Friday, January 11, 2008

Piglets, & Party Cakes, & Pillows, oh my!


The ladies and I just started a fun game as we sat watching rush hour traffic and sipping mojitos in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The games called 'what have we seen strapped to a motorcycle in Cambodia?'. I'm not sure what the percentages would be, but the motorcycle is, without doubt, the preferred mode of transporation here in Asia. For those of you who will remember, I went through a period right after buying my car where I longed for a Vespa scooter, and toyed with the idea of moving to a tropical location so I could drive said scooter all year round. It appears anywhere in Asia would fulfill that criteria. But I've just realized another criteria needs to be added when choosing the location for my future scootering - to be specific, somewhere that doesn't involve me shitting my pants in fear anytime I got on the road. The traffic is insane. We rode in a taxi from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh today, about 320 km. I was convinced that the blinker on the car was broken because it was continually on, the whole way. But Jen had keener observation skills then I - it seems the driver would turn the blinker on then leave it on for like, 20 minutes, as he kept passing everything. While the lanes are 2 way, all that really matters is which direction has the most volume, and the direction that has the most traffic will take up about 80% of the road, and whip over into the tiny section at the side when they need to pass. But Í'm rambling. Suffice it to say, I will never, ever drive in Asia.
But back to the fun part.

Items Seen Strapped to the back of a Motorcycle in Cambodia:
1. Live piglets and chickens in baskets.
2. Families of 4 or 5 people. Often tiny toddlers under the age of 2. In Siem Reap a 4 year old waved to us from the back of a moto, while she clasped her 2 year old brother in her other hand, so you can imagine our horror.
3. A monk, 3 other people, and the driver on his cell phone.
4. 4 adults and a party cake.
5. A driver, 2 helium balloon tanks and about 20 blown-up balloons.
6. A driver and a wall of pillows. They were strapped together to form a solid structure at least 5-6 ft over his head and off to the sides in both directions.
7. Two full-size hogs, strapped into cannon-shaped bamboo baskets, piled on top of eachother behind the back wheel. They looked oddly peaceful, but were missing the surgical masks that most people wear to avoid pollutions. They didn't seem too fussed though. I'm off pork for awhile though!

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