Photo taken on July 31, 2016 shows the view of Copacabana Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo/Xinhua)
奧運特供：里約旅游小貼士
The dos and don'ts of visiting the Rio Olympics, with a little help from Google
Abilities I should win a medal for: staring into the middle distance. Dithering over a sandwich choice. But above all, getting lost. Usually, I embrace this. I like getting lost in Paris or Venice; Brazil's Olympics 2016 city, not so much.
我在某些方面也很迷糊,比如會盯著遠處發呆,會為選擇一塊三明治而猶豫不決,最糟糕的是經常迷路.通常我覺得這還不錯,我喜歡在巴黎或威尼斯迷失方向,但在2016年奧運會主辦城市里約迷路,那還是算了吧！
I was last in Rio de Janeiro over a decade ago when First Choice was experimenting with package holidays there.
我上一次到里約還是十年前,那時首選航空正在這里試行團體旅游.
It was quite a short experiment while, as there were, and still are, some great resort hotels around Salvador in the east, the rest of the country wasn't quite ready for package tourism. Especially Rio.
然而試行持續時間很短,因為這里除了東部的薩爾瓦多有些還不錯的度假酒店外,其余地方的條件都不足以進行團體旅游.如今,這一情況尚未改變,一切都還照舊.尤其是里約熱內盧.
Back then, we were warned against using public transport or going on Copacabana Beach. And the infamous favelas, the slum areas, were totally off-limits. In short, Rio wasn't a place you wanted to get lost in.
那時,有人警告我們不要乘坐公共交通或去科帕卡巴納海灘玩耍.還有臭名昭著的貧民窟絕對禁止涉足.總而言之,里約熱內盧不是個你會想迷路而亂逛的地方.
Now, I can't get lost even if I want to. I have a smartphone, a local SIM card and a phalanx of Googlers guiding my every move as they show off their latest mapping app in one of the cities that needs it most.
現在,我即便是有意為之,也不會再迷路.我擁有一部智能手機,一張當地 SIM卡,一群谷歌用戶充當我的向導,因為他們會在極需使用地圖軟件的城市里,時時分享自己的地理位置.
After hosting the World Cup in 2014, the city is sprinting towards this month's Olympics. You do get the feeling things are a bit behind compared to London 2012 at this stage, but Rio knows how to put on a show. It's a diva of a city, ridiculously beautiful, with life, drama and an unshakable belief that it can set its own rules. It shouldn't work, but generally it seems to.
繼2014年主辦世界杯之后,這座城市即將在本月迎來奧林匹克運動會.眼下如若與2012年倫敦奧運會相比稍有遜色,但是這座城市卻知道如何"搔首弄姿"引人入勝.仿若"天后"之城,這里美得荒謬、生機勃勃、充滿戲劇性,有著其堅不可摧的信念, 制定其獨具個性的規章制度.按理它不能正常運轉,但似乎一切如常.
There are photo ops at every turn, from the Christ the Redeemer statue that towers over it to Copacabana Beach, where the beach volleyball will take place and the cycling ends. Crime is better than it was but seems to be on the rise again, and Rio is teetering financially, having had to be bailed out by central government.
人們可在這座城市的每個角落里舉起相機合照,從聳立著的地標救世主基督像到沙灘排球賽舉行地及自行車賽終點的科帕卡巴納海灘.犯罪率比之前降低了,但又有上升跡象.里約的經濟搖搖欲墜,不得不倚靠中央政府穩定大局.
