Posted by Andrew
Today I went and saw 吴哥窟 (Angkor Wat), a temple outside Siem Reap, Cambodia. It dates back to the 12th century, and numerous national governments have 赞助 (donated money to/supported) the 维护 (protection/maintenance) of the deteriorating walls. It is indeed a 国宝 (national treasure) for Cambodia, and truly 具有代表性 (possess representative characteristics) for the country. Entering Angkor Wat through the back gate and walking down 安静 (quiet) dirt roads made the trip all the more magical. Although there were a handful of 旅行团 (tour groups) visible during the visit, the 人流量 (flow of people) peaked as we walked out of the front gate, where it was 人山人海 a mountain of people- see note below).
吴哥窟 wu2ge1ku1 - Angkor Wat, a large temple in Cambodia
赞助 zan4zhu4 - donate money to/financially support sth/sb.
维护 wei2hu4 - protect/maintain
国宝 guo2bao3 - national treasure
具有代表性 ju4you3dai4biao3xing4 - possesses representative characteristics
安静 an1jing4 - quiet
旅行团 lv3xing2tuan2 - travel/tour groups
人流量 ren2liu2liang4 - flow of people
人山人海 ren2shan1ren2hai3 - lit. “people mountain people sea”- a high volume of people
Posted by Andrew
The next stop in my travels has been 柬埔寨 (Cambodia). I sat with my traveling buddies on a bus and watched as alternating landscapes with and without 电线 (power lines) rolled by. Like in Vietnam, there is no shortage of 三轮摩托车 (Tuk-Tuks 3-wheeled motorcycles). The landscape we saw outside the window on our way to Phnom Penh was almost entirely 平原 (plains) with signs jutting out written in every type of 外文 (foreign language) saying 招租 (”for rent”). Owing to recent history, the 平均年龄 in Cambodia seems to be very low, as you largely see children out in public with few adults. Although I can’t speak any 高棉语 (Khmer), it is possible to see Chinese written on signs- a likely result of investment from parties in the Greater China Area. In Phnom Penh we learned about 波尔布特 (Pol Pot) and paid a harrowing visit to the 杀人场 (Killing Fields), where we learned in depth about Cambodia’s recent history. After that, we set out for Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat.
柬埔寨 jian3(2)pu3zhai - Cambodia
电线 dian4xian4 - power lines
三轮摩托车 san1lun2mo2tuo1che1 - Tuk-Tuk
平原 ping2yuan2 - plains/flatlands
外文 wai4wen2 - foreign languages
招租 zhao1zu1 - “to let” (as in “for rent”)
平均年龄 ping2jun1nian2ling2 - average age
高棉语 gao1mian2yu3 - Khmer language
波尔布特 bo1er3bu4te4 - Pol Pot
杀人场 sha1ren2chang3 - Killing Fields
Posted by Andrew
The other day I saw a vendor selling 鱼翅 (sharkfin) at exorbitant prices at a market in Saigon. My friend and I decided that although we couldn’t afford shark fin, we should still learn a little about Vietnamese 烹饪 (cuisine). We took a cooking class, and it became clear as soon as I made my 沙拉 (salad) that I wasn’t too concerned with the cooking concepts of 色香味 (color, fragrance, and flavor). By chance, I was able to make a very 正宗 (authentic) tasting 酸甜 (sweet and sour) soup. Perhaps the next step will be to learn how to cook some good Mekong 鲇鱼 (catfish)!
鱼翅 yu2chi4 - sharkfin
烹饪 peng1ren4 - cuisine
沙拉 sha1la1 - salad
色 se4 - color (Chinese cuisine is known to focus on ‘color, fragrance, and flavor’)
香 xiang1 - fragrance/fragrant
味 wei4 - flavor (in its single-character form)
正宗 zheng4zong1 - authentic/original
酸甜 suan1tian2 - sweet and sour
鲇鱼 nian2yu2 - catfish
Posted by Andrew
Since being in Vietnam, I have learned a lot about the history about the 越南战争 (Vietnam War) from visiting the 非军事区 (De-militarized zone) accompanied by a former combat 翻译 (interpreter) from the time. When we went to the former border between north and south, he pointed out that the 共产党 (Communist Party) had a 旗杆 (flagpole) as well as a 纪念日 (remembrance day) for the fallen north soldiers, but not those of the south. The only time we were able to see the flag of the southern Vietnamese army was when we looked at a small picture visible in the 博物馆 (museum). Many people who took up arms from the south are still on a 黑名单 (blacklist) and neither they nor their children can work for the government. To learn more about the north, I went with my friend to visit some 隧道 (tunnels) dug by the northern army. These tunnels were close to the sea, but surprisingly they were able to dig a 水井 (well) holding only fresh water.
越南战争 yue4nan2zhan4zheng1 - Vietnam War
非军事区 fei1jun1shi4qu1 - De-Militarized Zone
翻译 fan1yi4 - interpreter
共产党 gong4chan(2)3dang3 - Communist Party
旗杆 qi2gan1 - flagpole
纪念日ji4nian4ri4 - remembrance day
博物馆 bo2wo4guan3 - museum
黑名单 hei1ming2dan1 - blacklist
隧道 sui4dao4 - tunnel
水井shui3(2)jing3 - well
Posted by Andrew
The other day I was with my friend in a town called Lao Cai in the northern part of Vietnam. It was there that I saw something that I would never have imagined- a Vietnamese casino which counts its bets in 人民币 (RMB, Chinese currency). Situated on the border with China, the casino primarily attracted Chinese tourists who came to play 百家乐 (Baccarat). One unsettling reminder of the dark side of border crossings surfaced when we saw a sign warning of prosecution for 拐卖人口 (human trafficking). As Lao Cai is next to 云南 (Yunnan province), there are many 傣族 (Dai people) from Yunnan who cross the border to work in Vietnam. While in Lao Cai, we saw the 日食 (solar eclipse) which occurred that day. Near Lao Cai is a 山区 (mountainous region) called Sapa, where many of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities reside. From Lao Cai we made our way to 河内 (Hanoi) where we learned about 胡志明 (Ho Chi Minh) and tried to avoid spending our 越南元 (Vietnamese dong) as much as was possible.
人民币 ren2min2bi4 - Renminbi, the official name of the Chinese currency
百家乐 bai3jia1le4 - Baccarat, a card game found in casinos (and many James Bond films)
拐卖人口 guai3mai4ren2kou3 - human trafficking/smuggling
云南 yun2nan2 - Yunnan province
傣族 dai3zu2 - the Dai people, one of China’s ethnic minority groups
日食 ri4shi2 - solar eclipse
山区 shan1qu1 - mountain regions/mountainous region
河内 he2nei4 - Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam
胡志明 hu2zhi4ming2 - Ho Chi Minh
越南元 yue4nan2yuan2 - Vietnamese Dong
