印尼记遊（廿三）
Travelogue in Indonesia

今天的节目至此为止，下午一时半回程。返抵黃府略事休息之后，再到万隆市去溜达。城梅借给我一万盾，我就想去碰碰运气，能不能买到合意的东⻄。当我们在一家画廊里看画，偶而遇到一位荷兰老人， 他一眼就断定我们是画人，与我们畅谈起來。原来他就是这画廊的老板，是位热爱艺术的人。他说：「我爱印尼，我一直地不捨得离开这里，虽然我是单独居留於此，今年亦已六十岁了，兄弟们不断地来信劝我回国，但是，我一直在犹豫。产业早完了，一切的物品亦跟着物价化为乌有，但我仍然要逗留在此，是我太多情了吗？不!不!万隆实在是太可爱，太值得我留恋······。」人谓万隆是人间之天堂，这荷兰老人的一席话已给予我们一个有力的证明了。

接着，我们参观了他的私人画室及其收藏之古物。我发现两幅宋代的绢画，他亦是识货者，无论如何不肯脫手，並说：「留着画，还有东⻄在，卖出去钱到手就⻜去了······」他很诚意地將他所收藏之古玩详为介绍，我们竟在此流连了几个钟头才走开。

我们经过一条街又一条街，逛了不少的百货商店，结果也是一件东⻄也未曾买到缘因是中等的东⻄不愿在这儿买，上等的货色，自己又不够钱买，因此逛逛看看，直到六点半才空手而归。今日老温陪着城梅，丽君和子平，剩下我们几个都不熟悉，想雇⻋子回去，一直找不到，结果只好花三百盾赁了两辆「三轮的士」。这种交通工具倒是很特別的，大概是由「斯古打」改裝的吧！只有一百二十五个CC的⻢力，其声响如急救⻋的警号，其速度宛如上了鸦片瘾的三轮⻋夫蹬⻋，我们三人同乘一⻋，连大气也不敢透一口，大家像不倒翁似地搖摆不定，有时还会被弹起半尺多高，这还不打紧，上山时只走了五百码路程，就豁然停止不走了，锡君说：「 机器也罢工了！」无奈何只好下来帮着推⻋，另一辆己不知驶到那里去了。我们真是又辛苦又焦急。推了好一阵子，⻢达声才响，可是上⻋不到五分钟，机器又罢工了。这下子我们较内行，一看情形不妙，就先下⻋。那⻋夫说:「新加坡人毕竟聪明些！」我们为了要聪明到底，又再合伙帮着推⻋。如此推推坐坐，走走停停竟达五次之多!最后竟是如何也不能再往上走了，我和金裕，锡君宁可放弃坐⻋的权利，大家慢步以当⻋，因为这儿至黃府至多不过 一英里的路程，走了不远发现前面也有一辆的士在冒着烟，那机器的吼声，更是恐怖!我们超赶上前一看，原来是凤美，庆光与潮光!他们也帮着推了好几次⻋。「唉！虽有好居处，但无交通工具又奈何？」奉劝以后到此旅游的人士，千万不可依赖此种交通工具，否则，花了钱，误了时间，到头来只換得臭汗淋漓，腰骨酸痛，心內焦急而己！

九时半才抵达黃府，大家都感到气喘吁吁，饥肠辘辘了。饭后，黃君放电影招待我们，其时，我的眼睛己不禁朦胧起來，倦极欲睡了。黃君一定觉得我们这批人太扫兴，因为最后的观众仅剩下主人一个人在欣赏！

大家都各置各位地就寝，子平与庆光因想争谋好位置安睡，所以心里各怀鬼胎。（因为好位置正安放着电影机）他们等待着电影机移去，电灯一熄，便不约而同地由房內偷偷摸摸地出來了。庆光先一步摸到目的地，慢慢地再摸到睡床，再一摸，竟摸到了黃松鹤先生的头。他还以为是子平先到一步，不 禁大骂道：「你這个家伙！」黃君莫明其妙的以为什么事，子平一听⻅庆光的声音，知道大事己糟， 忙说：「是黃先生！」于是赶忙退回房里去睡了······。（廿二）

Today's program ends here, and we started our return journey at 1:30 in the afternoon. After returning to Mr. Huang's residence and taking a short rest, we went to Marilaja City again. Mei lent me 10,000 rupiahs, and I wanted to try my luck to see if I could find something I liked. While we were looking at paintings in an art gallery, we happened to meet an elderly Dutchman who immediately recognized us as artists and started chatting with us. It turns out he is the owner of the art gallery and a passionate art lover. He said, "I love Indonesia, and I can't bear to leave here. Even though I have been living alone here, and I'm already 60 years old this year, my brothers keep sending letters urging me to return to the Netherlands. But I've been hesitating. My business is long gone, and all my possessions have been wiped out by inflation, but I still want to stay here. Am I too sentimental? No! No! Bandung is truly lovely and worth my attachment..." People say that Bandung is a paradise on earth, and this Dutchman's words have given us strong evidence of that.

Afterward, we visited his private art studio and his collection of antiques. I found two Song Dynasty silk paintings, and he, being a connoisseur, refused to part with them no matter what, saying, "As long as I have these paintings, I still have something from the East. If I sell them, the money will be in my hands, and I'll just fly away..." He sincerely introduced us to his collection of antiques, and we ended up lingering there for several hours before leaving.

We walked through street after street, exploring many department stores, but in the end, we didn't buy anything. The reason is that the mid-range products were not appealing to us, and the high-quality items were beyond our budget. So, we just looked around until 6:30 and returned empty-handed.

Today, Mr. Wen accompanied Cheng Mei, Li Jun, and Zi Ping, leaving the rest of us who were unfamiliar with the area. We couldn't find a taxi to go back, so we had to spend 300 rupiahs to rent two "three-wheeled taxis." This mode of transportation was quite unique, probably modified from a "Scooter." It had only 125cc of horsepower, a sound like an ambulance siren, and a speed like a three-wheeled rickshaw pedaled by someone with a craving for opium. The three of us squeezed into one vehicle, not daring to take a breath. We swayed back and forth like tops and were occasionally bounced more than half a foot high. That wasn't the worst part; on our way uphill, after just about 500 meters, it suddenly stopped. Xi Jun said, "The machine is on strike!" Helplessly, we had to get off and help push the vehicle. The other vehicle had already gone somewhere, and we were tired and anxious. We pushed for quite some time before the engine roared back to life. However, after riding for less than five minutes, the machine stopped working again. This time, we were more experienced and sensed trouble, so we got off before it came to a complete halt. The driver said, "Singaporeans are smarter after all!" In our quest to be smarter, we decided to help push the vehicle again. We pushed and rode, walked and stopped, a total of five times! Finally, we reached a point where we just couldn't go any further uphill. Jin Yu, Xi Jun, and I were willing to give up our right to ride because it was only about a mile from here to Mr. Huang's residence. We walked a short distance and found another taxi ahead of us emitting smoke and a terrifying engine roar! We hurriedly caught up and saw that it was Feng Mei, Qing Guang, and Chao Guang. They had also helped push the vehicle several times. "Ah! Even though we have a good place to stay, what's the use without transportation?" I advise future travelers to this place never to rely on such transportation, as it may lead to spending money, wasting time, and ultimately only earning sweat, backaches, and inner anxiety!

We didn't arrive at Mr. Huang's residence until 9:30 PM, and everyone was feeling out of breath and hungry. After dinner, Mr. Huang treated us to a movie. At that time, my eyes were already getting blurry, and I was extremely tired. Mr. Huang must have thought we were a dull group because, in the end, only the host was left to enjoy the film!

Everyone went to their respective sleeping quarters, and Zi Ping and Qing Guang, in their desire for a good sleeping spot, had ulterior motives. They were waiting for the film projector to be moved, and when the lights went out, they both sneaked out of their rooms. Qing Guang arrived at his destination first and slowly made his way to the sleeping area. As he felt around, he unexpectedly touched Mr. Huang Songhe's head. Thinking it was Zi Ping who had arrived before him, he couldn't help but curse, "You rascal!" Mr. Huang, bewildered by what was happening, wondered what was going on. When Qing Guang's voice made it clear, Zi Ping knew that something was wrong. He quickly realized that he had touched Mr. Huang's head and exclaimed, "It's Mr. Huang!" They hurriedly retreated to their rooms and went to sleep.