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Owen in China, Of Swiss aid, Swiss dogs and Swiss parents

Of Swiss aid, Swiss dogs and Swiss parents

Hi everyone, this is Owen and this is my podcast for Friday 6th November, 2015. I hope you are all well. Last month was a little busy for me. October 1st is the National Day of China. It's the time of the year when all Chinese people go on holiday. Everyone gets a week's holiday starting October 1st. You may have noticed lots of Chinese tourists in Switzerland that week. In China there are a few places that get very crowded, so it can be a good time to get out of the country. I spent a few days in Laos in South-East Asia towards the end of the week. Before that though my girlfriend's mother arrived in Yunnan for a visit and we took her to see two places in Yunnan. After that, Vittoria and her mum flew north to Beijing and I travelled south to Laos. So today, I'll be talking about the two places we visited in Yunnan and my trip to Laos.

Our first trip was to Dali. Dali is an old town, roughly eight hours by train east of Kunming. Because of the distance we decided to take the overnight train. Night trains in China can be quite the experience. Vittoria's mum seemed a little nervous at first, but we assured[1] her that she'd enjoy it. Generally speaking there are four types of ticket on overnight trains: standing room, hard seat, hard sleeper and soft sleeper. Standing room is for people who buy tickets at the last minute. Hard seat is for people who are travelling short distances or don't have much money. Hard sleeper is for people who want a bed and soft sleeper is the most luxurious way of travelling by train. We had hard sleeper tickets which gets you a rather narrow [2] but comfortable bed. The bed isn't actually hard. The hard sleeper carriage is an open carriage with lots of beds, three on top of each other. I've always had great experiences with overnight trains here and this was no different. We slept really well and arrived well-rested [3] for our three days in Dali. The town is becoming very popular with tourists because they have tried to preserve [4] the traditional old buildings and streets. I remember visiting Dali a number of years ago and it's hasn't changed much. From what I remember, there were fewer tourists then and more alternative groups - artists, musicians - from all over China. People looking for a life outside of the big Chinese cities. On our second day we rented bicycles and rode to a lake. We were there before the national holiday, but it was still quite crowded. When we arrived at the lake, we cycled past a middle-aged couple that stood out because they weren't Chinese. As I rode past them, I thought: ‘They look rather familiar. ' I also thought I heard them speaking Swiss-German. I kept thinking: ‘This is very strange but I'm sure I know that couple. ' When we stopped, I told Vittoria and her mother: ‘I think I know that couple we just passed. ' I wasn't completely sure if it was who I thought it was but I had to find out. So I turned back and asked them whether they were from Zurich. When they said, yes, I asked them if they had a son my age. Yes, came the answer. So I was right! They were the parents of someone I went to kindergarten with. I had to explain to them who I was, of course. I've changed quite a bit in the last twenty-five years. But what a coincidence [5]! Amazing how small the world is sometimes! I was also amazed to hear that they had driven all the way to China from Switzerland in their camper van, across Siberia and Mongolia.

The next stop on our trip was Shaxi. Shaxi is a little way north of Dali. It took a few hours and a couple of buses to get there. It was my first time visiting Shaxi. Vittoria had visited once before about five years ago. We timed our visit in order to be there for the big Friday market. The town itself is incredibly beautiful. It's a town with a very long history. It lies on the Ancient Tea Route which is sometimes also called the Southern Silk Road. The Ancient Tea Route was a network of paths [6] which connected Yunnan with Burma, Bengal, Tibet and Sichuan. From Yunnan they used to carry tea along the paths to sell and trade. Shaxi was an important stop on the route. I've been reading recently that the Chinese government is investing a lot of money in building a new Southern Silk Road. I believe they have already started a project which will connect Yunnan to North-Eastern India by road. Shaxi is a small town with a beautiful square in the middle of it. All the structures and buildings are made of wood with the traditional tiled Chinese roofs. On the square there's an open theatre stage [7]. The stage faces the buddhist temple on the opposite side of the square. Apparently they used to perform to the gods as well as all the people in the square. The town recently received a lot of money and know-how to preserve the square. The whole town was in very poor condition until 2001, when the square was put on a list of endangered [8] cultural sites. With the help of the ETH in Zurich and the local government they started a project to preserve the square and parts of the village. They did a fantastic job. It's really a magical place. Definitely the most beautiful village I have visited in China. We stayed in a very nice guesthouse right on the square. And the guesthouse had two huge but very lazy dogs. One was a St Bernard. Maybe the ETH donated her to the village after completing the project.

After our time in Shaxi Vittoria and her mum flew to Beijing and I went to Laos. I only had a few days and it seemed a long way to go for such a short trip. However, it's been a number of years since I last went to Laos and Laos was always my favourite destination in South-East Asia. I bought a ticket in advance [9] for an overnight bus. It takes about twelve hours to get across the border into Laos from Kunming. I got to the bus station just in time and was looking around for my bus. I asked some people but they all pointed [10] in different directions. I still hadn't found my bus and it was due to leave when a man approached [11] me and asked: ‘Are you going to Laos? ' I said: ‘Yes. ' And he then said: ‘Sorry, there's no bus today. ' I was a bit confused, so I showed him my ticket and asked: ‘What do you mean no bus? I have a ticket. ' He looked at me and replied: ‘Ah well, you were the only person who bought a ticket. We don't drive to Laos with one passenger! ' Great, I thought. Just what I need when I have so little time. Thankfully, though, I did manage to get to Laos by the next morning. It took a little longer and I had to change buses twice but I didn't lose any days. I decided to spend the little time I had in one place. I chose to go to Nong Khiaw which is a small, dusty village in northern Laos. And what a breathtakingly [12] beautiful place it is! It's on a winding [13] river and it's surrounded by limestone mountains. It's these mountains which give northern Laos its natural beauty. It is a truly stunning [14] part of the world. I rented a small bamboo hut on the river. I got to enjoy the sunsets from my hut, looking west along the river. The village is becoming quite popular with tourists due to the hiking and mountain climbing in the area. I didn't do much of that. I rented a scooter one day and drove through the countryside. They will harvest the rice soon, so all the rice paddies were a vibrant green. I ended up in a village where they weave [15] their own fabric. I bought a beautiful piece of fabric and then I continued my drive in the sun, past rice paddies and limestone cliffs. Laos was as I remembered it, very calm and quiet. Quite the opposite of China. In Laos it sounds like people just whisper to each other.

Thank you very much to Kaethi for her message and Pia for the recipe. I had all the ingredients this time, so I gave it a try. It tasted delicious but, as you can see from my picture, it didn't look so good. I think the problem is my oven. It's a bit small and generally not very reliable [16]. The cake rose [17] very nicely, but then it got too big for the oven so the top burnt a little. And after I took it out, it collapsed [18]. It still tasted fantastic though. For Vittoria's mum I baked a cake which consists of a biscuit base, a layer of chocolate ganache and dulce de leche cream on top. Kaethi, I think I earned plenty of Brownie points [19] with that! As always thank you very much for listening. Should you have any questions, or any further cake recipes, please write them in the box below. You can listen to all the podcasts by downloading our app or by visiting our website www.podclub.ch. We now also have a vocabulary trainer that helps you learn new words from the podcast. Gerry will be back in two weeks and my next podcast will be on December the 6th. Until then I wish you all a great month. Goodbye!

Glossaire: Owen in China [1] to assure so. of sth. : to say to so. that sth. will definitely happen

[2] narrow: not wide

[3] well-rested: how you feel after a good night's sleep

[4] to preserve sth. : here: to keep sth. in its original state

[5] coincidence: an event that is unplanned and unexpected

[6] path: a small road

[7] stage: here: the place where the actors perform in a theatre

[8] endangered: at risk of disappearing or no longer existing

[9] in advance: ahead of time, beforehand

[10] to point: here: to give directions with your finger

[11] to approach so. : to move closer to so.to move closer to so.

[12] breathtakingly: extremely

[13] winding: with a lot of bends

[14] stunning: here: very beautiful

[15] to weave: here: to make fabric

[16] reliable: here: always works well

[17] to rise: here: to increase in size when it is cooked

[18] to collapse: here: to become much smaller

[19] Brownie points: credit for doing sth. good


Of Swiss aid, Swiss dogs and Swiss parents Ελβετική βοήθεια, ελβετικά σκυλιά και ελβετικοί γονείς 瑞士的援助、瑞士的狗和瑞士的父母

Hi everyone, this is Owen and this is my podcast for Friday 6th November, 2015. I hope you are all well. Last month was a little busy for me. October 1st is the National Day of China. It's the time of the year when all Chinese people go on holiday. Everyone gets a week's holiday starting October 1st. You may have noticed lots of Chinese tourists in Switzerland that week. In China there are a few places that get very crowded, so it can be a good time to get out of the country. I spent a few days in Laos in South-East Asia towards the end of the week. Before that though my girlfriend's mother arrived in Yunnan for a visit and we took her to see two places in Yunnan. After that, Vittoria and her mum flew north to Beijing and I travelled south to Laos. So today, I'll be talking about the two places we visited in Yunnan and my trip to Laos.

****

Our first trip was to Dali. Dali is an old town, roughly eight hours by train east of Kunming. Because of the distance we decided to take the overnight train. Night trains in China can be quite the experience. Ночные поезда в Китае могут быть очень интересными. Vittoria's mum seemed a little nervous at first, but we assured[1] her that she'd enjoy it. Generally speaking there are four types of ticket on overnight trains: standing room, hard seat, hard sleeper and soft sleeper. Standing room is for people who buy tickets at the last minute. Hard seat is for people who are travelling short distances or don't have much money. Hard sleeper is for people who want a bed and soft sleeper is the most luxurious way of travelling by train. We had hard sleeper tickets which gets you a rather narrow [2] but comfortable bed. The bed isn't actually hard. The hard sleeper carriage is an open carriage with lots of beds, three on top of each other. I've always had great experiences with overnight trains here and this was no different. We slept really well and arrived well-rested [3] for our three days in Dali. The town is becoming very popular with tourists because they have tried to preserve [4] the traditional old buildings and streets. I remember visiting Dali a number of years ago and it's hasn't changed much. From what I remember, there were fewer tourists then and more alternative groups - artists, musicians - from all over China. People looking for a life outside of the big Chinese cities. On our second day we rented bicycles and rode to a lake. We were there before the national holiday, but it was still quite crowded. When we arrived at the lake, we cycled past a middle-aged couple that stood out because they weren't Chinese. As I rode past them, I thought: ‘They look rather familiar. ' I also thought I heard them speaking Swiss-German. I kept thinking: ‘This is very strange but I'm sure I know that couple. ' When we stopped, I told Vittoria and her mother: ‘I think I know that couple we just passed. ' I wasn't completely sure if it was who I thought it was but I had to find out. So I turned back and asked them whether they were from Zurich. When they said, yes, I asked them if they had a son my age. Yes, came the answer. So I was right! They were the parents of someone I went to kindergarten with. I had to explain to them who I was, of course. I've changed quite a bit in the last twenty-five years. But what a coincidence [5]! Amazing how small the world is sometimes! I was also amazed to hear that they had driven all the way to China from Switzerland in their camper van, across Siberia and Mongolia.

****

The next stop on our trip was Shaxi. Shaxi is a little way north of Dali. It took a few hours and a couple of buses to get there. It was my first time visiting Shaxi. Vittoria had visited once before about five years ago. We timed our visit in order to be there for the big Friday market. The town itself is incredibly beautiful. It's a town with a very long history. It lies on the Ancient Tea Route which is sometimes also called the Southern Silk Road. The Ancient Tea Route was a network of paths [6] which connected Yunnan with Burma, Bengal, Tibet and Sichuan. From Yunnan they used to carry tea along the paths to sell and trade. Shaxi was an important stop on the route. I've been reading recently that the Chinese government is investing a lot of money in building a new Southern Silk Road. I believe they have already started a project which will connect Yunnan to North-Eastern India by road. Shaxi is a small town with a beautiful square in the middle of it. All the structures and buildings are made of wood with the traditional tiled Chinese roofs. On the square there's an open theatre stage [7]. The stage faces the buddhist temple on the opposite side of the square. Apparently they used to perform to the gods as well as all the people in the square. Очевидно, они раньше выступали перед богами, а также перед всеми людьми на площади. The town recently received a lot of money and know-how to preserve the square. The whole town was in very poor condition until 2001, when the square was put on a list of endangered [8] cultural sites. With the help of the ETH in Zurich and the local government they started a project to preserve the square and parts of the village. They did a fantastic job. It's really a magical place. Definitely the most beautiful village I have visited in China. We stayed in a very nice guesthouse right on the square. And the guesthouse had two huge but very lazy dogs. One was a St Bernard. Maybe the ETH donated her to the village after completing the project.

****

After our time in Shaxi Vittoria and her mum flew to Beijing and I went to Laos. I only had a few days and it seemed a long way to go for such a short trip. However, it's been a number of years since I last went to Laos and Laos was always my favourite destination in South-East Asia. I bought a ticket in advance [9] for an overnight bus. It takes about twelve hours to get across the border into Laos from Kunming. I got to the bus station just in time and was looking around for my bus. I asked some people but they all pointed [10] in different directions. I still hadn't found my bus and it was due to leave when a man approached [11] me and asked: ‘Are you going to Laos? ' I said: ‘Yes. ' And he then said: ‘Sorry, there's no bus today. ' I was a bit confused, so I showed him my ticket and asked: ‘What do you mean no bus? I have a ticket. ' He looked at me and replied: ‘Ah well, you were the only person who bought a ticket. We don't drive to Laos with one passenger! ' Great, I thought. Just what I need when I have so little time. Thankfully, though, I did manage to get to Laos by the next morning. It took a little longer and I had to change buses twice but I didn't lose any days. I decided to spend the little time I had in one place. I chose to go to Nong Khiaw which is a small, dusty village in northern Laos. And what a breathtakingly [12] beautiful place it is! It's on a winding [13] river and it's surrounded by limestone mountains. It's these mountains which give northern Laos its natural beauty. It is a truly stunning [14] part of the world. I rented a small bamboo hut on the river. I got to enjoy the sunsets from my hut, looking west along the river. The village is becoming quite popular with tourists due to the hiking and mountain climbing in the area. I didn't do much of that. I rented a scooter one day and drove through the countryside. They will harvest the rice soon, so all the rice paddies were a vibrant green. I ended up in a village where they weave [15] their own fabric. Я оказался в деревне, где ткут [15] свою ткань. I bought a beautiful piece of fabric and then I continued my drive in the sun, past rice paddies and limestone cliffs. Laos was as I remembered it, very calm and quiet. Quite the opposite of China. Совершенно противоположное Китаю. In Laos it sounds like people just whisper to each other.

****

Thank you very much to Kaethi for her message and Pia for the recipe. I had all the ingredients this time, so I gave it a try. It tasted delicious but, as you can see from my picture, it didn't look so good. I think the problem is my oven. It's a bit small and generally not very reliable [16]. The cake rose [17] very nicely, but then it got too big for the oven so the top burnt a little. Пирог поднялся [17] очень красиво, но потом стал слишком большим для духовки, поэтому верхняя часть немного подгорела. And after I took it out, it collapsed [18]. It still tasted fantastic though. For Vittoria's mum I baked a cake which consists of a biscuit base, a layer of chocolate ganache and dulce de leche cream on top. Kaethi, I think I earned plenty of Brownie points [19] with that! As always thank you very much for listening. Should you have any questions, or any further cake recipes, please write them in the box below. You can listen to all the podcasts by downloading our app or by visiting our website www.podclub.ch. We now also have a vocabulary trainer that helps you learn new words from the podcast. Gerry will be back in two weeks and my next podcast will be on December the 6th. Until then I wish you all a great month. Goodbye!

Glossaire: Owen in China [1] to assure so. of sth. : to say to so. that sth. will definitely happen

[2] narrow: not wide

[3] well-rested: how you feel after a good night's sleep

[4] to preserve sth. : here: to keep sth. in its original state

[5] coincidence: an event that is unplanned and unexpected

[6] path: a small road

[7] stage: here: the place where the actors perform in a theatre

[8] endangered: at risk of disappearing or no longer existing

[9] in advance: ahead of time, beforehand

[10] to point: here: to give directions with your finger

[11] to approach so. : to move closer to so.to move closer to so.

[12] breathtakingly: extremely

[13] winding: with a lot of bends

[14] stunning: here: very beautiful

[15] to weave: here: to make fabric

[16] reliable: here: always works well

[17] to rise: here: to increase in size when it is cooked

[18] to collapse: here: to become much smaller

[19] Brownie points: credit for doing sth. good