Episode 18: Just a Kiss
14,000 km Back Home: A Woman's Silk Road Journey By Min Hsieh
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Part 1: The Plan Chapter 4: Setting Foot on the Silk Road "I am doing something that will make me like myself more after I've done it."
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Just a Kiss – Italy, DAY 56
After saying goodbye to Stefania's family, I continued heading south.
Leaving Naples, a city rich in historical stories, was not an easy task. The roads displayed a mix of Roman-era stone pavements, years of deterioration, and traces of modern renovations.
My wheels would first roll over a short stretch of asphalt, then drop onto ancient Roman stone slabs, then tumble through countless potholes where the stone slabs had crumbled, then jump back onto stone slabs, carefully sliding over broken asphalt fragments.
These road conditions continued for several kilometers with no end in sight. My hands and backside ached from the intense vibrations. I could only smile bitterly and comfort myself by imagining I was riding on a boulevard where ancient and modern merged, experiencing the changes of time while traveling through them.
My Couchsurfing host in Salerno, Marco, lived in an apartment in an old building. Italian houses are built quite spontaneously, with residential buildings following the contours of the hills without any pattern. Marco's apartment required climbing up three flights of stairs, passing different households' doors, before reaching a cave-like dwelling.
Marco recommended that one must-see attraction in Italy was Pompeii, which I had just passed. I recalled Iginio mentioning this city on Mount Vesuvius, telling me it had been swallowed by the volcano two thousand years ago. So the next day at noon, I took a train to visit this ancient city.
At Pompeii's ticket entrance, the winter weather and rain had left the tourist site almost empty. A guided tour would cost extra, so I decided to pay just the eleven-euro entrance fee.
Just past the ticket checkpoint, I was greeted by a staff member who spoke fluent English, which was rare in Italy.
"Darling, did they give you a map of this place at the ticket counter?" asked the short staff member with a mustache.
"Um, yes, here it is." I looked and noticed that besides my ticket, the clerk had also given me a map.
"Good, darling, give me the map." He took the map, opened it, and pointed to a spot, saying, "We're here now. First, we can visit this area, and you'll understand what exactly happened in Pompeii."
I thanked this enthusiastic staff member, thinking how good Italian service was, telling you where to start right at the entrance.
Just as I was about to take back the map, I realized he was already leading me forward.
"Darling, do you see these tiny stones? These are limestone particles that erupted from the volcano." I followed the mustached man's hand and nodded.
"You see, these ash particles originally contained large amounts of gas. With the power of the volcanic eruption, they fell here and covered the entire town nearly two meters high. Look, you can see the coverage line on this wall." He took me to another ruin where I could clearly see a line on the wall separating two colors.
"So, many people say Pompeii was destroyed by volcanic lava, but that's wrong. In fact, the people here died from gas poisoning. The incident happened at night when people were sleeping, which is why we were able to excavate many people in peaceful sleeping positions. But these are just researchers' speculations, as no records were left to tell us exactly what happened. Now, let me take you to the next place." The mustached man still held my map and walked toward the next direction.
"Excuse me, wait a moment." Something felt off—this entrance service was too good, almost like a guided tour. To avoid misunderstanding, I decided to clarify. "I didn't pay for a guided tour."
"Ah?" The mustached man paused and looked at me again. "No problem, darling. After the tour, you can just give me a kiss here." He pointed to his lips with his left index finger.
"Um, sorry, I can't kiss you either." In Italy, I knew rejection had to be straightforward and direct—absolutely no Asian-style politeness, or they would think I was playing hard to get.
"What? Not even a kiss?" I saw his shocked and disappointed expression, as if saying this was such a bargain and I still refused.
"Yes, no kissing either." I thought my message was clear—if you don't want to lose out, then back off; I won't pay and I won't kiss anyone.
"Fine! Then a kiss here is also acceptable." The mustached man showed a helpless face and pointed to his cheek with his index finger.
"Um, not there either." Apparently in Italy, people will bargain with you even on this. I imitated him by pointing to my own cheek, then wagged the same finger at him several times.
We were at a standoff for a while until he finally spoke again: "Alright! No problem. Since you're a beautiful woman, I'll guide you for free today! Rest assured, I am a legal professional Pompeii guide." He showed me the badge hanging on his chest.
Of course, at the end of the tour, this kiss-seeking mustached gentleman hoped I would kiss his cheek. I figured this was also part of Italian farewell customs, so I gave his cheek a quick kiss as thanks for the tour.
Thanks to this guide, I learned a lot about the historical background. Pompeii was active from ancient Greek to Roman Empire times (400 BCE to early CE). From the houses, shops, installations, and art left in the city, it was evident that over two thousand years ago, this was a very wealthy metropolis.
After exploring for more than four hours, I reluctantly left when the park was closing at dusk. As a result, I was caught in the rain for half the day, soaked from my feet to my thighs.
Sure enough, the next morning I woke up with a splitting headache and had vomited twice. I decided to take a train directly from Salerno to my Couchsurfing host's home in Taranto to recover.
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📅 Time Frame: This story chronicles my journey across two continents between November 2013 and October 2014. Published independently in Taiwan in 2021, it is now shared as an English serialized novel through AI translation, connecting with friends worldwide to share this journey of personal growth.
📅 Next Episode: "The Surprise Room"