Jill & Sada: Motorcycles & More

We are really enjoying living in this city - Chiang Mai is lots of fun. City traffic is very interesting & the vehicles going by are many & varied! It's been fun to collect this group of pictures showing what we see.

There are a lot of bicycles around & a few of these pedicabs. They are fearless in traffic!

We see quite a few of these big buses, always highly decorated & colorful inside & out.

This is the overnight bus to Bangkok.

This one looks pretty jazzy & comfy inside.

Here is a little Tuk-tuk, they're everywhere. Hop in one for a quick trip to wherever you like,

they're cheap & loud & fun to ride in!

We're riding in a Songtao, a little truck with 2 long seats in back, another very popular form of public transportation. Flag one down, tell the driver where you want to go & if he's going that way, negotiate a price, hop in & hold on! (See me in the reflection?)

We see this cute little green truck on the main street near our hotel.

We liked this cute little red one too!

Here's one we spotted in a small collection of antique cars.

And then, there are the motorcycles. They are the way-to-go around here! The streets are full of them & you see tons of them parked all over the place, including on the sidewalks when necessary. Last year there were 1.6 million NEW motorcycles registered in Thailand.

Sometimes they have a sidecar for a passenger or more likely a utility frame like this that gets used for any & everything!

Sometimes they are a complete small business carrying family members as well.

There aren't many stop lights here, but during the time the traffic is stopped, many, many motorcycles will filter thru the other vehicles & make their way up to the head of the line of traffic. Needless to say, people drive in flip-flops, and high heels too!

Motorcycles are an important part of everyday life -

like when you need to apply some new nail polish!

We often see women riding side-saddle as a passenger & usually they're not even holding on! I've seen them holding a big pot of food seated this way. Glad to see this Grannie has a firm grip!

Seeing 3 people on a motorcycle is not at all unusual, and 4 is common too - that usually includes a small child. Some bikes are fitted with a small seat between the driver's knees. Lots of stuff is hauled around on motorcycles & we've seen a couple fitted out for a person in a wheelchair to drive!