Signspotting

by Marc on November 16, 2009

For a little levity, I thought I’d post a recap of some of the funny signs we’ve seen while on the road. Finding these little gems is one of the many joys of world travel:

Potty Humor:

ToiletMan

bathroom – or hidden lair of an obscure superhero in Peru?

apparently this Bangkok toilet is for emergency use only.

I couldn’t tell if this Tokyo subway sign was also an attempt at potty humor – maybe it’s just me.

Smoke Signals

It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that wine bottles aren’t allowed to smoke at most Buddhist Temples in Thailand.

The Japanese take a more passive-aggressive approach to the problem.

Oh, Behave!

Peninsula Valdes in Argentina takes the prize for “strangest analogy”,

while this one from China’s Great Wall at Mutianyu is probably just an updated version of the sign used in ancient times to keep the Mongols out.

What’s in a name?

Business was understandably slow at this tour stand in Phuket…

…but this restaurant in Auckland seemed to do a really brisk business.

If you want to see many more hilarious signs from around the world, pay a visit to signspotting.com.

Or better yet, get out there and find some yourself!

{ 8 comments }

November 22, 2009 Nomadic Matt

that last sign is too dirty

November 23, 2009 Marc

@Matt: Really? Is “Monsoon” a bad word in some cultures? :)

OK, so as not to offend anyone else, I’ve hidden the picture. Thanks for being my watchdog!

November 23, 2009 brian from nodebtworldtravel.com

The Tokyo sign – don’t crowd the other passengers with your bag on the seat and your paper all spread out.

Last sign wasn’t THAT bad…

November 26, 2009 Nomadic Matt

@marc: that word after monsoon is apparently the name of a hill in india. i mean, the jokes you can make about climbing (name) hill lol

December 4, 2009 marta

the toilet’s sign in BKK is my fave, i didn’t get either the joke about the last one ups

January 3, 2010 willie

hilarious!!

January 21, 2010 the Provident Woman

Those are so funny! I really loved the bathroom one with the stick figures that look like they could pee their pants.

April 25, 2010 Claudette

These are too funny! My favorite is “The sparks blew off. Luckily they were stopped by my sleeve.” I wonder how that could get sooo lost in translation?

It reminds me of http://www.engrish.com/

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