July 2018 - Scoot In-flight Magazine

COVER STORY
ABOVE:
Three-wheeled
(two in the front,
one in the back)
cyclos with
passengers
comfortably
seated in front.
vehicle mentioned before
the list? That practice is
called a topload. Never mind
that the inside of the vehicle
is filled to capacity and that
the only thing they can hold
on to are several strips of
metal bars attached to the
roof – these passengers
need to go somewhere
quick and if this means riding
on top of the vehicle with
high chances of falling off
during high-speed turns,
then so be it.
If you’re new to the
Philippines, you may need to
consult with a local first
before boarding one of them
public jeepneys. Each has its
route, and you may need to
ride more than one to get to
your destination.
THE THREE-
WHEELED RELIC
VIETNAM
Take a look around Ho Chi Minh
City in Vietnam and you will
surely see cycle rickshaws (or
cyclos) – those three-wheeled
(two in the front, one in the
back) bicycle taxis with
passengers comfortably seated
in front, while a driver pedals
industriously behind them. It’s
like riding a wheelchair that’s
being pushed by a person
riding a bike.
Before cyclos first appeared
in Vietnam during the French
colonial period, rickshaws were
the conventional means of
transportation. Eventually, the
French authorities found
rickshaws to be a cruel and
inhumane mode of
transportation – rickshaw
pullers had to bear the full
weight of their cart and
passengers. So the French
Public Works Ministry
developed three-wheeled
replacements, which
eventually became the cyclos
that we see today.
The heyday of the cyclos has
long passed, especially when
cab fares have already dropped
and the likes of Uber have
gotten more mainstream. But
these bicycle taxis still live,
thanks to the tourists who are
willing to pay steep fares to
experience going around the
city in this ride. Finding a cyclo is
easy enough, but getting a fair
fare can be a different story.
Always haggle and try to
PHOTOGRAPHY TRAN PHU ONUNSPLASH
38 SCOOT