When it comes to traveling, there’s no shame in being an ass. For thousands of years, donkeys have served as our load-bearing companions, but these days, there’s a new Eeyore on the scene: the Chinese 驢友(l(y6u), literally “donkey friend.”Originally coined on a Sina traveling forum, 驢友 is a pun on the homonym 旅游 (l)y5u, travel), and can refer either to hardy travel geeks of the Lonely Planet variety, or simply to travel companions. For instance, you might introduce a travel-loving friend by saying,“Old Wang is a hardcore traveler”(老王可是一個地道的驢友 L2o W1ng k0 sh# y! g- d#dao de l(y6u) It can also be used in reference to travel companions: “On the road, we can meet a lot of fellow travelers!” (一路上,我們能結識不少驢友呢!Y!l sh3ng, w6men n9ng ji9sh! bsh2o l(y6u ne!)驢 has also spawned a number of related terms. 驢圈 (l(qu`n) refers to a group of budget travelers, which includes a hierarchy of donkeys: there’s the veteran “leader donkey” (掌門驢 zh2ngm9nl(); the route-savvy “way-directing donkey”(識途驢 sh!t%l(); the loquacious“donkey mouth” (驢嘴 l(zu@); and finally the “color donkey” (色驢 s-l() who, far from hiking in a rainbow suit, is simply a great travel photographer. - hu yIjun (胡逸君)