有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎！兩位遠自大馬來訪的朋友，豐富了我和夥計的清明假期。09年，遠在檳城的Crab，開始follow我的單車旅德遊記，我們交換部落格，成了「網上見」的朋友。旅德前，寄了旅行T-Shirt給她，好一段時間收到她度假後寄來的海龜T-Shirt──只這樣，長長四年過去，沒有特別聯絡、不曾深入了解與記掛彼此生活的喜憂跌宕，不常上網的我甚至不知她的長相──但這層遠遠、淺淺的關心，卻延續並開啟了見面的緣分。
馬來西亞，一個多麼陌生的國家；早年移民南洋與渡海來台的華人子孫，何其遙遠飄泊卻又熟悉親近的感情牽繫。對從來只是揹起背包、遠走歐洲的我們，轉個方向，卻成了接待朋友旅行台灣的溫馨客棧。從來不知道該這樣、那樣地介紹自己的國家，從來不曾體會開車載著外國朋友細數自己家鄉是這般情怯，更不知讓遠道而來的朋友享受一頓美好的晚餐、踏實地睡個好覺，以消解旅途的疲勞，是這樣一件重要的事。而原來清明時節落雨紛紛，在家煮東西聽音樂做麵包，也能成為朋友旅行途中難忘的一頁。她們這一頁台灣，也是我們尋常假期裡最美的印記。
短暫地相聚相知，深深地擁抱離別──高鐵飛快地帶走朋友往下一站，幾天之後，馬航就要帶著她們與滿滿的行囊飛回印度洋上，那個接近赤道的家；但對我和夥計來說，大馬與台灣之間，卻不再只是一片遙遠的南中國海。生命途程乖舛起伏，能得幾回燈下溫暖的凝視；生活瑣細繁惱蝕人，能遇多少促膝相知的喜悅？離開高鐵站，CD片裡李希特的巴哈如泣如訴，我和夥計有滿心的不捨。樂莫樂兮新相知，悲莫悲兮生別離，請珍重，我親愛的朋友！
Remember the old saying from Confucius -- what a wonderful experience and an exciting moment when friends come to visit us from a faraway place? It’s indeed! It’s true! Two lovely friends from Malaysia came to visit us and stayed with us for 2 days which made Yo and me so happy and touched!
Miss Crab became one of my friends since 2009 when she noticed my articles of German Bike-Trip, and then we exchanged the website address for knowing each other more. I remember I sent her my T-shirt before the trip to Germany, and then she also gave me a T-shirt later as a gift after she came back from a trip to a small island or something. That’s all! No further connection, chatting, e-mailing, or anything for the past 4 years for our friendship. Even I didn’t know anything about her life, her job, her family, no mention what she looked like. But this small and weak connection between us lasted so long from that time, and then she asked to visit us 2 weeks ago as a casual chatting on Facebook.
Malaysia, what an unfamiliar and faraway country to us! Although we are all the later generations of Chinese and maybe we had the same ancestors from Mainland China, we now have the totally different language, life style, educational background…and so on.
Yo and I were always the poor backpackers to have our trips to European countries, but we didn’t expect for someday we could be a host to take care of our foreign guests like this at all. And I had to admit that is really a weird and embarrassing thing when you picked them and past across the crowded and dirty streets, and then you couldn’t help to start to introduce your own country and everything around your hometown to your foreign friends.
On the other hand, we were surprised that we had the ability to offer a warm and good supper, a nice music and bed, and those details we could do for our friends! And you know what, that became one of their beautiful memories during their trip to Taiwan! Even when we didn’t go out for sightseeing because of the bad rainy day, but stayed at home for baking and cooking instead, and which also made them so excited!
So short time past away for being together, and so deep hugs we had when we couldn’t help to say good-bye for each other – we saw the High Speed Train took them to next stop of their journey, and then later the Malaysia Airlines will take them home to the place where is so far away from us. But this time for Yo and me, the thing between our friends and us, between Malaysia and Taiwan, won’t more the wide South China Sea, but a truly feeling like real and old friends. And we are now a beautiful page of Taiwan for them!
I heard Sviatoslav Richter played the sad music of Bach on our way home from the HST Station; meanwhile, we felt also so sad and so unwilling to say good-bye to our friends. What a happy time we had when we chatted around our table, and what a golden moment we spent when we had a chance to know each other more and better!
This is another old sentence from ancient time – the happiest thing in our life is the moment when we know the new friends, but the sadist thing in our life is the moment when we have to say good-bye to them!
Take good care of yourself -- my dear dear truly friends!
