Saturday 27 December 2014

Transportation

We are the only tandem I've seen. I didn't know tandems had such big cheering sections in Myanmar. People just love it!

But there are thousands of Chinese trucks. They belch Diesel smoke and can be piled higher than you'd think was possible.  The front fly wheels have three belts, I presume for redundancy. We are faster than them uphill. The mufflers blow exhaust right into the windshield. Many windshields are oily from this. No hood makes road side banging on them to fix them easier. They refill the water for coolant all the time as it just spills as they drive. 

This is a Chinese Buffalo. It belches smoke and runs at low rpm. The dead spot in the steering appears to be nearly 90 degrees each way as the drivers turn the steering wheels almost 180 degrees to get enough left and right correction just to stay straight on the highway. 

The ox cart does a lot of work.  It also is nearly silent and doesn't pollute. Nice by those standards. 
 
This is how kids get to school, if not on the back of the above two. I like this method. 

This is pretty common transport too 


Scooters are everywhere. They hail more than the average Ford F-150 at home. They carry anywhere from 1-5 people. Hondas are cherished. Thai ones work. Chinese ones last a year between full rebuilds. 


One scooter can carry 500 farm hats that people make in a village. A guy aggregates them and sells them. Villagers profit 10c per hat. 





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