Thursday, June 4, 2009

BOOKS: Venus Tsai [蔡慧蓉] publishes a book about her travels around Taiwan


BOOKS

Taiwan girl used her thumb to catch rides around Taiwan and wrote a book about it!

When a 17-year-old girl from a Taipei high school embarked on a
round-the-island solo hitch-hiking trip, it landed her some national
TV publicity and an eventual book contract


by Dan Bloom


Venus Tsai [蔡慧蓉] was just 17 when she decided to hitchhike around Taiwan, by
herself, with just NY$2000 stashed in her backpack, and by the time
she was finished, 13 days later, the Yunlin County native found
herself the subject of a
TVBS news story airing on national television and a fullpage,
illustrated news article in the colorful tabloid newspaper Apple
Daily. The Taipei high school freshman made it around the island,
using her thumb, her brains and her wit, catching a total of about 25
rides up and down both coasts.

Locus Books in Taipei published Tsai's
book -- titled [十八歲的成年禮] --
on June 1, according to Locus editor Linus Liao. Based on
blog entries and photographs that Tsai took during her adventure, the
book is being marketed to
young adults nationwide.

"It's a dream come true," she said in a recent interview
over fried rice and tofu in Chiayi City. "I always wanted to hitchhike
around Taiwan, and I did it, and
now this book is coming out. I am very excited and psyched, and this
is just the beginning. I plan to travel around Malaysia this
summer, and then go to Australia on a working holiday visa for a year."

When asked why she wanted to hitchhike around Taiwan by herself at the
age of 17, Tsai said she
had once seen a Taiwanese movie called "The Most Distant Course"
[最遙遠的距離] about a sound editor who recorded many
natural sounds around the island.

"That movie inspired me to go on
my own solo hitchhiking adventure around the island," she said. "I
wanted to go out and find my dream, to make my dream come true, and
also I wanted to learn more about who I am and what I can do by
myself, on my own, so I did it," she said. "I just wanted to leave the
real world
behind and embark on my own adventure. My father wasn't very happy
about what I planned to do, but he trusted me enough to let me go,
reluctantly."

Having completed her second year at Shilin High School of Commerce in
Taipei, Tsai has decided to drop out of school for a year or two. "I
plan to finish senior year of
high school later on, when I come back to Taiwan," she said. "I'm
young and full of life, and I feel that this is the time to travel, so
I am doing it my own way."

Tsai said she enjoyed high school and that
English was one of her favorite subjects. "I guess that is
one reason I want to go overseas to live and work in Australia for a
year now, I want to live in a completely English environment and
really improve my English. I'm excited about going there," she said.

When asked where she gets the travel bug from, Tsai said: "My parents
both work in the tourism sector, my father is bus driver and
my mother is a tour guide, so I guess I have the travel bug in my
genes maybe."

Tsai was "discovered" by a TVBS camera crew and an Apple Daily
reporter by complete chance, she says, and this is was set her on the
path to becoming a published author at the age of 18.

"I was on
the final leg of hitchhiking trip when I
found myself at a traffic light in Taichung and saw a car that had
stopped at the intersection. I decided to knock on the window of the
car and ask for a ride
north," she said.

"The three people turned out to be television reporters, and when I
told them what I was doing, thumbing my way around Taiwan, they said
this would make a great news story," Tsai explained.

Tsai noted that because she was a minor when she signed the
book contract with Locus Books, the publisher asked her
father to sign the book contract for her.

"I'm still young," she said.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

update 蔡慧蓉 publishes a new book about hitchhiking in 20 countries:

《搭便車遊歐半年》蔡慧蓉:出國不曾跟家人拿錢
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蔡慧蓉靠著自稱是「搭便車教授」的名片遊歷歐洲。(記者王俊忠攝)
〔記者王俊忠/台南報導〕以搭便車為主、帶三百歐元在半年期間遊歷歐洲十二國的台灣妹「蔡慧蓉」,昨天與母親帶團到台南;她說有網友誤解她是富家女才能長時間出國,事實上不然,她出國不曾向家人拿過錢,都是自己打工賺錢與交換食宿,身在國外須獨立自保。

在名片上印「Professor of Hitchhiking」、自稱是「搭便車教授」的蔡慧蓉坦言不是富家子弟出身,「年幼時,母親就與父親仳離」,自己是不折不扣的單親小孩,母親在國內帶旅行團養家活口,經濟並不寬裕。

蔡慧蓉說,正因家境不好,她想要出國,但不曾想到跟媽媽拿錢當旅費,民國九十八年,那年她十八歲,決定高中休學獨自到澳洲打工旅遊,她帶八百澳幣(二萬四千台幣)到澳洲,回台時身上有八千澳幣(二十四萬台幣),等於盤纏賺了十倍。

去年四月至十一月間以三百歐元(一萬二千元台幣)遊歷歐洲十二國,她透露今年才二十二歲,這幾年已走過二十個國家;能花那麼少錢遊歐洲?秘訣在於搭便車、睡帳篷或打臨時工交換食宿,讓她半年後回台身上仍剩三百歐元。

蔡慧蓉表示,她會的英文在歐洲走不太通,多數歐洲人很和善、好客,曾遇到心懷不軌的男性,她就用「瘋子」的行徑回應,「要比對方還瘋」,就安然度過危機了!

回國考取國外領隊後,蔡慧蓉目前在台中打工,她說,這幾年覺得台灣在國際地位上有很大的轉變與進步,如她到歐洲,許多國家不用簽證,給台灣人居留的時間又長,在國外拿台灣護照很好用,未來如有機會想到國外念大學,下一階段計畫是想到北美洲搭便車花小錢旅遊。

Anonymous said...

台湾21岁女生蔡慧蓉。图片来自台媒

  中国台湾网6月24日消息 据台湾媒体报道,台湾21岁女生蔡慧蓉去年4月从台湾飞法国展开欧洲旅行,经比利时、荷兰、德国、丹麦、瑞典、挪威、芬兰、爱尔兰、苏格兰、意大利、瑞士回法国,共走1万5千公里路,搭乘300多辆便车、转乘2次飞机,将在10月飞回台湾。

  蔡慧蓉2008年7月首度以搭便车、借住民宿方式在台湾完成14天环岛旅行。她曾在澳洲度假打工练就流利英语,有应变与基本沟通能力,期间有艳遇,也曾遭咸猪手被其骂回去了。(中国台湾网 焦源源)

Anonymous said...

搭便車遊歐 20歲女半年跑遍12國
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讓蔡慧蓉覺得美得像天堂的瑞士。 (記者廖淑玲翻攝)

在挪威搭便車,遇到常滑雪的挪威機師,邀她「搭便機」,免費坐了有生以來第一趟直升機。 (記者廖淑玲翻攝)
〔記者廖淑玲/雲林報導〕你能想像嗎?只帶了三百歐元(約台幣一萬兩千元),半年之間,搭便車旅遊歐洲十二個國家。

高三就曾搭便車環島

自幼就很獨立的蔡慧蓉,在高三畢業前休學搭便車環島並出書、當做是送給自己的成年禮。她的夢變大了,於是,她到澳洲打工度假一年,到東南亞待了半年,再用半年時間,以搭便車方式壯遊歐洲。

她手拿印有「搭便車教授」的名片,一路從巴黎到北歐,六個月跨越一萬五千公里、轉乘三百多輛便車,返台後寫成《搭便車,繼續歐洲》一書。今年二十歲的蔡慧蓉說,搭便車是藝術,也是緣份,因為等半小時搭上這輛車,或等一小時搭另一輛車,就是兩段截然不同的故事。

在歐洲旅行的好處是國家面積不大,隨時都在穿越國境,不用護照也沒人攔查,但語言不通怎麼辦?蔡慧蓉舉例說,在挪威北境淋了一小時雨終於攔到一輛車,車主會說德語、丹麥語,就是不會說英語,只會中、英文的她索性對著大叔說中文,加上肢體語言,竟然也能溝通,證明言語不通反而是最好玩的部分。

長期旅行經驗,慧蓉練就把陌生人變成朋友的能力。大多數車主對她這個大老遠跑到異鄉搭便車的小女子充滿好奇,常常車主目的地已到達,卻因為話題未完,願意繼續載她多跑一段路。

一次在愛爾蘭,因為聊得起勁,車主原本再十公里就可抵達的目的地,卻多開了二百六十公里只為載她一程;在挪威,遇到常滑雪的挪威機師,邀她「搭便機」,免費坐了有生以來第一趟直升機;她也曾搭上德國夫妻的便車,遇見人生第一場雪;在不容易搭便車的德國,為一個胖到無法自己剪腳指甲的男人剪腳指甲;在愛爾蘭參加一場連辦三天的瘋狂婚禮;走到歐洲最北端的北角和野生麋鹿爭道,巧遇一群台灣人,用台語交談時感動地掉淚。

旅歐半年 她自己煮、睡帳篷

能在高消費的歐洲旅行半年,慧蓉自行烹煮;睡帳篷、網友的沙發;交通就靠搭便車。從律師、醫生、警察、到流浪漢,形形色色的車主讓她滿心期待下一個出現的人。

環遊世界 下月遠征西班牙

已考上外語領隊證照的蔡慧蓉,未來準備帶團,繼續環遊世界的夢,下個月將再度遠征西班牙。

想要分享她不一樣的人生經歷,可以上蔡慧蓉部落格「一盤暖暖的小菜」http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/venus791129/) 。