不是用时速估量距离。在西方，时间是用来花费，用来投资，有的时候甚至是用来浪费的，但在印度却变得很不同，时间在印度就像是一条河，是慢慢流淌的。因而在此，旅行更注重的会是它的过程，而不是目的地。
This philosophical difference in our approach to time and journeys is where a lot of tourists come 9)unstuck. In planning a trip to India, it’s vital to understand that your enjoyment and your afternoons will be lengthened by not trying to swallow the country whole in the space of a few weeks. Instead find one place and settle down. Explore the country in miniature, get into the 10)nitty gritty, or just relax into the lazy luxury of “time pass” and watch the world go past. In this way, you, the traveller, begin to 11)unwind and sink into the sense and sensation of simply being. And India presents herself to you as a painting, a slow inspection of the ordinary miracle of daily life, a work of art if you like!
正是这种与我们的时间和旅行观念上的差别，让许多游客在此不得不摈弃掉旧有的旅行经验。在计划印度之旅的时候，有一点必须要明白：只要不冀望在仅仅几个星期内将整个印度囫囵吞枣地游历完毕，那么你的悠闲惬意与午后时光就能得以延续。找一个地方住下来，以一种见微知著的方式来了解这个国家，细心观察各种细节，又或是忘却时间的束缚，放松下来，慵懒地看着身边的一切。只有这样，你作为一名旅行者才开始真正松弛下来，沉浸在感知生命的体验中。这时，印度就会像一幅画那样呈现在你的面前，让你慢慢地审视日常生活中的寻常奇迹，若你喜欢，你甚至可以视之为艺术品！
12)Shekhawati in 13)Rajasthan is such a place— a unique outdoor gallery of painted14)havelis 15)crumbling into the dusty rural landscape of Rajasthan. The history of this place concerns the famous 16)Marwari traders who were located here during the days of the Spice Road, where Shekhawati was a major junction. Eventually as the railway began to stretch across India, the Marwari moved to 17)Calcutta and made their fortunes. The painted houses of this era are a 18)testimony to a rapidly changing era in Indian history and are unique in the world. There is no organised tourism as such, you just drive around and stand hopefully outside some places where you will be invited in for a look, a cup of tea, a chat. Your driver will know where to take you or drop you. As an informal kind of service, local boys will take you to houses and smooth your entry or point out otherwise undiscovered treasures.
拉贾斯坦邦的沙卡瓦蒂正是一个这样的地方，一个由无数色彩斑斓的宅第组成的绝无仅有的户外画廊，被拉贾斯坦邦尘土飞扬的田野所吞没。此地与大名鼎鼎的马尔瓦尔商人大有渊源，沙卡瓦蒂是当年繁华的香料之路上的一个贸易重镇，有大批马尔瓦尔商人聚居于此。后来，随着铁路在印度的发展延伸，马尔瓦尔商人渐渐迁移到了加尔各答，在那里继续发财致富。那个时期留下来的彩绘房子见证了印度历史上瞬息万变的时代，在全世界可谓独一无二。在这里，没有什么组团旅游，你只须开着车到处逛，然后在某个地方的门外满怀希望地站上一会儿，或许会有人请你进屋去看看，或者喝杯茶，又或者是聊聊天儿。你的司机会知道把你往哪儿带，又该在哪儿接你。当地的孩子会给你提供非正规的服务，把你带到不同的地方去，替你引见，又或是指引你看一些你自己根本不会留意到的好东西。
In the evenings you can retire to a palace to rest and reflect on this amazingly quiet area of Rajasthan where there 
is little for the foreign tourist except top class accommodation and locally driven tourism.
到了晚上，你可以到一座宫殿里去休息，好好回味一下拉贾斯坦邦这个出奇安静的地方。这对外国游客来说是个小地方，但它有一流的住宿条件以及当地自发兴起的旅游业。
Another way to indulge in slow travel in India is to head for the hills. Cottages and home stays in villages are an ideal way to keep your expenses low and spend some time on your own creative or artistic endeavours. This form of tourism is especially popular in UK. An area overnight from 19)Delhi and with a view of the20)Himalayas from every valley, 21)Almora has a long history of literary 22)luminaries visiting there, with people like 23)D. H. Lawrence, 24)Bob Dylan and 25)Cat Stevens among the list of people who have come for reflection and inspiration. Life is simple and reminiscent of the good old days when tourists were less demanding and happy with local food and simple 26)amenities. These days the cottages available for rent are modern, well-maintained, and very well-priced. 27)Tucked away on a hillside in 28)Kipling’s jungle, a lot of cottages require a walk from the road; your days are filled with the sound of birdsong and the varying sounds of the jungle.
另一种在印度沉醉于慢游的方式就是往山上去。住在村子里的农舍别墅和家庭旅馆里，既可以减少旅行开支，也是发挥创意或是追寻艺术灵感的绝佳方式。这种旅游方式在英国特别盛行。离开德里，只需一夜行程就能来到一个叫阿尔莫拉的地区，从这里的每个山谷都能看到喜马拉雅山。文人名士造访阿尔莫拉的历史悠久，这些人当中有D·H·劳伦斯、鲍勃·迪伦和凯特·斯蒂文斯，他们到这里沉思冥想，寻找灵感。如果游客的要求不那么高，对当地的食物和简易的生活设施感到满足，那生活就会变得简单，就能给你带来往日的美好时光。如今，供出租的农舍别墅设施现代化，保养良好，且价钱十分公道。许多别墅隐藏在吉卜林丛林的山坡上，离大路还要走一段距离；在这里，你能听尽鸟鸣百啭，赏尽丛林的千声百态。
The monsoon season also offers a unique view of India that is less marketed. The 29)Sunderbans area south of Kolkatta is a photographer’s delight during the monsoon with miraculous plays of light and sound put on by Mother Nature. Even 30)Goa, party central, throws herself into a 31)low gear that is all about long lunches enjoyed in tropical gardens and a feeling that someone is winding back the clock of time.
雨季还提供了一个独特的视角让人看到印度并未广为宣传的一面。此时，加尔各答以南的桑德班斯地区是摄影师的乐土，因为大自然在这里上演着一幕幕不可思议的光与声交错变幻的大戏。即使在狂欢中心果阿，生活在这个时候也挂上了慢档，人们在热带花园里享用着漫长的午餐，似乎有人把时钟往回拨了。
Slow travel allows you to roam around India in delight, which is what travelling should be all about.
慢游让你满心欢喜地在印度这片大地上漫步，而这也正是旅行的意义所在。
