TRENDS ON WHEELS自駕新潮流

IT’S GETTING TO

that time of year when we’re usually in the business of spotting trends. One we can safely predict will keep going from strength to strength in 2018 and beyond is the popularity of fly- drive holidays in Asia.

According to a study called Chinese Recreational Vehicle Tourists in Australia, from Queensland’s James Cook University, flying somewhere then renting your own vehicle appeals most to ‘experience seekers and self- challengers’. Interesting phrase that, which led me to recall those times on foreign roads when I’ve been most challenged by local conditions.

Top of the list: driving at dusk in remote Namibia in the days before GPS, with inaccurate directions for the lodge we were staying at and a large kudu having a fight with my wing mirror. In terms of cities, trying to cross six lanes of traffic to get to the exit in Los Angeles is always a challenge (which is why I have every sympathy with David L Ulin’s piece this month on page 40: he sticks to the trains).

Paris is a pressure cooker to drive in, Madrid (and many Spanish cities) just plain pressurised. Tokyo is a dream, New York a lot more straightforward than you think. But if it’s hairy self- challenging, self- drive experience you seek – then try Istanbul. Once, maybe.

I’m looking forward to

每到年底，又是展望來年各種新趨勢和潮流動向的時候。有一樣我們可以十拿九穩肯定的，就是從2018年開始，飛往一個地點作自駕遊這種旅行方式，將會在亞洲流行起來。

澳洲昆士蘭的詹姆斯庫克大學進行了一項華人在澳洲自駕遊的研究，其中的結果顯示，飛往某個目的地然後租車作自駕遊，對「喜歡尋求獨特體驗及自我挑戰的人」最具吸引力。這句有趣的話令我回想起自己在外地自駕遊時，曾經面對當地路面給我的各種挑戰。

其中最令我難忘的一次，是日暮時分在偏遠的納米比亞駕車，當年還沒有全球定位系統，而我們手上前往旅舍的指示並不正確，還有一頭巨大的羚羊不停向車外的後視鏡撞過來。至於在城市方面，要在洛杉磯的公路上橫過六條車道駛往公路出口，亦有相當的難度。因此，當我讀到本期40頁 the much less onerous challenge of driving in Taiwan after reading Cathy Adams’ adventures on page 46, illustrated here by our brilliant Tainan-based illustrator Cecil Tang – part of our great drives series in conjunction with Avis. Wherever you’re driving or being driven this holiday, I hope the experience turns out to be a fantastic one.

Mark Jones Editorial director

DavidL Ulin乘鐵路暢遊洛城的文章時，真是深表支持。

在巴黎駕車壓力極大，不過在馬德里（以及許多西班牙城市）駕車則除了壓力之外什麼都不是。在東京駕車是個夢想，而紐約則比你想像的要容易得多。不過如果你要的是緊張刺激、充滿挑戰的自駕遊體驗，不妨試試伊斯坦堡，最少試一次。

看完本期Cathy Adams在46頁的台灣自駕遊記（由台南插畫家湯士賢繪畫封面並為本頁配上精采插圖）之後，覺得在台灣駕車真是輕鬆得多，令我不禁期待也來一趟類似的行程。這篇文章是我們與租車服務公司Avis合作的精采自駕遊系列之一。本月適逢佳節，不管你在假期中會駕車，還是當個乘客，希望你都能有個難忘的美好體驗。