One of the downsides to living abroad is it dulls your sense of wonder. Try as you might, you become jaded. Things that were once new, unusual or just plain crazy become commonplace. I remember thinking "Holy crap, was that four people on one motorbike?" Now anything less than six people on a moto doesn't warrant so much as a glance.
Still, just about every day I see something crazy, funny, different or just plain wrong enough to remind me I'm not in Kansas anymore. Heck, I sometimes wonder if I'm still on Planet Earth. I see people doing and carrying the craziest things on motorbikes but, as I've expressed in previous posts, I rarely have the opportunity to get a picture. Even having a camera on my phone isn't enough. By the time I realize "that would make a good picture" the moment is gone.
I literally went out of my way to get this next photo. I was getting ready to turn when I saw one of the craziest things I've yet seen in Southeast Asia. I sped ahead on my motorbike, pulled over, got out my phone and waited to snap a pick. I barely made it in time.
One scam tuk-tuk drivers try to pull on tourists is charging per person. They will try to charge me $2 for a trip that would cost a Cambodian 2000 riel (50 cents). If I am with someone they will try to charge us $2 each. This is particularly funny/infuriating because it's common to see tuk-tuks carrying entire families of locals, and you known darned well they aren't paying per person. By families I mean 10, 12 or 15 people in one tuk-tuk.
How do you transport a family by tuk-tuk when one of the boys is in a wheelchair?
He is holding onto the back of the tuk-tuk as it pulls him along. If there is ever a time when this doesn't shock and horrify me, tap me on the shoulder and tell me it's time to go home.
The less jaded of you might look at the motorbike next to the tuk-tuk and wonder why the father is wearing a helmet but the mother and infant are not? I stopped wondering that a long time ago...
I am in the process of finding a new apartment, for reasons which I will detail in a future post. As you know, finding a new apartment is a time-consuming and joyless chore. Try doing it in a city where you don't speak the language! I will update the blog when the search is over. Wish me luck.
Still, just about every day I see something crazy, funny, different or just plain wrong enough to remind me I'm not in Kansas anymore. Heck, I sometimes wonder if I'm still on Planet Earth. I see people doing and carrying the craziest things on motorbikes but, as I've expressed in previous posts, I rarely have the opportunity to get a picture. Even having a camera on my phone isn't enough. By the time I realize "that would make a good picture" the moment is gone.
I literally went out of my way to get this next photo. I was getting ready to turn when I saw one of the craziest things I've yet seen in Southeast Asia. I sped ahead on my motorbike, pulled over, got out my phone and waited to snap a pick. I barely made it in time.
One scam tuk-tuk drivers try to pull on tourists is charging per person. They will try to charge me $2 for a trip that would cost a Cambodian 2000 riel (50 cents). If I am with someone they will try to charge us $2 each. This is particularly funny/infuriating because it's common to see tuk-tuks carrying entire families of locals, and you known darned well they aren't paying per person. By families I mean 10, 12 or 15 people in one tuk-tuk.
How do you transport a family by tuk-tuk when one of the boys is in a wheelchair?
He is holding onto the back of the tuk-tuk as it pulls him along. If there is ever a time when this doesn't shock and horrify me, tap me on the shoulder and tell me it's time to go home.
The less jaded of you might look at the motorbike next to the tuk-tuk and wonder why the father is wearing a helmet but the mother and infant are not? I stopped wondering that a long time ago...
I am in the process of finding a new apartment, for reasons which I will detail in a future post. As you know, finding a new apartment is a time-consuming and joyless chore. Try doing it in a city where you don't speak the language! I will update the blog when the search is over. Wish me luck.
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