Somewhere along the line I traveled with someone who taught me the fun of photographing silly signs documenting the hilarious mangling of the English language by non-English speakers.
No, these photographs never get blown up, matted or framed. But they're good for a laugh and for showing other people. I'm sure many people would appreciate being amused by someone's vacation photos, more so than having to ooh and aah over some beautiful sunset that they didn't experience.
NOT that I'm saying I make others view dozens of sunset photos they don't really want to see...
Lonely Planet has taken the "lost in translation" art to a new level, holding a photo contest for the best, or would we call it worst, translations into English. Many of the entries are a hoot.
The winner of the Lonel Planet photo contest snapped a funny translation of a shrimp dish in an Asian restaurant. When actually ordering his food, he chose not to order "spicy grandma" for dinner, selecting instead fried scorpions. Tough choice, in my mind!
When you're traveling with someone and see one of these types of signs, you elbow him or her and together you crack up.
When you're traveling solo, it's one of those moments where you muffle your laughter and snap a photo to show folks when you return home. Or not. But it's still entertaining to see a couple more times when reliving the trip.
If I ever dig up some of the funny signs I've photographed, I'll post them. If you have any, please send them and I'll post yours!
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