On a bench in Regen ’s Park, London, on October 7, 1970, a young man studying for MBA degree at London Business School met an Irish¹ girl who first arrived in London.

1970年的10月7日，在伦敦摄政公园的一个长椅上，一位在伦敦商学院读MBA的小伙子，遇见了一位初到伦敦的爱尔兰姑娘。

 

The young man was about to graduate from the business school and become a nine-to-fiver.

男生马上要从商学院毕业，眼看着就要过上“朝九晚五”的生活了。

 

As a matter of fact, he was going to become an engineer at Chrysler Corporation².

事实上，他正要去汽车公司克莱斯勒做一名工程师。

 

However, his life trajectory³ was about to change because of the girl in front of him.

然而，他的这个人生轨迹即将因为眼前的这个女孩而改变。

 

The two of them fell in love at first sight and married a year later.

他们两人一见钟情，并在一年后结婚了。

 

Normally⁴, they would probably each get a stable⁵ job and live a middle-class life day in and day out.

按照正常的生活轨迹，他们大概会各自找一份安定的工作，然后过着每天千篇一律的中产阶级生活。

 

But they think they want more freedom in their life.

但他们觉得，自己还没过够自由自在的生活。

 

As a result, the young couple bought a small car a year later and started an overland journey through Europe and Asia.

于是，这对小夫妻在一年后买了一辆小破车，开始了一场横跨欧亚大陆的旅行。

 

Eventually, they crossed the whole Oceania⁶ and arrived in Australia.

最终，他们穿过大洋洲，来到了澳大利亚；

 

Here they met with many other people who want to travel on their own, all of whom are eager to know the details of their travels.

在这里，他们碰到了其他很多也想自助旅行的人，这些人都很急切地想知道他们旅行的各种细节。

 

So the couple published a book to share their travel experiences.

于是，这对小夫妻出版了一本书，来专门讲述自己的旅游经历。

 

In the end, they opened a company that popularized all kinds of travel knowledge and experience and thus became the richest backpackers in the world.

最终，他们开了一家公司，普及各种旅游知识、分享各种旅游经验，并因此成为了世界上最富有的背包客。

 

The young man is called Tony Wheeler, and the Irish girl is Mauren Wheeler.

这个男生，叫做托尼·惠勒，这个爱尔兰姑娘，叫做莫琳·惠勒。

 

That is how Lonely Planet⁷ was born.

孤独星球这家公司，就此诞生。

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