Word Play

Por fin! I've been able to set aside some time to review and start downloading the pictures from my recent trips from China and Manila. As Tanya and I were discussing last Saturday, digital cameras are actually a bane since people take photos for granted now since "I can always view it in the camera anyway." That's why people rarely print out photos nowadays, which explains the sudden disappearance of photo albums in most houses I've been to.

Oh well.

But I'm glad I was able to start reviewing my China pictures, if only for some of these photos. Like Japan and Korea, China is notorious for mangling English and proudly displaying them as signages for everyone to see. When Xtine and I were still at Adformatix, we'd get our daily dose of guffaws by buying Chinese candies and trying to decipher the messages printed on the packs.

I've found two gems in China during my trip. First was in Wuhan. This bottled water was served during my meeting, and I must say that it's the funniest brand name i've seen in years:



Of course, my Chinese colleagues couldn't get the joke - another "Lost in Translation" moment there. But I loved this water brand so much, I sneaked a bottle in my bag and brought it all the way back to Hong Kong. (From the corner of my eye, I could see my colleagues scratching their heads thinking: "Why the hell is he filching that bottled water?")



The other one was in the Wuhan airport. I've seen something like this in Indonesia a couple of years back. In Bahasa, an entrance is usually called "Bukaka." And I assume the tube in this airport must've been done by an Indo company.



Again, it was only me who could get the joke and it was just me silently giggling and taking the photo. If I were with Filipinos here, i'm sure they'd think up of a slew of funny sentences like:

"Basta makita mo yung naka-bukaka, pasok ka na agad."

Ah yes, traveling to China is so much worthwhile if only for words like these.