西双版纳一日 · 雨林与傣家

告庄西双景是景洪澜沧江北岸的傣式街区，「告庄」是傣语「九塔十二寨」的意思，中间的大金塔是这一片的标志，塔身贴金，四周立着小的佛塔和傣族的雕塑，晴天里金光闪闪。这里白天人不多，塔前的台阶上常有穿傣族服装拍照的人。傣族信仰南传佛教，进佛寺、见佛塔要脱鞋、不穿短裤吊带、不背对佛像拍照，这是最基本的礼数。

Gaozhuang is a Dai-style quarter on the north bank of the Lancang in Jinghong; the name means 'nine pagodas, twelve villages' in Dai, and the great golden pagoda at its centre — gilded, surrounded by smaller stupas and Dai figures — is the marker of the district, blazing in the sun. By day it is quiet, and the steps in front are popular with people having their photos taken in Dai dress. The Dai follow Theravada Buddhism: shoes off to enter a temple or approach a stupa, no shorts or camisoles, and do not turn your back on a Buddha image to photograph it. That is the minimum courtesy.

曼听公园在景洪市区，一千多年来一直是傣王的御花园，园里古树参天、竹林密密，湖上有亭，很安静。旁边就是总佛寺——西双版纳等级最高的南传佛教寺院，大殿里的佛像、壁画、金色屋顶都很讲究，出家的小沙弥很多。园里还有大象、孔雀的表演，一天几场，看表演别勉强动物、别喂食。这一片适合慢慢走，感受一下热带植物和南传佛教的气氛。

Manting Park lies in the middle of Jinghong and has served as the Dai princes' garden for more than a thousand years: old trees soaring, bamboo thick, a pavilion on the water, and quiet. Beside it stands the Zongfo Temple, the most senior Theravada monastery in the prefecture, its hall richly done in images, murals and a gilded roof, with many young novice monks. The park also puts on elephant and peacock shows several times a day; do not press the animals or feed them. This is a stretch to walk slowly and take in the tropical planting and the Theravada atmosphere.

傣族园在橄榄坝，是把五个真的傣族村寨连起来的一片地方，不是搭出来的景区。傣家的竹楼是杆栏式的：几根柱子把楼架起来，楼下养牲口、放农具，楼上住人，进门要脱鞋。院子里种着芒果、菠萝蜜、木瓜，佛寺的金顶从树里露出来。园里每天有泼水活动，游客可以换傣族衣服下场互泼，图个吉利；四月中旬的泼水节是真节日，那时候全州都在泼。不想湿身可以站远一点看。

The Dai park at Ganlanba strings together five genuine Dai villages rather than a built set. A Dai house is raised on posts: animals and tools below, people above, shoes off at the door. Mango, jackfruit and papaya grow in the yards, and temple roofs show gold through the trees. There is a water-splashing session every day, where visitors can change into Dai clothes and join in for luck; the mid-April Water Splashing Festival is the real thing, when the whole prefecture joins. If you would rather stay dry, watch from a distance.

傣味是西双版纳最有意思的东西：菠萝饭是把糯米和菠萝肉装进菠萝壳里蒸，甜香；香茅草烤鱼是把鱼肚里塞满香茅草、姜、蒜，外面裹芭蕉叶烤，鱼皮焦、鱼肉嫩；还有酸笋煮鸡、舂鸡脚（把鸡脚和柠檬、辣椒、蒜一起舂碎，酸辣开胃）、柠檬凉粉、炸竹虫、烤五花肉配蘸水。味道偏酸辣，怕辣的要说「少放辣椒」。吃饭时上一壶冰镇柠檬水或老挝冰咖啡，最解辣。

Dai cooking is the most interesting thing in Xishuangbanna: pineapple rice steams sticky rice and pineapple flesh inside the shell; lemongrass-grilled fish is stuffed with lemongrass, ginger and garlic and grilled in a banana leaf, skin crisp and flesh tender; and there is sour-bamboo chicken soup, pounded chicken feet (chopped with lime, chilli and garlic — hot, sour, appetising), lime jelly noodles, fried bamboo worms and grilled pork belly with dipping sauce. The flavour runs sour and hot, so if you cannot take chilli say 'go easy on it'. A jug of iced lime water or a Lao iced coffee cuts the heat best.

中科院西双版纳热带植物园在勐仑，建在一块被罗梭江围起来的半岛上，是中国面积最大、植物种类最多的热带植物园，一万多种植物。走在园里，抬头是椰子树、槟榔、油棕，低头是各种蕨类和兰花；最有意思的是雨林里的几个现象——绞杀榕（榕树的种子落在别的树上，根须一圈圈把宿主缠死）、大板根（大树为了站得稳，根长成一片片的板）、老茎生花（花直接开在树干上）。园子很大，坐观光车省力，走一段也要留足时间。

The Chinese Academy of Sciences tropical botanical garden at Menglun occupies a peninsula wrapped by the Luosuo River — the largest and most species-rich tropical garden in China, with more than ten thousand plants. Walk through it and you are under coconut, betel palm and oil palm, with ferns and orchids below; the best of it is the rainforest's tricks — the strangler fig, whose seed lands on another tree and whose roots wind round and kill the host; buttress roots, grown as slabs so the tree can stand; and cauliflory, flowers breaking straight out of the trunk. The garden is big; take the shuttle to save your legs, and allow plenty of time even if you walk only part.

澜沧江从青海一路南下，穿过西双版纳，出境之后就叫湄公河，流过缅甸、老挝、泰国、柬埔寨、越南，最后入海——一条河连着六个国家。景洪这一段江面宽，晚上有游船，船上一般有歌舞表演和简单的自助餐，坐在甲板上看两岸的灯火和桥，风一吹很凉快。不想坐船也可以在江边散步，江风吹着很舒服。

The Lancang comes all the way down from Qinghai, crosses Xishuangbanna, and the moment it leaves China becomes the Mekong, running through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to the sea — one river through six countries. The stretch at Jinghong is broad, with evening cruises that usually include song-and-dance and a simple buffet; sit on deck for the lights and bridges along both banks, cool in the breeze. If you would rather not cruise, a walk along the bank is pleasant in the river wind.

星光夜市就在告庄大金塔旁边，天黑了才开，是景洪最热闹的地方。摊子分几类：吃的有舂鸡脚、烤五花肉、菠萝饭、芒果糯米饭、烤昆虫、老挝冰咖啡、鲜榨果汁；喝的有椰子水、甘蔗汁；还有卖傣锦、银饰、木雕、东南亚小商品、香料和热带水果的。价钱好商量，买得多可以讲一讲。逛的时候看管好随身东西，人多。

The Starlight market opens at dusk beside the golden pagoda and is the liveliest spot in Jinghong. The stalls fall into groups: food — pounded chicken feet, grilled pork belly, pineapple rice, mango sticky rice, grilled insects, Lao iced coffee, fresh juice; drink — coconut water and sugarcane; and goods — Dai brocade, silver, wood carving, South-East Asian trinkets, spices and tropical fruit. Prices are negotiable, especially in quantity. Keep an eye on your belongings: it is crowded.

版纳的夜里一定要吃一次傣味烧烤。跟内地的烧烤不太一样：很多是把食材用芭蕉叶包起来烤（叫「包烧」），比如包烧鱼、包烧豆腐、包烧金针菇，叶子一揭，香茅和辣椒的味道一起出来；还有烤鸡、烤猪脸、烤茄子、烤玉米、烤小瓜，都配一小碟蘸水。主食来一碗米线或烤糯米粑粑。江边风凉，坐着吃、慢慢聊，一天算是圆满了。

No night in Xishuangbanna is complete without Dai barbecue, and it is not like mainland grilling: much of it is wrapped in banana leaf and cooked that way — bāoshāo fish, tofu, enoki — and when the leaf comes off, lemongrass and chilli come out with the steam. There is also grilled chicken, pig's cheek, aubergine, corn and baby squash, each with a little dish of dipping sauce. Finish with a bowl of rice noodles or grilled sticky-rice cakes. The riverside is cool, you eat sitting down and talk slowly — a proper end to the day.