Monday, August 24, 2009

Once Upon a Time in Beijing...1: "BUSted!"

Once upon a time, three adventurous and unsuspecting friends named Lhooh, and ChehCheh and Niao-Miao (the names have been changed to protect their identities) went to Beijing to see the great and famous sights of the fabled city.

On the trip,  they encountered many truly wondrous things - and things to ponder about!

Such as.... figuring out the apparently complicated transportation process of the famed city.

A case in point ---> Lhooh asks passing citizen about what bus to get on.

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Lhooh:  Excuse me sir,  but could you tell me which bus goes to Tiananmen?

Passerby: Which way do you want to go? East or West?

Lhooh:  Hmmm...I guess...Tiananmen East.

Passerby (pointing to a bus parked on the street): Then you take this bus.

Lhooh: Thank you very much, Sir!  Hmmm....and what bus should I take if I want to go to Tiananmen West instead?

Passerby (walking away): Oh, you take same bus.


* teeth-baring smile of thanks! ....and the point of asking which way to go was.....? *

* toink-toink! *


DISCLAIMER:
The tales shared by the writer on this series of blogs about her trip to Beijing have been either exaggerated, simplified, mangled or mixed up for humorous purposes. While some undoubtedly happened (you can guess which ones did), the tale is not meant to imply anything derogatory about the Chinese culture or people.

22 comments:

  1. probably North and South...mwahahaha!

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  2. Oo nga naman. Tawirin mo na lang ang buong kalawakan ng Tiananmen.

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  3. hi cat..just wanted to say "HI"..take care and have a nice day!!

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  4. maybe next time, better to not take any bus at all...mwahaha!

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  5. we just didnt cross--we circumnavigated the tiananmen !grabeh sa lakad!

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  6. yes, all that walking under the heat and haze....who needs the gym when you can do this? hehe..

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  7. His thought balloon: "Of course you take the same bus! You're going to the same place, aren't you?Stupid tourists, hmmph!"

    ^_^

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  8. *sobs*

    why ask which way when its all the same? huhuhu!

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  9. Have you encountered "Chinglish" in your trip, Cat? Like these signs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/8220166.stm

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  10. there were some, which was a sample of wrong spelling (Rost Duck for instance), product spoof (Okay soap instead of Olay soap) and signs...(parang Sign of the Times)...

    am so shallow, I even got kick out of seeing a razor which was named "Bawang" shaver (which of course made me think of it as a garlic shaver)...

    aone time I was so hungry, I passed a restaurant and did a double-take..I swear for a moment I thought I saw "We have English men" (turns out the sign pala was "We have English menu", faded lang konti ang "e").

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  11. wahahaha! I love that last one "Tender Fragrant Grass..." honga naman, how hardhearted of a person to trample on them..

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  12. Oo nga naman, how hard-hearted of you to trample on fragrant tender grass! =)

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  13. I can imagine that sign placed here in Manila on those lush gardens..haha! may epek kaya?

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  14. during trips I avoid buses...you can make me take the train anywhere, but not buses...*shivers*

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  15. Once we boarded a bus in Singapore and got totally lost looking for the botanical garden. Later we found the garden was in walking distance from our hotel. LOL! I guess we got a chance to see the place via bus. Now I also avoid them for the most part.

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  16. hehehe! an impromptu tour!

    I guess if I were in a place where people could speak English fairly well and understand me (as well as being helpful), I'd be ok with bus trips, but I never dared ride a bus in Japan by myself..it was just a bit confusing and I didn't want to hold up people behind me in case...

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  17. Hahaha!! That's a good one, Cat :) Tagal ko nang di nagmu-multiply... na-miss ko tuloy bigla.. ;-)

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  18. hi Rocky, so you are also an FB lady these days?

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