Laos — Motorbikes in Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos

More on motorbikes in South East Asia

September 2015

Everywhere I go in Southeast Asia, there are motorbikes. They are the main form of transport. And it never ceased to amaze me how they were used for transporting people, livestock, goods, and all kinds of things and the lack of helmets and protective gear worn by the riders.

What I find particularly interesting is that different countries seem to have different styles of riding and using motorbikes.

In Malaysia, you will often see motorbike riders wearing their jackets back to front to keep dirt and insects off their shirts. In Vietnam, riders in Hanoi were covered from head to toe in one garment to protect them from the sun.

In Myanmar (Burma), you will not see any motorbikes in the centre of Yangon (Rangoon), but go to Mandalay, and the streets are full of motorbikes, frequently with women passengers riding sidesaddle.

And in most South East Asia countries, you will see two, three, four and sometimes five up on one motorbike.

In Laos, I saw something new, something I hadn't seen before. Motorbike riding while carrying an umbrella.

And, like in Myanmar (Burma), female passengers rode sidesaddle.

The motorbike riders with umbrellas intrigued me. Initially, I thought that they had some device that clamped the umbrella to the bike. But, often, the rider used one hand to hold the brolly and the other to steer and control the bike. How do they do that?

Typically, the bikes with an umbrella had a pillion passenger holding the brolly.

And I was impressed at how passengers rode sidesaddle and were not holding on to the bike or the driver but holding the umbrella.

And as in most countries in Southeast Asia, I was surprised how young kids were driven around on motorbikes by their parents.

And then I saw the complete set. A motorbike, with a passenger sitting sidesaddle holding an umbrella, and the driver with a small child between their arms.

Although the centre of Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos, was quiet, as soon as I got into the suburbs, there were motorbikes everywhere, particularly during rush hour.

And I always find seeing a monk on a motorbike amusing. No idea why.

And then, there was the inventive use of motorbikes and taxis.

Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos, did not disappoint in the use of motorbikes. I saw some crazy and highly skilled riding. And I was pleasantly surprised that I saw no accidents.