Friday, August 26, 2016

The Tricycles of the Philippines

When living in India, my main mode of transport was the auto rickshaw. In most any Indian city or village, one could hear the put puts and other sputtering noise of these narrow public transport vehicles. When I saw similar ones in the Philippines, I was quite prepared to jump on in. Known as tricycles, the Philippines version is comprised of a passenger cabin mounted to a motorcycle. 

I loved how the tricycles were individually stylized. The one above, for example, looks like the owner was big into heavy metal music. Others, such as the one on top, indicates the strong Catholic faith of its Filipino driver.

The tricycles were seen on the roads throughout our time on the Luzon island. They are particularly prevalent on smaller roads on which jeepneys or buses are not to be operating. Tricycles are particularly handy for short distances. As seen in the photo above, passengers sometimes ride pillion on the back of the motorcycle, in addition to the passenger cabin area. 
Off my friend and I go, ready to hunt down some textile weaving!


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