A little while ago, I posted a photo journal on border crossing at Poipet in Cambodia. It featured some overloaded vehicles crossing from Cambodia into Thailand. Cambodians are ridiculous when it comes to packing things into and on top of their vehicles. Here are a few examples. Some of the photos aren’t very clear because they were taken while we were on the road, but I still think they’re really funny.
A heavily overloaded cart of grass being pulled by a motorcycle with a family on top.
An overloaded boat sitting low in the water. We couldn’t figure out what was in the bags, but it sure looked like an uncomfortable ride.
A man and his son wading through the waters of Ton le Sap with a load of wood.
This one isn’t too clear because I took it from the front seat of our car. There’s a pig on the back of that motorcycle. Farmers get their pigs drunk on rice wine before loading them up on their backs to take to market. We tried desperately to get a better picture, but those motorcycles move fast!
Yet another photo taken from the front seat of our car. There were over a dozen men and women crammed into the back of this truck.
Have car? Have motorcycle? Will travel….with some guy crammed in the back holding on for dear life.
This one is just ridiculous. The truck was so heavy, it was barely moving.
Cambodia is completely off the rails. I had a rubber neck from all the gawking. What a trip!
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I am constantly amazed by the sheer volumes loaded onto Asian vehicles. These are very good examples. I have tried to photograph that same sort of scenes, and like you ended up with unclear results.
Nothing makes me smile harder than seeing one of these puppies heading towards me on the road. It boggles my mind when I see people crammed into the tiniest spaces or sitting out in the burning sun. They’re a lot tougher than I am. I don’t know if I could travel like this for a long period of time.
These photos are great Carrie. The pig on the back of the motorcycle got me to laugh. What a sight!
Thanks Jo. I don’t think the pictures are great but if they made you laugh then they’ve served their purpose.
[...] two wheels? Only The Fates know. Carrie at My Several Worlds has some photos of in her archive of vehicles of burden in [...]
I did see someone in Kratie, Cambodia with a double bed strpped onto the back of his moped, moving at a snails pace. The next day, I was out on a bicycle and saw the moped at a mechanics just a few hundred yeards up the main road with the bed propped up against the wall. Made me chuckle to myself