Love across Africa rica

By Lyu Rulan

Love across Africa rica

By Lyu Rulan

Miss Liang Wenxin,a senior white collar in Beijing,decided to traverse Africa at the end of April,2014.Her father responded with rejection;he worried about her safety to travel alone.Miss Liang invited Mr.Chen Mingwang,an old friend and director at Beijing Television,as her partner.

M ingwang was one year older than Wenxin.He was a master of photography,but spoke poor English;Wenxin was good at making traveling plans,but bothered by her delicate physique.To complement each other,they became travel buddies and agreed on a cost-sharing arrangement.

On May 12,Mingwang took a flight to the Jordan Valley,where Wenxin had arrived four days earlier.Starting from the valley,they planned to travel across Africa together.

Mingwang told Wenxin that,despite his good salary,he was a typical member of the“moonlight clan,”who would turn penniless by the end of the month.He had little confidence in funding the whole journey.“Please don't be surprised if I gave it up halfway.You can find another partner and continue your dream.”

Wenxin responded disapprovingly:“I certainly do not agree.The key to a budget trip is not whether you have enough money.It lies in if you really have the desire to set out, and whether you have the courage and confidence to go on.”

The African continent brought the duo many frights,as well as surprises.One time,they took a ship six hours across the Red Sea,only to arrive at the small town Dahab,E-gypt at 1 a.m.

Stepping out at the port,they found the gate was guarded by either revolutionary or government forces.A group of white-gowned drivers instantly besieged them,trying to make a sale.They were so frightened that they kept retreating, and entered into a militarized zone. A soldier pointed a chilly gun at Wenxin’s back and firmly stated:“You have stepped into a forbidden area.”They were trembling with fear and left in a cold sweat,but they survived to tell the tale.

Utterly exhausted after the frightful experience,they finally arrived at a local motel safely.And the next day,was Wenxin’s birthday.

Sweet surprises befell her when she was in a bad mood,thinking no one would be there to celebrate her birthday.

The town of Dahab is close to the sea on one side and adjacent to the desert on the other three sides.That day at noon,while Wenxin was taking a nap,Mingwang snuck out quietly and searched through the main street to find a birthday cake for her. After walking back and forth three times throughout the street,he realized there was no cake shop there. Eventually,he found a small bar, whose owner agreed to bake a small cake at a high expense.

In order to get the candles to accompany the cake,he walked through the main street again many times,only to find out that Egyptians do not have the habit of lighting birthday candles.Eventually,he managed to find some candles in an aromatherapy shop as a substitute.

At midnight,Mingwang knocked on the door of Wenxin’s room. Stunned by the birthday cake in Mingwang's hands,Wenxin,whose sleepy eyes now widely open,was so touched that she gave him a big hug.

There are surely unknown risks and setbacks on a long trip,but feeling the burning emotions and passions of life on the road,Wenxin felt all the effort and discomforts were well worth it.

Everything b etween them was just natural and organic.In the Roman Temple in Jordan,they held hands for the first time;while riding in a hot air balloon in Egypt,Mingwang spoke out about his emotions towards Wenxin.

The changes in their relationship brought vivid color to the trip. When they arrived in Ethiopia,they were cheated by a local unlicensed guide.In the past,they had chosen to split bills equally,and the loss wouldn’t have been such a big loss. Since they were lovers now,they made the decision to find the cheat and retrieve their money.

Though they couldn't track down the cheat,they remembered the location where they were tricked.It was a small hotel in a local scenic spot.They went once again to the small hotel,to dine but not dash. They told the hotel owner that they had no money to pay after their meal.

They suggested that the owner call the police.When the police arrived,they made such a fuss that hundreds of locals came out to the street to watch the fun.After the police arrived,they provided their mobile phone call records with the unlicensed guide,as well as other evidence.

It took the police two hours to find the guide,and all their money was recovered.

Triumphantly,Wenxin said to Mingwang:“You see,if we hadn’t worked as a couple,we wouldn’t have succeeded.”Mingwang sighed with emotion:“Yes,that’s the power of love.”

In the third month of their trip, the planned itinerary was almost finished.The attachment between them,however,was still at its peak. Neither of them was willing to leave.They discussed their plans and decided to continue traveling. They headed to South Africa.

Cape Agulhas is 200 kilometers south of the Cape of Good Hope and is the southern-most point of Africa.In the local language,“agulhas”means“point.”When the two of them arrived in the extremely quiet town,they found that there was only one main street,leading to a lighthouse beside the sea.Climbing up to the lighthouse,Mingwang overlooked the distant sea in silence,Wenxin felt surprised:what has happened to this always cheerful boy?

Down from the lighthouse andstanding on the soft grass,Wenxin noticed that Mingwang had quietly picked a piece of grass and was playing with it carefully.Wenxin felt that something was in the air. Not surprisingly,Mingwang turned to her and knelt down on one knee, holding a yellow flower and a grass ring,“Wenxin,here is the meeting point of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.It’s just like the love between us,eventually getting together after so many twists and turns. Will you marry me?”

While crossing the whole African continent,Wenxin had been looking forward to this very moment.The sudden happiness had left her dumbfounded.She took the grass ring,and with tears in her eyes,she responded:“Yes,I will.”

The price tag on a diamond ring equated to at least another two months of budget traveling,so they decided to forgo their return flight to China and instead boarded a plane from South Africa to Burma, beginning their journey to five Southeast Asia countries as a substitute for a diamond ring.

After the marriage proposal, Wenxin began to consider buying a wedding dress.She also decided to take wedding photos on the trip, thinking it would be their best choice.

They bought a wedding dress during the travel in Malaysia,and took their first wedding photo at Angkor Wat,Cambodia.

Several days later,they arrived in Vang Vien,Laos.They were touched by the beautiful scenery of the Nam Song River,which reminded them of Guilin,a famous scenic city in South China’s Guangxi Province,and decided to take a photo of their images reflected in the river.

There were no visitors around and they had no means of controlling the shutter with a remote. Mingwang let Wenxin stand by the river bank,set the camera up on the other side of the river,and then rush back to Wenxin’s side.The timer’s maximum delay was only ten seconds.In order not to destroy the calm surface of the water,he chose not to wade directly to her,but instead went around the river.To make it for the photo,he had to sprint into the frame.The picture shows him panting as heavily as a horse,while Wenxin,watching the funny scene,laughed out loud.

It was a trip of love covering more than 70,000 kilometers across 15 countries in 207 days.With clips of what they had seen and heard on the journey,they created a documentary,namedA Wedding Dress in a Backpack.The video went viral after being uploaded online,gaining more than 20 million hits.The fans were not only attracted to the exotic customs and cultures,but also touched by the couple’s romantic love,and their attitude of pursuing freedom.

They have certainly not stopped, however.Now they are the parents of a new-born baby,whom they plan to take in the backpack in their future trips.

(Photos courtesy of Liang Wenxin and Chen Mingwang.Find more at WeChat:walkheart)