The Arabian Gulf region is home to some of the most unintentionally hilarious English-language signs in the world. I haven’t been to China yet and judging by the stuff I see on engrish.com, the situation over there looks even more serious. However, as far as the part of the world I have seen so far is concerned, the Middle East wins it hands down. There is so much material just here in the UAE that I could probably make a new entry for each square block of downtown Abu Dhabi or Dubai. To be fair, English is not the native language here, but the government and businesses nevertheless have to use it in order to communicate to the majority-expat population. Still, one can’t help but think that they could have done a bit more research before spending so much money and effort to put up a big sign with some crazy nonsense on it. I have posted some examples below that range from the unfortunate typo to the grammatically challenged and the downright bizarre.
The sand witches of the desert come out at night…
As long as it’s not comming too soon.
The vortex of the universe found. It’s in Dubai.
This is what the country would have been called if Indians got to it first.
It’s like Groundhog Day every morning.
Do not feed the kids.
First for some cargo forwording, then for some hair cutting.
Thanks for the birthday cake, you shouldn’t have.
The place to go if you want to pick up a stranger’s laundry.
I’m all for typing, too.
Labneh, Laban, Lebanon…
Ever heard of copyright?
David Lynch fans, apparently.
Duh.
Sadly enough, this is T.G.I. Friday’s official delivery bike.
If Rammstein were bread.
Imaginative.
At first I thought this was a Romanian restaurant, but it turns out it’s just a shisha cafe. WTF?
Can anyone tell me what service is on offer here?
Sounds a bit sick somehow.
You’re sending me mixed messages here!
Um, ok.
Forget the obvious spelling error, but can someone please tell me what “sound” is supposed to signify here?
Bourbon for me and water for my horse, while you do my nails.
Can’t spell “oriental” in the Orient.
Well, that’s it for part 1. Hope you enjoyed it. See you soon with more well-intentioned but crazy signs from across the UAE!
Mongoose Monologues 