居眠り目的のバスツアー　不眠解消と気晴らし狙って企画　香港

【香港ＡＦＰ＝時事】バスの長旅でうたた寝をした経験がある人は多いだろうが、眠るためだけに料金を支払ってバスに乗るのはどうだろう。このアイデアを基に企画されたのが、不眠解消に役立つと銘打った香港のバスツアーだ。（写真は「目的地のない」香港バスツアーで居眠りする乗客）
　ある晴れた日曜の午後。およそ７０人の乗客が２階建てバス２台に乗り込んだ。はしゃぐ子どもや退職した高齢者など、客層はさまざま。バスは「目的地のないルート」を走る。
　１台は「静かなバス」で、乗客は車内で寝ることができる。もう１台には従来の観光オプションが付いている。
　行程８５キロのツアーは、にぎやかな都市部を出発して主に沿岸部の幹線道路を走り、市内の空港に到着した。新型コロナウイルス流行の影響で、人出は少ない。
　５時間のツアー中、バスはさまざまな絶景スポットで停車する。眺めを楽しむ乗客もいるが、多くの客は配られた耳栓とマスクを装着して早々と眠りに就いた。
　静かなバスを選んだ乗客の一人は、「香港人は仕事や家賃の支払い、日々の生活に追われてストレスを抱えていますし、今は旅行もできませんから」と、新型コロナの厳しい防疫措置で外国からほぼ切り離された現状について話した。
　「こうしたストレスが重なって、香港人の多くはあまり眠れていないと思います」
　一方、この数週間寝不足が続いたので参加したという男性は、バスから見える景色に目を奪われたと話した。
　「今日の天気は寝るにはもったいないですよ」
　ツアー料金は、９９～３９９香港ドル（約１４００～５８００円）だ。
　企画した旅行会社「Ｕｌｕ　Ｔｒａｖｅｌ」社長のフランキー・チョウ氏は、走行中に乗客の眠りを妨げないよう、なるべく信号が少ないルートを選んだと説明した。
　このツアーで、寝不足の人には昼寝の機会を、外国との接触を断たれている香港人にはちょっとした気晴らしを提供したいと話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/12/03-12:18）

Most of us will have experienced drifting off to sleep during a lengthy bus journey. But would you pay to do just that?
That's the idea behind a novel tour bus business in Hong Kong billing itself as a possible cure for insomnia.
On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon about 70 passengers ranging from excitable infants to silver-haired retirees got on board two double deckers plying a route to nowhere.
One was a quiet bus where people could sleep, the second was a more traditional sight-seeing option.
The 85-kilometre (52-mile) trip started in a bustling urban district and made its way mostly on coastal highways to the city's airport, which has seen a fraction of the usual traffic throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
While some passengers enjoyed the view, many adorned provided ear plugs and face masks and were soon fast asleep for the five-hour trip which includes stops at various scenic sites.
I think everyone has experienced not being able to sleep at home but they can sleep very soundly on a bus as the bus swings and vibrates, passenger and quiet bus convert Ho Wai told AFP during the trip.
Every Hong Konger has stress from work, from affording a flat, from life and now we can't go travelling, he added, referencing strict coronavirus quarantine rules that have kept Hong Kong largely cut off from the rest of the world.
With all these stress adding up, I think a lot of Hong Kongers aren't sleeping well.
- Virus isolation -
Fellow passenger Matthew Chick said he had been having trouble sleeping in recent weeks and decided to give the journey a go.
But he struggled to peel his eyes away from the view.
The weather today is too good to be sleeping, the 29-year-old told AFP.
Tickets are priced between HK$99 and HK$399 ($12 and $51) with upper deck seats carrying the higher price tag.
Frankie Chow, president of Ulu Travel and the entrepreneur who came up with the idea, said he tried to pick routes with as few traffic lights as possible to reduce stops that might wake passengers.
He sees the bus as serving two purposes -- a potential nap for those struggling to sleep and also a bit of excitement for any Hong Kongers who want a bit of sightseeing at a time when the city is cut off internationally.
Hong Kong has maintained some of the world's harshest quarantine measures and travel restrictions during the pandemic.
The strategy has kept infections low but ensured a business hub that dubs itself Asia's World City has been cut off isolated for the past 20 months.
In the past, I would go to the airport (for travelling) each month, a male passenger, who declined to give his name, told AFP. Aside from sleeping, this tour also gives us a sense of travelling.