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Photos Say What??

Say What??–“Boar Lodging”

There’s something about the way Chinese like to name establishments that just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in English. We saw it in the earlier “Say What??” photo with that funky restaurant title. Today’s entry brings us a whole new perplexing title…and no, your eyes are not deceiving you, that sign really does […]

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Photos Say What??

Say What??–“Mushrooms”

Fried Jew’s-ear…it’s one of those Chinese menu staples that make the uninitiated scratch their head and say “what??” I mean, the Chinese are sort of known for eating anything and everything, but human ears?? Something must be up here! I smell a funky translation! But not quite! “Jew’s-ear” is in fact a colloquial name for a […]

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Photos Say What??

Say What??–“Beauty Salon”

Would you visit a Beauty Salon if it stared at you in a beady-eyed fashion? Ok, so there’s nothing beady-eyed about this particular salon in the sleepy Laotian capital, Vientiane. But they did spell “Beauty” in such a way that it certainly sounds an awful lot like “beady” to me! Unless of course they were […]

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Photos Say What??

Say What??–“Walk Your Bike”

All those stories you’ve heard are true. The Chinese sure do love their bycicles as a means of getting around town. That’s not to say that they don’t have a plethora of two-wheeled motorbikes clogging the bike lanes, but the pedal powered versions have a formidable force! The downside to these two-wheeled forms of transit […]

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Photos Say What??

Say What??: “Sound Advice”

China just loves to dole out advice on all sorts of matters (though whether people actually follow said advice is another story entirely). Earlier, we saw some of their lovely shopping tips being handed out to visitors to one of their UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Yunnan town of Lijiang. Today’s “Say What??” also comes […]

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Photos Say What??

Say What??–“Restaurants”

China’s heavily touristy locales face heavy competition amongst businesses, so much so that proprietors of shops and restaurants will go to great lengths to come up with creative names! This was true in every big backpacker destination I visited. So I thought I’d started with a little gem from the amazingly situated town of Yangshuo, a place I enjoyed […]

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Photos Say What??

Say What??–“Complaint Box”

Today’s “Say What??” comes from remote Lao town of Luang Nam Tha, a tiny town in the northwest part of the country that I spent a mere night in, as I had previously visited it three years ago. Being a communist country, it only makes sense that the Lao government should give the people a […]

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Photos Say What??

Say What??–”Fire Prevention”

The Chinese like to smoke. A lot. “No Smoking” signs are no deterrent. So it’s no wonder that the Chinese government goes to great lengths in its UNESCO World Heritage Sites (at least the two that I visited) to remind folks to take measures against fire prevention. Amongst the sheer beauty of the hike up […]