A note on misunderstanding

On a shuttle to the airport, I started talking with a woman and her young son. As they were from Hong Kong, their English was heavily accented--but they were very friendly and engaging. We started discussing my plans to go to Thailand, and they had some strong opinions on what is to be done there.

"You really must go barfing."

"Be careful that you are not barfing after you eat."

"One or two hours of barfing is very healthy for you!"

I misunderstood, you see. The word they were saying was "bathing"... which they pronounced in a very odd way, and was meant as a substitute for "swimming". Sometimes the meaning can get lost in the words.