印尼记遊（十五）
Travelogue in Indonesia 15

返至平亭，已觉辛苦，温君邀我骑⻢回旅馆，我不敢尝试。温君说：「兩位女的都敢骑，你怎么反而害怕起来！」为了不让巾帼英雄专美於前，只好硬着头皮一试。我是初次骑⻢，不谙骑术，所以就拣了一匹小⻢。一登⻢背、⻢就开始纵跳，直把我的肠肚都跳反了。人既高大，体重一百六十磅，那匹⻢不堪负重，竟愈跳愈利害。我只好向⻢夫求援了，我颤抖地坐在⻢上，夹紧两腿，好在有⻢夫拉住、一步步地的前行、倒也不觉得怎样。等到行至悬崖，那窄度只能容一人而过的栈道时、⻢夫只好跟在后面，一声呼啸，⻢自动地跑了，我想下⻢己來不 及，心里一急，紧紧地牵住缰绳，兩腿紧夾住⻢腹，这更糟透，⻢既不前行，又不退后，只在那险崖上左右摆动着。我往下一看，只⻅万丈深坑，真是吓得毛发悚然，心胆俱寒了。

「唉！无缘无故地葬身在这里，未免太不值得！」我心里无限的懊悔、不该骑这捞什子的⻢。看看要被它扔下⻢鞍，我准备等死了。⻢夫看⻅情形不妙，叽哩呱啦地说着印尼语，我又听不懂，老温回過过头来说：「快把⻢缰放了，快把⻢缰放了，伏抱在⻢背上！」

这一下提醒了我，⻢缰一放，⻢果然就前進，但是跳跃得更高了。过了这生死关头，前面⻅到城梅与丽君，我骑着⻢从她们的身边一掠而过。到达的时候，我心里一松，双腿却软绵绵地走不动了。但精神却很快就恢复过来。以后，我就可以向人家夸耀一番，我曾经如何地骑着⻢儿，在实琅干山上來回奔驰着······反正当时的狼狈情形，只有我自己才知道啊！

十二时在旅馆里用过午餐，休息了一下， 二时就让汽⻋载着我们渐渐地远离，实琅干的幽丽景色，涼爽的天气，只好留在我们的憧憬和回忆中去体味了。

四时半，抵达中爪哇的有名都会梭罗 Solo 此是爪哇岛富庶的一省，人民都保持有爪哇的古⻛，为了仰慕梭罗河的盛名，所以就下⻋来观览一番。梭罗河是爪哇岛著名大河，自南而北流入爪哇海。这条宽达百码，滾滾黃浊的河水、除了横跨在河面上的两道桥梁之外，別无他物。原來闻名的梭罗河畔，竟是那么单调。丝毫没有入画的奇趣，我们是大大的失望了。除了凤美一人作画之外，谁也无法下笔。 我在河畔溜达着，只⻅每隔数码之地，就有一方草席铺在树荫下。原來是那些为着赢点蝇头小利以维持生活的小市民，用以租给那些热情奔放的⻘年情侶，以便他们陶醉在这幽静的梭罗河畔，互相傾诉蕴藏在心坎里的情话。

我们驱⻋至梭罗市区一溜，又到公园里去散散步，那些人工的假山曲桥，亦无甚特色。大家仅购买一兩件手工品，留为纪念就走了。

六时半，抵达日惹。此地与梭罗昔为⻢塔兰王国，曾经称霸一时，支配爪哇全岛。是故，古迹颇多， 足供凭吊，我们下榻於Garuda Hotel。 (十五)

Returning to Pingting, I was already feeling exhausted. Mr. Wen invited me to ride a horse back to the hotel, and I was hesitant to try it. Mr. Wen said, "Both of the ladies dared to ride, why are you suddenly afraid?" To avoid letting the women take all the glory, I reluctantly agreed. It was my first time riding a horse, and I was not familiar with riding techniques, so I chose a small horse. As soon as I mounted the horse, it began to leap and bounce, making my insides turn. Being a tall person weighing 160 pounds, the horse was struggling to carry me, and its jumps became even more vigorous. I had to seek help from the horseman. Shaking, I clung to the horse, gripping it tightly with my legs. Fortunately, the horseman took the reins and led the way, making it bearable.

When we reached a cliff and encountered a narrow trail that could only accommodate one person, the horseman had to follow behind. With a whistle, the horse started running on its own. I thought I couldn't dismount in time and panicked. I held the reins tightly and clamped my legs around the horse's belly, but this only made it worse. The horse neither moved forward nor retreated; it swayed back and forth on the precipice. Looking down, I saw a bottomless pit, and I was terrified, my heart and courage chilled.

"Ah! Dying here for no reason would be too regrettable!" I felt endless remorse, thinking I shouldn't have ridden this stubborn horse. Seeing that I might be thrown off the saddle, I resigned myself to what seemed like impending death. The horseman, realizing the dire situation, spoke in Indonesian rapidly. I couldn't understand, but Mr. Wen turned around and said, "Release the reins quickly, lie flat on the horse's back!"

This reminded me, and when I released the reins, the horse indeed moved forward, but it jumped even higher. After passing this life-or-death moment, I saw Seah Boey and Lih Juin ahead, and I rode past them. When I finally arrived, I felt relieved, but my legs were too weak to walk. However, my spirit quickly recovered. From then on, I could boast to others about how I rode a horse, galloping back and forth on the hills of Sragen... Only I knew the chaotic situation I had experienced at that time!

At noon, we had lunch at the hotel, took a break, and at two o'clock, our car gradually carried us away from the scenic beauty of Sragen. The cool weather left us with nothing but our anticipation and memories to savor.

At four-thirty, we arrived in Solo, the famous city of Central Java. This province on the island of Java is known for preserving the ancient Javanese traditions. We had come to admire the fame of the Solo River. The Solo River is a renowned river on Java, flowing from the south to the north into the Java Sea. Apart from two bridges spanning the river, the riverbanks appeared unremarkable. It lacked the picturesque charm we had expected, and we were all quite disappointed. Except for Fengmei, who continued to paint, none of us could put pen to paper. As I strolled along the riverbank, I noticed that every few steps, there were mats laid out in the shade of trees. It turned out to be small traders making a modest living by renting these mats to enthusiastic young couples who sought to revel in the tranquility of the Solo River's shores and share their hidden feelings with each other.

We drove through the Solo city area, visited a park, and took a walk, but the artificial rock formations and bridges lacked distinctiveness. We only purchased a few handicrafts as souvenirs and left.

At six-thirty, we arrived in Yogyakarta. This place was once part of the Mataram Kingdom, which once held sway and ruled over all of Java. As a result, there are many historical sites here for us to pay our respects to. We stayed at the Garuda Hotel.