Bhutan is a special place. There’s no doubt about that. You see it in the houses, the people, the trucks. Wait, the trucks?? Yes! The trucks! Imports from India, these trucks are so magical that they talk to you! Don’t believe me? Have a look! That’s right! “Blow Horn.” What could be simpler? Just follow […]
Tag: engrish
Say What?? Travel Photo: Monopoly
You know what a monopoly is, right? No, I don’t mean the board game! I mean a monopoly in the business world. I can’t say that I spend that much time thinking about monopolies (say for the various news blurbs that dart around about how various tech companies are being investigated for this exact purpose). […]
Say What?? Travel Photo: Captions
This “Musuam” in the touristy city of Dali in China’s Yunnan province is guaranteed to have fantastic English captions! Say What?? is a weekly series featuring numerous hilarious signs from my travels. Check back every Tuesday for updates! Or better yet, subscribe to my RSS feed to receive them automatically!
The lights flash. The music starts. The camera angle dramatically changes. This is the TV show “Fear Factor,” here in Lijiang, China witn their latest gross eating stunt. After all, why else would anyone give a restaurant this name? (And no, nobody was actually filming an episode of “Fear Factor”…but “Fear Factor…” “Rice Noodle Factor…” […]
Say What?? Travel Photo: China Who?

China is a big country. And that big country has two very big cell phone carriers. They have offices just about everywhere so I’m sure everyone can learn their names and distinctive logos: Photo Credit: Wikipedia Photo Credit: Berllin Heck, even their names are always written in both English and Chinese. This just isn’t a […]

Behold the grandeur of Punakha Dzong! Inside this massive former fortress lies a seat of local power in Bhutan. But those government officials don’t have the whole place to themselves! No, no. Like all Dzong’s in the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon, this is not only a civic center but a monastery as well. In […]
Say What?? Travel Photo: Mountains

Who here knows a Chinese proverb or two? Perhaps you can help me decipher this mystery of a sign? Now, a little background. This sign, like so many, many others, is in the Chinese UNESCO World Heritage Town of Lijiang located in the southwestern Yunnan province. Lijiang is surrounded by lots of dramatic mountains and […]

Behold, the striking beauty that is the tourist hot spot of Lijiang, one of China’s UNESCO World Heritage for its stunningly preserved old town, pictured above. But with many a tourist comes many a store. And of course, almost all of those stores sell the same products, so, like any tourist destination, competition for names […]