OUT-OF-TOWNERS IN JACKSON, USA
FOUND IN
TRANSLATION
Jack Palfrey,
lonelyplanet.com
Assistant Editor
@JPalfersJames Gabriel Martin
Lonely Planet writer
@James_G_MartinThere’s nothing quite like being helped out of a tight spot when that spot is halfway round the globe.
Our staffers recount episodes in their travels that prove home isn’t necessarily where the heart is...Strangers-turned-saviours
DURING A SHOESTRING CROSSING
of the Southern USA, a friend and I
met an unassuming gent in the
smoking area of a bar in Jackson,
Mississippi. He was partly
bemused, partly impressed by our
low-budget odyssey (during most of
which we slept in our car), but more
interested that our next stop was
New Orleans, his hometown. He
talked passionately about the cityuntil his cigarette burnt away,
finishing his soliloquy by
recommending his favourite hotel
overlooking the city’s main strip,
Bourbon Street (pictured left).
We told him it looked lovely, but
we could never afford it. ‘You know
what guys,’ he said, ‘this one is on
me.’ It was a bizarre, remarkable
act, typical of the countless genial
locals we met on that trip.AFTER A LONG DRIVE, WE REACHED OUR
guesthouse in a small village in the north
of Okinawa, Japan. We were ravenous,
so after check-in, I asked the receptionist
to book a table at the adjoining restaurant,
the only place to eat for miles. Half an hour
later, we arrived to find it full. None of the
staff spoke English, and my Japanese was
very poor. I tried to explain that we had
a booking, but the waitress did not
understand me. After some time, a woman
who had been watching from a nearby
tableapproachedandofferedtotranslate.
We were sorted in minutes, and as we ate,
the friendly woman, Yayoi, invited us to her
home the following night. She cooked an
amazing dinner, I joked with her husband,
and she showed me her incredible ceramic
art and introduced me to her cats. It was
one of my favourite nights from my trip
across Japan. We are still in touch, and I am
thankful that her simple act of kindness
allowed me to make a lifelong friend. ‘Itwasoneofmyfavouritenights from my trip
across Japan’
JOURNAL
STAFF STORIESPHOTOGRAPHS: JAMES GABRIEL MARTIN, ATSUKO OSHIRO/GETTY IMAGES, GTS PRODUCTIONS/SHUTTERSTOCK, MARK READ