The Crazy Shit People Carry on Bikes in Vietnam
I’VE SEEN SOME CRAZY THINGS during the past month in Hue, Vietnam.
For a family outing, it seems quite common for three or more people to squeeze onto a motorbike. This includes children of all sizes and sometimes babies on the hip. I’ve seen as many as five people on a single vehicle, more than once.
The motorbike is the most common tool for moving things from A to B. The driver will stack, pack, strap, and cinch any number of items before barreling down the road. Another standard mode of delivery seems to be the cyclo. Large appliances and furniture pass us on the street under the foot power of cyclo drivers. Somehow they never seem to wreck.
Recently, my wife and I saw a motorbike accident in front of the restaurant where we were having dinner. Luckily, no one was hurt. After the police left it was time for cleanup, and two cyclo drivers were brought over to pick up the debris. They literally used their cyclos to hoist the motorbikes like a forklift, balance them, and then move them off to a safe place for the owner.
This selection of photos is a testament to the drivers in Hue, for whom it’s all just another day’s work.