We are slowly removing all room for serendipity and surprise in our travels
Sharing a sleeping compartment with a stranger was train travel's Russian roulette. It could end in romance, as between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest, or more bloodily, as in Murder on the Orient Express. But the move to abolish shared berths for rail passengers travelling alone from London to Cornwall shows that, like Greta Garbo, we all now want to be alone.
Our attitude to chance encounters has changed. From once thinking of a stranger as a friend we hadn't got to know yet, we now think of a stranger as a potential axe-murderer with whom it's best to avoid eye contact. Not so long ago a joy of travel was meeting interesting people in interesting places who hospitably invited you to stay in their homes - filling many British travellers with gratitude for the kindness of strangers (and a dread that the strangers might one day appear unannounced at your doorstep expecting their hospitality to be reciprocated).
But when we go on holiday today we crave a Tuscan villa so remote that no native has been there since 1847. We don't want neighbours, snoopers, uninvited visitors or unsought conversation. If a neighbouring passenger on a train or a plane breaks the ice with small talk, we probably want to break their nose . We live in hermetic worlds, sealed off by iPods, mobile phones and laptops. We wander the planet with an invisible “Do Not Disturb” sign slung around our necks, screening phone calls, uninvited intrusions and chance encounters. On which point, please excuse our interrupting you like this. It was nice meeting you. Hope we'll meet again soon.
译文:
火车上的陌生人
渐渐的，我们正在失去旅行中所有发生奇缘与惊喜的可能。
与陌生人共用一个卧铺车厢就像是火车旅行中的轮盘赌，结局可能是一段罗曼史，就像《西北偏北》中的加里·格兰特和爱娃·玛丽·森特；也可能较为血腥，如同《东方快车谋杀案》那样。但废除从伦敦到康沃尔的单身旅行者共用铺位的运动却表明，如同葛丽泰·嘉宝那样，现在的我们希望独处。
我们对于偶然相遇的态度已经改变了，从前我们将陌生人当作自己尚未相识的朋友，而现在陌生人被视为潜在的持刀杀手，让我们唯恐避之而不及。 还在不久以前，旅行的一大乐趣就在于在有意思的地方遇见有意思的人，而他们会殷勤地请你去家中小住——许多英国旅行者都对陌生人的友善满怀感激（以及某种担心，害怕这些陌生人会在某天不期而至，并希望在他们家中获得同样殷勤的回报）。
但当我们今天再外出度假时，我们想要的是一幢远离人烟的托斯卡纳别墅，最好从1847年起就没人到过。我们不想要邻居、管闲事的家伙、不请自来的客人和不想进行的谈话。如果火车或飞机上邻座的旅客用闲谈打破沉默，我们可能只想打破他们的噪音。我们住在用iPod、手机和手提电脑密封起来的世界中，我们颈中挂着隐形的“请勿打扰”牌子在这个星球上游荡，替我们屏蔽电话、不想要的骚扰与偶然的相遇。这么说来，请原谅我的打扰，很高兴遇见你，下次再会。