So, now that you know the time you plan to lhyou (lyew yo; travel), I can’t wait to finally ask you: Ni xiang dao nar qu? (nee shyahng daow nar chyew; Where do you want to go?) Planning a trip to Yazh.u (yah joe; Asia), Fvizh.u (fay joe; Africa), .uzh.u (oh joe; Europe), or Meizh.u (may joe; the Americas)? Will your voyage be zai guo nei (dzye gwaw nay; within the country; domestic) or zai guo wai (dzye gwaw why; outside the country)? Table 15-2 shows some countries you may xuanze (shwan dzuh; choose) to visit.
Table 15-2 Places to Visit Around the Globe Chinese Word Pronunciation English Word Ji.nada jyah nah dah Canada Zh.ngguo dalu joong gwaw dah loo Mainland China Faguo fah gwaw France Deguo duh gwaw Germany Xi.nggang shyahng gahng Hong Kong Xi.ngyali shyoong yah lee Hungary Aierlan eye are lahn Ireland Yiselie ee suh lyeh Israel Riben ir bun Japan Mox.gv maw she guh Mexico Eguo uh gwaw Russia Nanfvi nahn fay South Africa Ruishi rway shir Switzerland Ruidian rway dyan Sweden Taiw.n tye wahn Taiwan Tans.ngniya tahn sahng nee yah Tanzania Yuenan yweh nahn Vietnam Z.y.er zah ee are Zaire
Depending on the type of activities you enjoy doing while on vacation, you may want to consider traveling to a place that has plenty of the following features (or at least one special one to make it well worth the trip):
hait.n (hi tahn; beach) sh.n (shahn; mountain) sh.mo (shah maw; desert) zhiwuyuan (jir woo ywan; botanical gardens) xiongm.o (shyoong maow; pandas) youlie (yo lyeh; safari) ta (tah; pagoda) fo miao (faw myaow; Buddhist temple) moti.ndalou (maw tyan dah lo; skyscraper) gudongdian (goo doong dyan; antique shop) meishuguan (may shoo gwahn; art gallery) xiyuan (she ywan; theatre) Unless you’re the type who thrives on danger and excitement (or works for a relief agency), try to avoid places where the following natural phenomena occur:
taifvng (tye fung; typhoon) hanz.i (hahn dzye; drought) dizhen (dee juhn; earthquake) huoz.i (hwaw dzye; fire) shuiz.i (shway dzye; flood) yuji (yew jee; rainy season) Planning to travel cong (tsoong; from) Xi.ngyali (shyoong yah lee; Hungary) dao (daow; to) Xi.nggang (shyahng gahng; Hong Kong) anytime soon? How about cong Riben (tsoong ir bun; from Japan) dao Mox.gv (daow maw she guh; to Mexico) instead? Wherever you travel, you always go cong one place dao another. Here are some good phrases to know when you tell people about your upcoming travel plans, using the cong . . . dao pattern:
Wo cong Niuyuv dao Ji.zh.u qu. (waw tsoong nyo yweh daow jyah joe chyew; I’m going from New York to California.) T. mingti.n cong Yiselie dao Ruidian qu. (tah meeng tyan tsoong ee suh lyeh daow rway dyan chyew; She’s going from Israel to Sweden tomorrow.) Nimen shenme shihou cong Zh.ngguo dao zher lai? (nee mun shummuh shir ho tsoong joong gwaw daow jar lye; When are you all coming here from China?) Cong Nanfvi dao Z.y.er du. chang shiji.n? (tsoong nahn fay daow zah ee are dwaw chahng shir jyan; How long does it take to get from South Africa to Zaire?)
