Thursday, January 15, 2015

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. 



24 comments:

  1. Oh so many times I have watched families go past - without helmets - in Greece, Mexico and other countries, all balanced precariously on a bike with or without motors. . .makes me sick to my stomach. . .but you know it seems to work! I loved the photos in this post!!

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  2. I love this idea for a post. When I lived in Vietnam I used to be constantly amazed at what could be transported on a tiny scooter. Live animals trussed up in baskets used to always upset me.

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  3. I've seen the pigs in Cambodia too, we were actually overtaken by one such pig-laden bike when being driven by the slowest tuk tuk driver in the entire world in Siem Reap! Great idea to take pictures of all the bikes and their wares, it's things like that you remember back home but never usually have any photos of them!

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  4. This is a fabulous post!! Such a great idea to group together these - I love the photo with the bread man. Many of these things bring back memories of what I used to see in India when I used to go and visit family there as a child but the bread man, I saw for the first time in Sri Lanka a couple of years ago and the whole concept just made me smile :)

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  5. Guess you've gotta work with what you've got! The egg man, though. That would be a huuuuge mess.

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  6. Ha! Ha! Michelle, if you're cruising with those tons of GS cookies on the back of motorbike in the US, you will surely be flagged down by traffic police. Because you know, you're endangering your fellow motorists in case one of those boxes get loose! It's so interesting how so not uptight they are in the other parts of the world when it comes to motorbike safety. Here we can be ticketed for not wearing a helmet much more carrying several toddlers with you. I admire their creative on how much and how they can even fit their tons of load in a small bike. Interesting post and insight.

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  7. Wow, that's crazy! I never gave much thought to transporting that kind of stuff on the back of a bike. The thing with having little kids on the bike scares me...but it seems like people are really used to it. Also, transporting eggs? Yikes. It seems like people are really talented at navigating on a motorbike like that! Thanks for linking up with #WeekendWanderlust :)

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  8. Classic!! I loved these photos, I am always amazing in Asia how they manage to stack these... and to be allowed to do it.

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  9. Yes, it is amazing how many people and things can carry on a motorbike, they're acrobats! I'm always so surprised I don't have time to get my camera. Nice captures!

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  10. I don't know how they manage it! I think the most daring thing I have seen was in Vietnam, it looked like half a greenhouse! :D

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  11. Oh they are quite amazing what they can carry on them aren't they!!
    I was in Vietnam and saw a Tuk TUk carrying a scooter that had obviously broken down! Was to slow to get the camera out to take a picture though!
    Did she a lady carrying two massive bricks of ice on her scooter...that was weird!

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  12. Glad to see you on Weekend Travel Inspiration! I love this post, my top 3 weird things on a motorbike include a family of 5, goats and... wait for it... a cooked dog!

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  13. nice pictures....Even in Sri Lanka,people use motor bikes to travel whole family,but there are rules to control the number of people,and they need to wear helmets too :)

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  14. Michele, I love Girl Scout cookies, and I would certainly love seeing them stacked on a moto! I did love seeing how the loads were stacked on motos throughout Asia!

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  15. This was such a fun post to read! Love all the pictures that show the extent of some craziness there especially the pigs. That would have been s cool to see in person though. It's amazing to see how resourceful and creative they are with transporting things with bikes. Good luck with all those girl scout cookies!

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  16. In East Timor we always talked about the "Dili Sandwich" Mum, Dad and 3 kids on a motorcycle. Never seen eggs on a motor cycle before. Love this post. Shared.

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  17. Motorcycles are commonly used in transport in Kenya, most times to transport people. In the rural areas however is definitely where you will see live animals strapped to the back of motorcycles. Most ties it is the cheapest way to transport people/items.

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  18. When we were in Vietnam over the Tet Lunar New Year, we saw an orange tree in a pot with bundles of flowers along the side + two people.
    You could go viral with a video on a cookie pick-up by motorcycle. Do it!!! I know safety is an issue but sometimes I do think we in North America are a little too uptight.

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  19. Now that is a fabulous post! I only wish I had the thought to snap a shot of some of the things I've seen carried on motorcycles. It must take a whole lot of balance and skill to stay upright.

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  20. I suppose you do what you must do, but, I'm afraid I couldn't be carrying some of those loads!

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  21. I enjoyed reading this post... it'd be funny to see someone driving down the road with all the girl scout cookies on the back of a motorcycle!

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  22. I have always been absolutely fascinated seeing in photos and videos that things that people carry on those little motorcycles! I can't say I've seen anything in person to top what you have here, Michele. I would take some of that Bengali bread too :)

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  23. I sometimes see whole families including kids and even babies all ... motorcycleskids.blogspot.com

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