Thai Bikes, Trikes and Tuk-Tuks

The last of my vehicular Thai photos. I fell in love with the various forms of human and machine powered bike-like conveyances that I saw in Thailand. I can’t wait to go back and photograph more. If the can-do spirit of the Thai people is manifested anywhere in their culture, it speaks most to me through the sheer variety of bikes and trikes I saw nearly everywhere in the country.

There are 54 vehicles in this most recent upload, so I’ll only be able to feature a few here. See the rest in my Thailand 2007 set. Also, an excellent companion to this post is Pink Tentacle’s recent post on pimped out Japanese scooters.

Two Wheels Good!

Above – The scariest vehicle I rode in Thailand was this bike. I put my 180 lb. ass down on that back seat when Kanjana picked me up as I was wandering around the village aimlessly, and she rode me home on its almost flat tires. I thought the whole thing was going to collapse with every turn of the pedals.

Above – Seen parked in front of the Queen’s Gallery in Bangkok. In the proper royal shade of yellow. I saw a surprising number of choppers in Thailand, all being driven by Thais going for the full-on biker look. I saw a guy making a high speed corner in Sri Racha on a purple chopper that would put Jesse James and his crowd to shame.

Above – Seen as I was driving down the hill from the Temple on the Mountain, this trio was part of a caravan of Thai hipsters on mod bikes and Harleys all going to pay their respects at the shrine. There must have been 20-30 of them, but I had trouble getting shots.

Above – Somewhere in Eastern Thailand, two girls, looking very Miyazaki-esqe, having a good time shopping on their motorbike.

Above – I love this kid. I kept seeing him around the village in Yodakeng, and he always gave me a sour look, like “If you try to marry my sister and take her away, I’ll beat you up!” He had no trust or love for that strange foreign guy wandering around his town.

Above – Parked in front of a temple, two cops do their thing. I saw a lot of cops riding double on small bikes. There’s something about being in a foreign country that makes you nervous about the police – if they talk to you about anything, you’re going to look like an ass and maybe get into trouble, and you might not have any idea what’s going on or why. But seeing cops riding on cheesy mopeds makes them seem disarmingly goofy and nonthreatening, especially to a Californian used to seeing musclebound, Terminator clones in uniform.

Above – As far as I can determine, there’s no legal or impractical limit to the number of people who can fit on a moped in Thailand, nor any restrictions on traveling on the equivalent of the interstate as a helmet-less trio, at 20 miles per hour.

Above – Another trio. I have a feeling that this is how most young Thais first learn how to drive, at age two, holding the handlebars of their family’s scooter.

Above – A common sight, people with their faces covered on bikes. Lots of dust and filter masks in Thailand, and there’s something transhuman and cyberpunk about it.

Above – I believe that this is the vehicle I would like to ride around the world in. I got all ga-ga over the symmetrical baskets on this bike.

Three Wheels Better!

Above – These dirt bike Tuk-Tuk variants were super common in Kalasin province. They all looked super cool, the aesthetic I really got into was the wheelie factor with hanging mudflaps.

Above – The obligatory Tuk-Tuk photo. I didn’t expect to see these driving on the highway in rural areas, but they were all over, and not just in urban places.

Above – My favourite species of Thai vehicle, after the chopper tractors, has to be the bike with sidecar. I saw so many sidecar variations that it made my head spin. This guy was by no means the most laden rider I saw. but he was moving pretty quick for someone with a potentially wind catching umbrella mounted to his vehicle.

Above – Recycling sidecar. I believe that it’s a lot more likely that America is going to become more like the 2nd and 3rd worlds than they are going to become like us, and I like it. When I start seeing vehicles like this on the streets of Los Angeles, I’ll know that I’m right. We’re almost there now, but not quite.

Above – Gotta deliver that Coke! Awesome welded tube-steel sidecar + headlight-less rat bike = workin’ baby! Note the suburban-esqe real estate ads on the fence behind him. I saw a lot of propaganda for the detached house with lawn lifestyle in Thailand, marketed both to Thais and to European ex-pats. In fact, the largest billboards that I’ve ever seen (easily 150′ high by 400′ wide), in Pattaya, were dedicated to the purpose.

Above – The fellow driving this bike delivered gas to the restaurant I was eating at in Pattaya. The rings on the sidecar are from big tanks of propane.

Above – I don’t know why I think this bike is so beautiful, but I do. I love the minimal sidecar. I wish I owned a bike so that I could weld together something like this. It would be perfect for short trips around town and going to Home Despot and such. I shot this photo while Kanjana was haggling over the ingredients to make this, the most perfect soup I’ve ever eaten.

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