You named your store what? Another quirky biz name

Another curious example from our growing collection of quirky business names
Another curious example from our growing collection of quirky business names

DANANG, VIETNAM – Here’s another one of the curious business names we’ve run across in our travels outside the U.S.

We’ve seen a lot of business names that make us stop and wonder, “What were they thinking?”

Sometimes the odd names are the result of faulty online translation engines.

Other times they come from an effort to sound “Western” and hip…

Or a grandiose way to blow your own horn.

And sometimes they’re just odd.

Take a look at the shop pictured above…

“C+ mini Mart”

If you were going to assign your own grade, wouldn’t you give yourself an “A”?

Maybe even an “A+” if you were feeling really good about your efforts.

I certainly would!

But a “C+”?

That’s all they could muster?

Top of the class or not, at least it’s above average.

Party at the pool, Vietnamese style

Celebrating the New Year with friends at the My An Sport Center in Danang
Celebrating the New Year with friends at the My An Sport Center in Da Nang

DA NANG, VIET NAM – It all started with a text message from our friend Linda. “Are you coming to the party at the pool?”

Party at the pool? “Oh yeah, I vaguely remember something about a year-end New Year’s party at the My An Sport Center on the 11th. Is that tonight?” I asked.

Continue reading “Party at the pool, Vietnamese style”

Our Year of Living in Viet Nam

A woman in a traditional conical hat and Western dress sells flowers from her bicycle in Hanoi
A woman in a traditional conical hat and Western dress sells flowers from her bicycle in Hanoi
A motorcycle-mounted vendor sells tropical fish on the street in Hanoi
A motorcycle-mounted vendor sells tropical fish on the street in Hanoi

DA NANG, VIET NAM – “Banh Bao! Banh Bao!” A pre-recorded shout echoes off the neighboring buildings as the motorcycle food peddler putt-putts down the street. Flames burst from the back of his side-saddle warming oven. On top of the oven is a glass case filled with warm, yummy steamed buns.

For a foreigner from a Western country, seeing open flames from a motorcycle-mounted wood-fired oven… Well, that is just plain crazy!

But it’s just another typical everyday occurrence in this Vietnamese city.

Continue reading “Our Year of Living in Viet Nam”

Since when did we become Rock Stars?

The Vietnamese seem to think we're rock stars (Michael Bolli/pixabay.com)
The Vietnamese seem to think we’re rock stars (Michael Bolli/pixabay.com)

HANOI, VIETNAM – Melanie and I have noticed something funny happening since we moved to Vietnam. We’ll be out and about, minding our own business, exploring a historic site or wandering around at a festival. All of sudden a young person or two – sometimes not so young – will come up and ask to pose with us for a photo. It’s weird.
Continue reading “Since when did we become Rock Stars?”

In America it’s baseball. In Vietnam, construction?

"<yoastmark

DANANG, VIETNAM – One thing we’ve seen again and again as we’ve traveled around Vietnam is a lot of construction. In Hanoi it seemed like there was a new building going up (or an old one coming down) on almost every block.

We saw the same thing on the Mekong Delta and up in the mountainous Sapa region. Even on Cat Ba Island in Lan Ha Bay, there was new construction galore.
Continue reading “In America it’s baseball. In Vietnam, construction?”


Deprecated: http_build_query(): Passing null to parameter #2 ($numeric_prefix) of type string is deprecated in /home1/jjjroy/public_html/ontheroadnow.com/wp-content/plugins/google-maps-widget/google-maps-widget.php on line 354