1/18/2011

Translator required

I really wish I could read Khmer sometimes. I saw a sign on a wall near my apartment. I'd love to know what it means in English. Oh wait -- someone was nice enough to translate for me.


What makes this really funny is that in Southeast Asia there is nothing wrong with a man pissing ... anywhere. Busy city sidewalk in broad daylight? No problem. Need to stop on a long drive? Don't walk off into the trees, just stand there on the side of the road.

I was walking down the street in Hue, Vietnam, admiring the scenery along the Perfume River, when I looked up just in time to avoid a man pissing. He looked like he was about 150 years old and had just whipped it out in the middle of the sidewalk as people walked by on both sides. If I hadn't been paying attention I would have walked right into him and his ... well, you know.

Funnier still is that this wall is part of Martini, the most notorious bar in Phnom Penh. It's okay if you want to take home one of the hundred or so prostitutes inside -- but don't piss on the outside wall!