Innovating the Airline Industry

I’ve make a lot of air travel during the last two months. (TPE-SFO-HOU-SFO-SEA-PIT-PHL-SFO-TPE) Among them, two are international flight, and the other domestic. This excess exposure gives me the advantage to take a closer observation of the airline industry in the high energy cost periods. It Is the worst of times, and it is the best of times. The hike in operating cost stimulates many innovation that try to squeeze any money out of consumers pocket while remain some level of service.

The one thing everyone shares in common is how to differentiate passengers with different needs, and then charge different amount accordingly. There are several ways to do it. For example, not everyone really enjoy a free drink or meal onboard right? So, those who want something to drink or something to eat now have to pay for themselves. The soft drinks range from $2 to $3 dollars, and the snack and meal range from $5 to $10. For me, diet coke seems much less appealing not being free. I guess it’s the same for most of the passengers. It’s common to see flight attendants having basically nothing to do in the cabin, because no one calls on them and they don’t have to voluntarily offer anything. The most important task for them now is to close the overhead carry-on luggage storage before take-off. Seems like an easy job, huh?

But wait. Did I mention the airline companies started to charge the first check luggage? For United Airline, the first piece is $15, and the second $25. The third piece is not encouraged so the price goes to $125. How do the customers react? They simple squeeze their whole luggage into carry-on. And this really cause a problem for flight attendants – because the overhead storage is stuffed with carry-on and they are forced to use innovative ways to actually close it. Or, sometimes, just brute force.

First checked luggage = $15, second = $25, third = $125 (United Airline)

The seats are also differentiated. Those unintentionally designed to have more “leg space” (e.g. the seats near the side exit or in the very front row) are now reserved for customers who are willing to pay a premium. The price is decided according to the length of the flight time. For short flight, it’s probably $15. For long flight like PHL to SFO, it’s $65. It’s like a sub-business class. In fact, United Airline is kind enough to give these seats a resonating name: Economic Plus.

"Who wants more legroom?" ad for Economic Plus Class (United Airline)

What’s going to be the next move? Maybe they could charge you for pillows and blanket? The privilege to sit in an aisle seat? Restrooms? (e.g. Business class can go as many times as they want. Economic passengers have a free first run, but any additional runs will cost $2.) My favorite will probably be seat belts, (Pay us $10 to be safe, otherwise we don’t give a damn) although this will probably be rejected by FAA committee. But I mean, think about it. There’s no limit to business innovation!

The next thing you’ll notice is that airline companies really are saving every penny they spend. Collaboration is formed across company to share flights with same destination in order to reduce non-necessary flights. I personally don’t really care for this change. The reason is when you hop on a China Airline flight, you will find yourself surrounded by non-Taiwanese. The airline company loses its home-like identity by cooperate with Delta and some other companies.

There are some operation details I noticed from American airline companies that haven’t been adopted by Taiwanese airline. One is the Self Check-in procedure, and the other the assignment of boarding sequences.

I really like the self check-in design. It is fast and efficient compare to the old ways. Simply type in the 6 character reservation number or a swipe of your credit card, the machine will know who you are and print your boarding pass. You then put your check baggage on the counter and wait for airline personnel to make confirmation. For the airline company, this means less personnel needed behind the desk. 2 or 3 assistants are enough to keep 8 to 10 check-in window running. It’s a win-win design!

The boarding sequence (range from 1 to 4) is automatically assigned to passengers on the boarding pass. During boarding period, the airline personnel will announce which sequence is available for boarding right now. I know there are similar effort like “we are now boarding row 40 to 50”, but the old way is not intuitive to passengers. The new boarding sequence has the potential to keeps the aisle unblocked and accelerate the boarding process.

I’m really interested in airline related business. I know there are some aerospace consulting firms that offer great solutions on airline operations, logistics, and airport operation. Lufthansa seems to be the largest (need confirmation). I hope one day I could be in business with aerospace industry. That could be another way to fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a pilot.

Work or Study?

During my two months travel, I visited several great universities, including CMU, the one I should be studying in given I made a different choice back in May. I never thought visiting the schools would be difficult for me, emotionally – but in fact it is. They are too cool and rewarding above my highest expectation. This shoots up the opportunity cost of choosing to work for BCG first. The level of tension reached a did-I-make-the-right-choice level.

I spent three days in CMU to get to know the school and faculties. I’ve been to several seminars and sit-In a couple of classes. I’ve met world-famous professors, and talked to brilliant, welcoming students. The stage is perfectly setup – perfect for anyone who is ready to leap in and have his/her skills polished, for anyone who wants to do pioneering researches, and have continuous stimulant from the environment. It is a place you know for sure you’ll get something back if you put all your heart in it. In addition to all that, just the sheer luxury of learning new and interesting things is enough to make any serious scholar (like me) “itchy”!

Besides the tempting environment CMU provides, the one-year program is actually very cost-efficient. You only have to pay like $50,000 a year, not two, to get a diploma that makes every CS student envy. You can be readily available within 12 months for huge company that offers good benefit – and they will definitely compete over a freshly trained CMU HCIer. You will have the privilege to become one of the alumni of the top university, and enjoy people wowing and win their respect when they see your resume and name card. You can get all that within one year and $50,000.

To exhaust the list, you can also say CMU provides a cushion to the English-speaking job market. One year in an English environment will definitely improve one’s English communication skills. You also learn how to interact and social with foreigners, which is really important in doing international business.

Nevertheless, at the end of the day, I’m still glad I made the right decision to go for Boston Consulting Group. Simply put it, I’m basically done with studying. I’ve been studying for more than 15 years, I think I’m ready to move on to another environment and learn something new. Of course the courses are great and the environment is way better than NTU, but for me, the excitement isn’t like 5 years ago when I first entered university – I need something fresh and challenging other than more courses and reading assignments.

Besides, I don’t think I’m that ready to dive in the HCI field. When I applied MS, what I really want is a general CS master. The CMU MHCI, although the best among its peers, is too narrow for me. During my visit to CMU I’ve sit in several HCI courses, and I’m glad I’m there only for a couple of days, because there are some parts of the course I know are not critical to me. I know I won’t be an engineer, so a heavy year in coding and projects doesn’t prepare me for future challenges. I could imagine if I spent a year there, I’ll be constantly asking myself “why am I doing this?”

My decision is final after my ISMIR (International Symposium on Music Information Retrieval) experience. The symposium offers a window for me to see another side of the academic life. Generally speaking, the people are nice there, and the researches they do are definitely cutting edge. But thank god I’m not in an academic career! It takes a certain personality to do academic researches; I just don’t think I’m the right guy. Although I seriously doubt MHCI will require their students to go to any conference, the projects in CMU are probably similar in a way I’m not really interested.

The BCG seems to know that I’m in a process of deciding something. They sent me an email informing my first regional training. It is going to be in Bangkok and last for five days. They are also kind enough to show off our accommodation in Bangkok. The hotel looks spectacular! Those on-line training modules, although being overwhelming in volume, are arousing the energy within me. Well, after listing all the pros and cons, doesn’t it sound like we have a winner over here?

23rd Birthday! Ready to Move On!

今年生日最特別的地方是在國外度過，9/12當天我揮別Pittsburgh，朝向下一個目的地費城前進。本以為會是個寂寞的生日，但當天收到佑齊的生日禮物、阿拉的祝賀電話，到達目的地後還被Frank帶去吃了個生日Pizza，讓獨自旅行快兩個月的我受寵若驚。再加上收到BBS上大家的祝福，超級開心！謝謝大家還沒忘記這個在美國旅行的大胖子！

每年生日都習慣給自己寫些東西。從去年的生日到現在，可以說這十二個月真的是大起大落，發生的每一件事情感覺都對未來影響很大。從去年陸續開始準備申請學校、到放榜、收到CMU入學許可、被Stanford拒絕、到工作與念書的天人交戰、幸運拿到BCG Offer、最後確定先工作的決定。每一件事情不一定都順人意，但回顧這一年，我可以說我覺得自己真的很幸運，也對自己的現在和未來充滿信心。

我的23歲生日剛好介於剛畢業、尚未就業之間。如果說去年生日的主題是對過去的不捨，今年的主題應該就是對未來的期待。跟去年的茫然比起來，這一年的緩衝讓我能好好跟學生時代說再見。去年生日時對於「長大」還稍有排斥，但現在的我已經接受這個事實，也準備好在新的人生階段再接再厲。學生自有學生的自由，但如果繼續停滯不前，連自己都會覺得無聊了吧？我已經迫不及待的想去上班了！我把我的第一個工作看成一個碩士學位，希望能好好在裡頭學習、貢獻，把自己的基本功打好，以迎接任何課業之外會碰到的挑戰。

雖然在今天回去看那時候決定要選擇BCG還是CMU的那篇文章，會覺得這個小子十分狂妄，但我還是認為那些目標確實值得追尋。如果說四十歲的我能有所成就，那我一定會歸功於在22歲與23歲之間寫的那篇文章。

現在的短期目標很明確，但中長期的具體目標卻還要再好好想想。我想出了社會會更知道自己要的是甚麼，經過一段時間的工作，應該也更能知道自己的能力的極限。要不斷的提醒自己，不要只專注於眼前，要想得更遠。就算再累，也要定下心來看看過去、現在、未來，要一直有計畫、有目標的過每一天。

能撐過這一年，要感謝很多很多好朋友的支持。申請學校的時候，很幸運的得到了很多學長姐的幫助，也常有朋友互相打氣。因為自己得到太多，我也希望能將自己的經驗傳下去給想要申請國外學校的人，如果有任何問題我可以幫忙的我一定盡力幫忙。另外，在Stanford不幸落榜，面臨人生重要的抉擇時，謝謝很多人的經驗分享和建議，因為受到一些朋友提起勇氣面對未知的故事的鼓勵，也讓我走出低潮，主動出擊。最後幸運的得到工作，要感謝的人太多，最重要的應該是一路一起打拼的夥伴Jeffrey，還有願意給我第二次機會的BCG。

這段時間要特別感謝小傑在所有時候都對我很有信心(尤其在有人對我進行信心打擊的時候)。有個人一直在旁邊加油打氣對我來說很重要。小傑總有辦法把我從谷底拉起來，工作之後還請多多關照！另外也要特別感謝的是我的指導教授。他除了在研究上給我指導，也提供給我很多關於人生的寶貴建議，每次跟他討論完感覺都像拼圖再拼上了一塊，對未來的路也更加清楚。

我的爸媽在這一年也很辛苦。他們的兒子放著國外碩士不念說要先去工作曾經嚇到他們，不過還好最後有一個大家都可以接受的選項。謝謝我爸隨時提醒我要做最壞的打算，讓我在踏出每一步的時候都有心理準備，更謝謝我媽在旁邊提供所有的資源去幫助他的兒子了解所有選項，並且以包容、體諒的態度尊重一個23歲的小大人做出的決定。

23歲的暑假過得很充實，兩個月的旅行讓我更熟悉美國的環境，雖然英文不一定真的有進步，但是看了很多、學了很多。很期待回國之後與大家見面、分享自己的所見所聞。Taiwan, I’m coming back!

最後，不免俗的送給自己一段話。

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

- Theodore Roosevelt, quoted on the HBS admissions website

"I think I'm paranoid"

This is an article about my Rock Band addiction.

During my visit to Houston, in my friend Howard's house, I found this astonishing, eye-catching game set lying in the room. Anyone would love it on first sight. A well-made guitar, a miniature drum set and a microphone, you just can't help playing with them even when the machine is off.

I've always wanted to try playing drums. They play simple but steady role in a band and form the foundation of every thing else, but are not boring because one can always add some improvisation into the performance. They rock!

Well, the following is just another classic story. A man (boy?) sat down in front of the drum set, began hitting some notes, got excited, played a song, got more excited, practiced, played... Warning! It is easily addicted!

There are some particular songs in the game I like, such as Say it ain't so (Weezer), Learn to Fly (Foo Fighters), and I think I'm Paranoid (Garbage). The last one really made a deep impression. I just keep hearing that "I think I'm paranoid" sound over and over again even when I'm not in front of the TV.

Say It Ain't So (Wheezer) Soft rock. Nice song.

Learn to Fly (Foo Fighter). I can pass the expert level of this song.

I think I'm Paranoid (Garbage). My favorite song in Rock Band!

The addiciton seems to go away in these two days. Because I saw on Youtube there's a crazy guy who played expert level as simple as playing tic-tac-toe. I know to play like that I might have to practice for 3+ months. That is the back-to-the-reality moment that I know I don't want to put too much time and energy into this game.

Real expert playing Rock Bank expert drum.

Nevertheless, I have to admit I still have the desire to buy a Rock Band set back to Taiwan. The price is affordable ($150) and there's no official import of this game back home. The two things that withold me are shipping and noise. I don't think my neighbors (Age 70+) will appreciate our performance. And to bring a whole set on my trip is just... stupid!

Trip Planner, A low-profile technology that changes all

Dear all,

This letter is dedicated to the Public Transit Planner group (foxring etc.)

Recently I've been using a LOT of public transportation website in US. I'm REALLY, REALLY, REALLY touched by some great website. Since I'm planning my visit in Houston, San Francisco, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, I get to familiarize with some of the city's trip planning website.

They all have the similar interface: users can choose their starting-ending location, or find transit stations near an location, or get bus/train schedules. And they all display several results, sorted in either ticket price/duration/arrival time/departure time/number of transit/walking distant.

Among them, my favorite one is San Francisco's 511.org trip planner. Their interface is a bit complicated, but the detailed navigation from point to point (adding info such as luggage restriction and relevant prev / next schedule), and a great button that let you send home your itinerary really make one's day. Nevertheless, it is sometime frustrating to find your location not stored on its database, thus cannot really get the exact itinerary (you have to choose a POI near your location)

Interface of 511.org, San Francisco public transportation trip planner

Houston's metro trip planner did a good job integrating its huge Metro bus system and its LightRail system (kind of like MRT in Taipei). I'm most familiar with this trip planner, but really annoy by the fact it don't let you select "the longest tolerable walking range to the nearest station". If you look into the map, you'll notice in some of the recommended trip, you'll have to wait for an hour for a bus that travel only 0.5 miles down the road. Not smart at all.

Seattle's website is rather simple compare to the two systems above. Not much to say about it. It's just there, and it works.

As a traveller without a car, public transportation is all I've got. And being a complete stranger in an unfamiliar city, it is easy to be intimidate by all different system of transport (for example, in San Francisco: CalTrain, Bus, Bart...) Having one single interface that can done all the tedious job, that's really something. If I don't have these website, I'll be either walking / bicycling along my way, or stay home be a Zhai-Zhai.

I notice Google seems to put interest into this market. Their Transit planner website already cover a wide range of area. Maybe YCTai or Hanwen still have interest in digging into the topic? :P

I'm just too excited to experience the impact of this technology. Wish you all the best :-)

-Daniel

Playlist for Summer 2008

Like most people, I always take my MP3 player on a trip with me. Unlike others, however, mine only feature 64MB RAM, equivalent to around 13 songs. This strange restriction (strange, because MP3 player nowadays can hold up to 1000+ songs) gives me the privilege to select my favorite songs and songs that are suitable for the occasion every time I go out.

This summer, I intentionally write off good songs that are most familiar to me, such as many John-Mayer style soft rocks (ex. Neon, Your body is a wonderland, No such thing… these are good when you want the ‘free’ and ‘vacation’ feelings) and some of the everlasting, lonely-kind-of love songs (ex. 東京愛情故事, 飛機場的10:30, The one you love, Air-supply… appropriate when it’s dark and quiet in the cabinet and you’re at 36,000 ft, and when suffering those hard-to-fell-asleep nights). They are great, but this time I’m trying to explore new territories. And I didn’t let myself down.

I think I’ve made a perfect song selection for my summer of 2008. Here are the songs that are on the list:

Killing me softly – Susan Wong
Why Georgia – John Mayer
Allegro, Autumn, The Four Seasons – Vivaldi
Northern light – Kenny G
After the love has gone – Billy Joel
Free loop – Daniel Powter
Whole world around – Daniel Powter
Beautiful world (background music) – 宇多田光
千里之外 – 周杰倫、費玉清
我的快樂時代 – 陳奕迅
唱歌給你聽 – 阿牛

If I have to, I’d go over every song, and tell everyone how I love them so. But apparently there’s really no need, and even if I really do so, I doubt anyone would take it serious enough. Well, I’m just glad I selected these songs to accompany me.

These songs not only have impressive melody, but most of them also feature story-telling lyrics. People who know my song listening habit would know that I put a lot of emphasis on lyrics when deciding my feeling toward a song. Songs I like songs often carry lyrics that I identify with. If I could, I’d like to sing out my feeling to the world. Sometimes it’s just more simple and straight forward. (Such as in a relationship… I suck at saying ‘sweet words’, but I won’t hesitate to select a great song that expresses my love)

It’s easy to know what I’m thinking of by examine my playlist. Maybe that’s a good reason why I kept all the playlist since 2003. That's exactly when I first get my 64MB MP3. It’s like a diary written in music. They always bring memory, regardless of good or bad (a more accurate adjective would be ‘bittersweet’). The above playlist is now recording my memory of 2008. Hopefully by the end of September they’d be carrying more positive memory.

Values

Am I strong enough to be challenged by others on my values?

As we grow older, there are a lot of things we have to take charge of, to decide. One of the most important things is choosing one's values. Based on that, one further make other decisions. That rule of thumb, that belief, that compass in everyone's heart, that whispering sound, is our last line of defend to distinguish right from wrong, to say something is important, and others not.

Different people may have different values. Different values lead to different priorities. That's why some may spend their whole life to earn something that others think irrelevant to any kind of success.

The question I have to myself today is: If I were to be challenged by others on my values in life, will I be able to defend myself? Can I walk home after straight 48 hours of work, and still satisfy with my life?

You've got the whole world around

For the past half a year, I've always been on the chase of life surprises. It's quite challenging, and to tell the truth, a bit tiring. From the rejection of Stanford, to the opportunity at BCG, and all the followed ups-and-downs. Now that I'm preparing to leave TW in less than 10 days. Haha, always on the run :P

In the time like this, there is really one song that could soothe one's busy and worried heart. Daniel Powter - Whole World Around.

(lyrics adopted from ptt.cc/lyrics)

Whole World Around

Life’s been good i can’t complain so far…
designer clothes expensive caviar
and gated homes to keep the wolves at bay
tinted glass to hide my guilt and shame…
   
Neon signs and vagrants at the door
broken values, needles, liquor stores
won’t somebody help me to believe
help me to deny the things i see
   
(*)
Now whatever comes your way
sometimes you win
sometimes you lose
when it all comes down you make it through

You got the whole world around x2
something tells me not to make a scene
open up your heart and let me in…
   
(*)
I've tried as far as enough to lead my arm in minds
receives every words I know still were saying in the skies
take me, wake me , push me down, as long as I'm understood
like a soldier's view
from the bomb to the tomb
the towers I forget ever knew.

--

Ah, what a song. This is for those who feel sorry for themselves, but instead they are simply too lucky to have overlooked all the blessing.

Egypt - Day 5 - Luxor (I)

今天早上三點半就起來，趕著要上五點的飛機。飛機的座位左三右三，非常的擁擠。飛機本身乾淨，但也看得出機齡已經不小。機上的乘客大部分都是旅客，有看到幾個台灣人，後來下飛機有去搭訕，能夠碰到同年紀的人還是件很開心的事。

早餐盒超大一個，但外強中乾 XD

早上第一個行程：帝王谷。總共有63個國王的陵寢放在同一個山谷內。而且最重要的是我們參觀的幾個都保存良好。旁邊的牆壁上滿滿的是各式圖騰和彩色的象形文字，充滿了神秘感，很難想像這些埃及人到底花了多少時間在作這些墳墓（和之後那些雄偉的宮殿！）我們除了拉美希司三世、四世的墓之外，也去看了大名鼎鼎的圖唐卡門之墓。圖唐卡門之墓CP值極低！一張門票要價80埃鎊，而且下個樓梯只有一個小房間就沒了！不過身為觀光客，就是要被敲敲竹槓。

下一個行程是哈契械蘇女王（熱雞湯女王，音似hot chicken soup）的神廟，建的很漂亮，而且參觀的時候天空的藍色配上太陽灑在建築物上的金色光芒，真是美極了！之後，又去了拉美西司三世神廟。這邊是除了金字塔之外我最喜歡的地方！他的建築非常的大，上面到處刻滿了神秘的象形文字。一層又一層深入內裡，建築層次分明。

帝王谷 (Valley of Kings)


熱雞湯女王神殿


Horus是埃及的老鷹神。在大小神廟都可看到他的身影。
我跟我媽很喜歡從側面拍他，感覺像是他正看顧著芸芸眾生…

圖為拉美西斯三世神殿。
埃及神廟的入口一定都有個方方正正、挑高的大門。


拉美西司三世神殿內某個神秘的角落

         
同為拉美西司三世神殿內

  
這個壁畫拍的不清楚。不過上面有兩堆東西，
一堆是敵人的手，一堆是敵人的生殖器，都是要奉獻給太陽神的供品。


拉美西司三世怕後世把他刻的文字抹去，
所以刻的「特別深」，果然流傳千古…

要回遊輪check-in的時候已經一點了。大家早上起了個大早，吃了個外強中乾的早餐，早就已經飢餓不堪，不過屋漏偏逢連夜雨，車子竟然在路上拋錨了！折騰了一個多小時，連荷槍實彈的警察都跑來瞭解情況，最後換了小巴才解決問題。

遊覽車拋錨時，在路邊亂拍的景色

到了遊輪大家像餓壞了的蝗蟲衝進底層餐廳吃自助餐，每個人都殺紅了眼 @@” 吃了飯大家心情也比較好，領隊說為了補償大家的損失，幫大家爭取到了免費騎小毛驢的福利。

在出去騎驢之前，我跟我媽溜出去附近街上逛逛，不過實在沒有什麼特別的東西。在埃及，要買東西真的很難，你只要一稍微停下腳步，所有的小販就會圍攻你；你只要有詢價，那你就別想輕易脫身。這樣窮追猛打的精神雖然難能可貴，但是真的會嚇到觀光客。我跟我媽就是兩個被嚇到的觀光客，到了最後都不想買東西，只希望他們不要來煩我們。

騎小毛驢很有趣，每個人一頭驢子，就沿著他們的鄉間小路慢慢（其實很快 orz）的騎。放輕鬆的話，非常的悠閒愜意。那些驢子都很乖，只不過都不太聽我們的話，他們好像就是跟著前面的屁股走 XD 大家雖然嘴上不說，但是似乎對於這趟騎驢之旅還算滿意，不知道是否可以抵銷中午汽車拋錨帶來的怨氣。

晚上七點是船上安排的cocktail party。不過真的不算什麼party，這艘船作的都是大型的觀光團體，有去的各團成員還是各聊各的，沒有social的成分在裡頭。其中日本觀光客最配合了，每個人都有盛裝打扮，我們這群台灣的人真的是破壞氣氛 XD 但是party真的很虛，我媽說真正的cruise上面，welcome party船長都還會親自出來跟他的客人見面，要拿著雞尾酒杯到處跟人聊天，非常好玩。晚餐是點菜式的，不過感覺就是把中午的自助餐盛到盤子裡變成主菜 @@”

晚上超累，剛剛其實已經昏死過一次了。撐著把當天的日記打完、照片傳完、洗個澡，我就睡覺了，因為明天五點半又要起床！orz


清晨即起

在埃及的每一天都比上課的時候起得早，很少能睡到超過七點半的。尤其碰到要趕飛機的時候更是如此。埃及國內線的飛機清一色都是由埃及航空包辦，為了應付觀光人潮，他們的飛機每天在兩個地點之間來來回回大概要飛個四五趟，最早的一班可能五點就要飛了。碰到五點這種起飛時間，除了三點起床外，也沒其他辦法…不需要搭飛機的時候比較幸福，大概都可以睡到六點半、七點，但是前一天回到旅館、寫完日記通常都已經一、兩點了，也是睡不到六個小時。有人說跟著旅行團比較輕鬆，但是每次搭上遊覽車的時候其實都很想睡覺…

飛機起飛時間 5:15am

形同虛設的安檢

機場的許多安全檢查形同虛設。這大概已經變成這邊的常態了：在各個觀光景點、公共場所（例如旅館、餐廳）的入口總是可以看到一台逼逼作響的金屬探測器。反正人就一直走過去，探測器就一直逼逼逼亂叫，每台機器要不然就是配有一個警衛，胡亂檢查一番，要不就是很多人，但他們也都懶得理你，你就直接走過去隨便他逼逼叫，不要管就對了。我的結論是：除非你真的背了一把AK47，要不然要檢查出居心不良的人還真是很難。

Egypt - Day 4 - More Pyramids

早上也是比較早起，跟我媽一起在旅館旁的尼羅河畔散步。尼羅河看起來非常乾淨（淡水河相較之下像條臭水溝），清澈到可以看到河底的石頭。早餐吃得很好，還跟兩個日本人同桌。稍微練習了一下生疏的日文。蘇咪嘛現～

第一個行程是紅色金字塔。他的名字叫做「紅色」金字塔有可能是因為他原本最外層被紅色花岡岩覆蓋，也有可能是內部材質採用紅色花岡岩。我們車子繞到金字塔後面沒有人管的地方，然後導遊給了大家半個小時的自由時間…

紅色金字塔。前面有一排後來排的石頭，延伸過去還蠻有趣的。

注意畫面左下角！有個人做比例尺。

風化下來的一塊「小」石頭


從金字塔往上看


從金字塔往下看。從人的大小大約可以知道高度。

爬金字塔的時候，我是以非常謙卑的心情跨出每一步。52度這個數字聽起來還好，但是站在金字塔的底端，你真的會對其感到敬畏。慢慢的，我爬到金字塔的中間。被風化的部分比較難爬，因為有沙子比較滑。坐在金字塔的階梯上是一種近距離跟五千年歷史溝通的特別方式。從上面往下望，下面的遊客都非常的小，不過說話的聲音倒是十分清楚。拍了許多照片。

今天的第二個行程去了一個露天的博物館。普普通通，沒有讓人印象深刻的文物。中間被一個埃及人過來裝友善，最後還是money、money。在埃及有點可悲的是，看到別人對你友善，你心裡都會覺得毛毛的；上廁所也是一樣，不管哪裡的廁所都會有人硬塞給你一些紙巾，然後跟你索取服務費。服務費本身其實是小錢，不過感覺真的不太舒服。

中午吃了風味餐烤鴿子。很特別但不好吃，入境隨俗了。第一次跟楊爸、楊媽、楊弟弟一家一起吃飯，聽了許多有趣的大陸經商故事。席間聽說他們每年都會出國增廣見聞，已經造訪過世界X大古蹟、奇景，讓人羨慕不已。

下午去看階梯金字塔。在那邊因為自由時間很多，我上上下下繞了很多地方。除了歷史最悠久的金字塔，旁邊尚有許多未被挖掘的遺跡，隨處可見刻有埃及象形文字的門柱露出一角，其餘則被埋在風沙之中。自己在那些斷垣殘壁之間走來走去還蠻有趣的：沒走幾步，蹲下去，常常就可以發現另一個遺址。這些還沒被當成觀光景點的古蹟反而比外面大剌剌的金字塔更引起我的好奇心，不免開始想像那些柱子上的文字代表什麼意思。難道他們的考古學家都不會急嗎？要是我是研究埃及的學者，我一定急著要把那些東西挖出來好好看個清楚！

階梯金字塔。是「第一代」的金字塔。


我一直覺得階梯金字塔的稜線很美


尚未挖掘的遺跡

傍晚去了個香精店，白吃白喝了一番，不過沒想到沒人要買他們的商品…場面非常尷尬。過程中大家還用台語商量（這種時候台語真好用，因為國語會被「竊聽」）僵持不下的情況下，同團的小弟弟在察言觀色後叫他爸爸：「快去刷卡！」讓人莞爾一笑。不過，大家還是誰都沒買，最後從後門開溜的窘態只能用「落荒而逃」四個字來形容。其實，也不是不想買或是沒錢，而是對方態度真的有點問題…

吃飯之前，領隊把我們丟到一家飯店的大廳等待。在那邊我跟同團的一個爸爸聊起來，他自己也是主修資工，而且很巧的他也是學AI。他現在的工作是提供工業界資訊工程相關的solution，譬如說要品質管理的時候，拿個照相機照下去，然後用影像處理判斷是否有瑕疵。跟他聊了許多業界、學界的趣事，他的故事和驚豔都非常精彩，他還曾經跟發表MMX計算模組的人一起在一家start-up做事。感覺那位爸爸跟乾爸是同一類的人，也一直強調將很多component湊在一起連連看所能創造的價值。

晚上看了埃及金字塔燈光秀。埃及老祖先真是留了個好東西給他的子民。一個晚上可以有三場燈光秀，每場都用不同的語言，等於一個晚上賺三場！燈光秀實在沒什麼成本，票價還賣那麼貴…不過看到三個金字塔在夜晚散發出鵝黃色的燈光，那股神秘感確實讓人感到驚豔。

回到飯店，快要累死…趴在床上死了一陣子之後，爬起來繼續寫剩下的幾封信。明天還要趕凌晨五點的飛機去Luxor，今晚大概睡不到三個小時了。

廁所與零錢

在埃及的每一個廁所幾乎都要錢，連機場、博物館的公共廁所都不例外。可想見，在觀光景點的廁所生意非常好！站在廁所門口收小費的人隨時手上都是一疊厚厚的鈔票，每個遊客大概在上廁所方面為埃及的GDP貢獻不少吧！上一次廁所的公定價格是一埃鎊（折合新台幣6元），不過如果你沒有零錢，拿五埃鎊或十埃鎊他是不會找錢的 XD 因為我們這一團從頭缺「零錢」缺到最後，到最後上廁所都變成一件奢侈的事，有時索性上「霸王廁所」，當服務生過來的時候，只能兩手一攤，跟他說no money～在埃及換零錢沒有想像中那麼簡單，通常兌換外幣，都是給你大鈔；一般商店也很少會有找零錢的機會…最快獲得一堆零錢的機會應該是直接跟廁所門口的服務生兌換，不過兌換的過程通常都不會那麼順利…

Egypt - Day 3 - Pyramids

這天起了個早，收好東西、隨便吃點早餐，就在所謂「國王的後院」散步。全團出發之前我們在地中海旁邊照相，有座橋旁邊有許多可愛的貓。其中有一隻特別討喜，除了跟人很親近之外，他的尾巴特別大，像松鼠的尾巴！我們都叫他「松鼠貓」！他還會坐正讓大家拍照，非常可愛。

「松鼠貓」的尾巴真的很大！

大貓和小貓 :P

早上我們啟程去埃及的首都開羅。車程很長，大約四個鐘頭。途中，侯爸突然問我們的導遊Hannah埃及人對猶太人的看法，Hannah想都沒想，馬上反問一句：「你會喜歡你的敵人嗎？」原來，他們始終把猶太人視為「敵人」！

能夠親自聽當地人講他們的觀點真的很有趣。總之，猶太人似乎在阿拉伯世界非常的不受歡迎。在埃及人（至少Hannah）的印象裡，猶太人的野心很大，想要得到從伊拉克到尼羅河東岸的所有土地。當然中間有些歷史是可以作證啦…第一次、第二次以阿戰爭以色列都把阿拉伯世界打個半死，尤其第二次以阿戰爭（又稱「六日戰爭」）以色列在六天之內佔領西奈半島，想必一定讓埃及人悶透了！雖然第三次以阿戰爭埃及總算取回了西奈半島和蘇伊士運河的控制權，不過這段歷史已經在兩邊人民的心中留下了難以磨滅的疤痕。

中東的情況真的很複雜，雖然大學主修歷史的領隊小楊在吃中飯的時候說我們最好還是客觀一點來看，不過如果阿拉伯世界很多人都有像Hannah一樣的想法，那這個地區真的是處於不穩定的狀態。

對埃及來講，除了東北方的以色列，還有許多鄰國的問題需要煩惱，例如與南方蘇丹邊界的問題。不過還好從1981就一直連任到現在的埃及總統穆巴拉克不輕易打仗，讓埃及在經歷一連串的戰事後，有機會調養生息。

小楊在車上幫大家補充了埃及的歷史，從五千年前古埃及講起，一路講到十八世紀法國佔領時期。專業的果然不一樣！歷史系的出身加上對旅遊的興趣，讓這堂歷史課脈絡分明、精彩萬分，可惜很多人都不敵六個小時的時差睡著了 :P

位於吉薩（Giza）的三座金字塔其實就在首都開羅旁邊。一接近市區，金字塔就出現在我們的眼前。金字塔真的是…很神奇。即使你在書上讀過、Discovery頻道看過，但親眼看見，還是有種摸不著頭緒的感覺。他們到底從哪裡冒出來的？不管遠看、近看，金字塔都會讓人有種不可思議的感覺。簡單有力的線條伸向天際，與地面夾著完美的52度角；歷史上很難想到還有哪些民族能夠將這樣簡單的幾何圖形運用至極致。不管是設計、體積、建造的過程，金字塔都令人讚嘆！而且想到這些都有五千年的歷史（黃帝還在大戰蚩尤!?），就覺得…哇！

我們真的爬進去參觀的是第二大的考夫拉金字塔，高度約有130公尺。儘管體積、高度驚人，但是通往金字塔內部的通道很小，而且空氣非常的糟糕，我媽走到一半就放棄了，我是屏著氣慢慢爬到最後（心中OS：都坐那麼久的飛機了！）不過到最後也是非常的不舒服。爬到底，是一個幾坪大的房間和一個空的石棺，沒想到底面積有二十個足球場大的金字塔裡頭竟然是這樣的小房間！除了感到有點失望，更強烈的反而是一股好奇心：在金字塔的某個不為人知的地方應該還藏著我們不知道的寶物和故事吧！

拍攝金字塔很有趣，背景通常是天空或者開羅這個城市。若是選擇後者，則前景將是擁有五千多年歷史的金字塔，背景則是二十世紀後半葉的新興建築，這樣的對比十分鮮明。拍攝的內容也會因「雲」而異，因為他實在太大了！所以一朵雲不能完全遮住陽光。有些地方被陽光照的金亮、有些地方則被陰影蓋住，飄移的雲朵讓金字塔每一秒鐘都有不同的風貌。

最高的金字塔—古夫金字塔的側面

遠看真的會失去相對感，不知道金字塔有多大…
近一點拍才知道原來一層石頭跟人差不多高！

團內的攝影大師幫忙拍的 :P


設計感十足的太陽船。法老曾用過，不過為了讓他復生再度再度後使用，
船被拆開放進金字塔內。經過五千年後還能拼成這樣！

  
從遠處拍三座金字塔，不同的光影變化

  
人面獅身像（Sphinx）相對就沒有那麼讓人驚訝。話說他的屁股真的很大！

參觀完金字塔，導遊帶大家去當地的一家店採購莎紙。這種土產店當然少不了熱情招呼客人的服務員。我自己在那邊逛來逛去的時候，有個跟我年紀大概差不多的男生、女生靠過來，用中文跟我聊天。因為年紀相近，我們聊得很愉快！（那個女生還蠻漂亮的！但是最後因為他說不習慣拍照，所以不能給照片）他們還送我幾根莎紙的原料作紀念。那個女生名字我整個忘記了，他一直想用中文跟我聊天，還問我DNA的中文!?（還好生物背的夠熟，寫了個「去氧核糖核酸」）我也寫了自己的中文名字給他看。男生叫作Muhammad，很熱情但也很想賣我東西～雖然最後給我十分優惠的價格，但是我真的沒有特別想買的東西。最後，就是交個朋友囉！我們幾個人加上他們店裡頭會說中文的幾個年輕人就這樣聊起來了。臨走之前，我跟Muhammad照相，還抄了他的email，打算回國後要把照片寄給他！

我和紙莎草店的年輕店員Muhammad在店內合照

晚上我們選在一家有歷史的飯店吃飯。那家飯店是老蔣在二次世界大戰與英、美簽訂開羅宣言的飯店，飯店裡頭還放有三張當時的照片，就是歷史課本上的那幾張！整個飯店裝置得非常典雅、非常有阿拉伯風味，而且光影的運用只能用「魔術」來形容！吃飯的時候看了旋轉舞、肚皮舞，但除了旋轉舞真的很炫（看了自己都會頭暈）肚皮舞實在沒有什麼特別的。

似曾相識？歷史課本上簽訂開羅宣言的就是這三位。

  
旅館內充斥著阿拉伯風味。燈光打在牆上的光影著實精彩！

  
旋轉舞。轉到把自己都包起來 XD

回到旅館最開心的一件事莫過於把我寫的四封信寄出去。不過這倒勾起一段不怎麼開心的回憶，早上我本來要在Alexandria寄，但是正要拿到旅館櫃臺，同車的一個導遊的助理說他可以幫忙，最後吃飯的時候就跑過來說要收我一封信6 Dollar！天阿！這也太貴了一點吧！我一開始就遲疑了…後來直接跑過去跟他把四封信拿回來。晚上自己從旅館櫃臺寄出去的時候，我每封信上面貼了三張1.5埃鎊的郵票，每張用2埃鎊買的，所以一封信是6埃鎊！這樣差了大概快六倍！早上那個人敲竹槓敲的也太過份了點！

Egypt - Day 2 - Alexandria

下飛機踏上的土地，是在埃及西北腳、緊鄰地中海的Alexandria。他的地位是在希臘羅馬時期確立的。在希臘亞歷山大大帝打敗埃及人後，選在Alexandria這個城市建造圖書館等文化建設，並以它作為新世界與自己舊有土地之間的橋樑。

我們首先參觀了希臘羅馬時期的貴族地下陵寢、龐貝石柱、還有建築在地中海旁邊的燈塔遺址（在西元前幾百年因為地震倒塌，但是城牆卻還是屹立不搖）也許是我們運氣不好，當時的天氣十分糟糕，風很大、真的很冷。在參觀燈塔旁的城堡時大家被地中海的海風吹到幾乎無法前進；當天的地中海也不像大家對地中海（希臘?）的刻板印象：藍天白雲小白房蔚藍海，而是波濤洶湧、浪打的比城牆還高。

  

龐貝石柱與燈塔遺址。跟之後幾天要參觀的東西比起來，這只是塞牙縫用的…

地中海天氣不好的時候就這個樣

「中飯」是在下午四點才吃，但是吃的真的很爽。Alexandria因為緊鄰地中海，以海產聞名，尤其「炸魚」更是一絕。中飯所在的海鮮餐廳就在地中海海岸旁邊，景觀一流。餐點也很棒，今天第一次碰到pita！超愛！天阿～還有一堆沾醬！吃的超開心的！很多醬都有濃濃的豆子味，還有一個白色的酸奶油+橄欖油口味，真的太讚了！Pita其實空口吃也很棒，但是有好吃的各種沾醬簡直就是加分到爆表！

主菜魚也很不賴，我覺得海鮮就是只要新鮮都會好吃。甜點除了既有的冰淇淋，領隊還自掏腰包請壽星侯小弟和全團吃蛋糕。我吃到最後快撐死了！但還是剩下好多籃Pita！而且聽領隊小楊說八點半還要吃自助餐（那個時候已經五點半）…這樣不變胖也很難吧！

Pita！算是他們的主食之一。
薄薄的一層餅中間是空心的，撕成小片沾醬吃，非常香！

當天侯小弟過生日，領隊訂了兩個蛋糕請大家吃！
右二是我們會說中文的導遊Hanah。

新落成的亞歷山大圖書館，橋樑象徵性的伸向地中海的彼岸。

去飯店的路上經過了新建的亞歷山大圖書館，停下來十分鐘拍照。它的設計十分特別，最有特色的是一座伸向地中海的橋樑，象徵著亞歷山大圖書館在歷史上連接歐洲和亞洲、匯集各方知識的特別地位。

飯店是在以前埃及國王住的宮殿旁邊。埃及在二十世紀中葉獨立前是有國王的！現在的國家領導者則都是民選總統。埃及現任總統穆巴拉克（Muhammed Hosni Mubarak）已經從1981年連任至今，據說每次大選的支持率都是破90％的。大部分的埃及總統都是軍人出身，穆巴拉克也不例外，不過他主張和平和經濟，也確實在他的主導之下，埃及與以色列的紛爭告一段落、經濟建設得以發展。

由於大家都飽受舟車勞頓之苦，今天晚上沒什麼行程，吃了晚餐就回房睡覺了。我在很認真的寫完日記、明信片之後，也再也沒力氣走出房間閒晃了。


對埃及的錯誤印象 —  沙漠≠熱

埃及確實為在撒哈拉沙漠的邊緣，不過因為緯度偏高（首都開羅所在的緯度相當於中國上海）北部又緊鄰地中海，所以北邊的氣候屬於地中海型氣候，受海洋的影響很大，普遍也較南部冷。開羅冬天的最高溫僅約20度，低溫可以到10度以下。

埃及的地圖 from LonelyPlanet.com。
重要的大城市有北部的開羅（Cairo）、亞歷山大（Alexandria）
以及中南部的路克索（Luxor）、亞斯文（Aswan）

Egypt - Day 1 - On Flight

從早上開始就忙個不停。行事曆一項一項的消，總算在出發前把該作、該交代的事情都完成了。

很久沒搭飛機了當然會興奮。興奮的心情就算到了機場，看到了一堆年紀比我小的小孩子、還有一堆阿姨叔叔的旅行團，還是可以保持微笑。科科，反正都是出來玩，早點想開就好。能有個同年齡的美女相伴談何容易；沒有伴，有得玩就要偷笑。

領隊小楊是個男生，辦事看起來很可靠。大家作上了班機，目的地是埃及的Alexandria。總共轉兩次機，先從台北搭華航到香港，再從香港轉機搭乘阿酋航空（Emerites）到杜拜，再從杜拜搭飛機至Alexandria。

中正機場第一航廈人真的少的可憐，尤其是到了香港、杜拜機場，跟別人的人氣一比瞬間就輸了一大截。想起去年在大陸的上海機場、成都機場羨慕boarding information上面各個航班要飛往世界各地那種國際感；當時第一個感想是：台灣一定要走出自己的一條路，而那條路絕對不是鎖國或是畏懼。

冷冷清清的中正機場第一航廈

杜拜國際機場 @1am local time
消費力十足的人們沒天沒夜的買免稅品！

貼心的杜拜機場還設有Mosque供回教信徒進去禮拜
（我媽曾誤把他當廁所 :P）

華航的空姐真的比較漂亮，服務態度也很好，機艙又新，放的電影也很棒（我在飛機上看了「失控的陪審團」的前半部，他的系統可以讓你隨時選用上面的上百部電影）最可惜的就在他偶爾會搞飛機 orz

這是我第一次搭阿酋航空。真的很有趣，第一次看到這麼多不同人種在同一機艙，廣播的時候有好多種語言重複廣播，機艙服務員也似乎是從世界各地徵召而來，除了每個人都會英文外，似乎都有一個自己的母語，而所有人加起來零零總總就有一大串可以通行的語言，很酷！機艙裡頭瀰漫著阿拉伯人特有的香味，應該跟他們很愛擦香水、香精有關。從香港飛杜拜的班機，除了我們這種鄉民，也有很多穿著西裝領帶的商務人士，看起來派頭十足。

總之，經過了總共24小時的飛行和等待，我們在當地時間2008/1/30的中午一點到達了目的地。雖然我很喜歡搭飛機，但是這次連續轉兩次機，又是長時間的飛行，還真是讓人體力有點吃不消。