I Couldn't Believe They Carried That on a Motorcycle

One thing that always amazed me about Asia was what people carried on the back of a motorcycle.

Some things don't give me much pause. A passenger on back? People in Texas do that all the time. Although, a Buddhist monk as the passenger is something I've never seen in the USA.

A Buddhist monk (Cambodia)

I sometimes see whole families including kids and even babies all sharing one bike. Coming from Texas where kids are required by law to sit in a car booster seat until they are 8-years-old, this type of sight was hard for me to get accustomed to. I get it, though. Cars are expensive, and for a lot of families in Asia, one motorcycle is the only way to get the whole family around town.

At least this kid is wearing a helmet. (Malaysia)

I was at the hawker stalls one day and saw a man gently wrapping the fingers of his 2-year-old around the stems holding up his motorscooter's sideview mirrors. They were the only things small enough for the little kid to grab on to. His 4-year-old sister sat behind their dad hugging him around his waist as far as she could reach. Pink, plastic bags filled with hot noodles or Chicken & Rice dangled from the handlebars. I almost wanted to offer to drive the kids home until I realized that I had walked there and didn't have a car with me. They were just a regular family bringing home dinner, but it was so different than the stereotypical American scene of a family in an SUV going through a drive-thru.


Sometimes, it's a family and a Whole. Bunch. Of. Stuff.

With this load, this motorcycle was not going very fast.

In America, we have ice cream trucks. In Malaysia, they have the Roti Man (Bread Man) who drives around with a mini-bakery loaded onto the back of his bike. There's no sweeter sound in the afternoon than hearing that bell ringing down the road so you can run out to buy bread.

The Roti Man's motorbike (Malaysia)

Getting ready to cut me a couple slices of Bengali bread

If you're having a nice slice of charcoal-toasted Bengali bread for breakfast, you may fancy some eggs to go along with it. Is this enough?

The Egg Man (Malaysia)

The Egg Man's motorbike has iron rods down both sides of the back platform. They keep the bike upright when he's loading and unloading it. Imagine the scrambly mess this would make if it tipped over.

Tropical heat and humidity can make a person so very thirsty, and coconut water is a natural source of electrolytes. This guy was busy delivering fresh, green coconuts to the stands outside the Angkor temples.

The Coconut Man (Cambodia)

This last picture is something I had heard about but never witnessed with my own eyes until my last few months in Asia. Yup, it's poor pigs strapped onto the back of the motorcycle.

This little piggy went to market. (Cambodia)

It's almost Girl Scout Cookie time in Central Texas, and I've been tasked with picking up our troop's order of 456 boxes of cookies. (Hello Thin Mints. It's been a long time.) The Girl Scouts have a handy chart with how many boxes a vehicle can carry. It covers everything from a compact car to a cargo van. Motorcycles are nowhere on the list. People would freak out if I tried to transport all 456 boxes on the back of a motorcycle. If the people above can carry their loads, I think it's totally doable. Wouldn't that be a sight to see cruising down an American highway?

What's the most interesting thing you've seen carried on a motorcycle?

This post is part of the following link ups. Check them out for more around-the-world travel inspiration. 

• Travel Photo Thursday on Budget Travelers Sandbox
• Friday Postcards on Walking On Travels
• Weekend Wanderlust on Justin plus Lauren and A Brit and a Southerner
• Weekend Travel Inspiration on Reflections Enroute
• Sunday Traveler on Pack Me To..., Chasing the Donkey, A Southern Gypsy, The Fairytale Traveler, and Ice Cream & Permafrost