First some definitions: a moto is a low-powered motorcycle, what we might call a motor scooter, and ones for hire are driven by “moto-dops”. Cyclos are like three wheeled pedal-powered rickshaws with the driver in the back. Tuk-tuks are two wheeled covered carts with two padded benches and pulled by a moto or motorcycle.
Motos are by far the most common form of transport. They swarm on the road like bees in a shaken hive, totally responsive to anyone on foot. Step out of the gate at my place and within seconds there’s a guy zipping up and saying “MOTO SUH?” You negotiate a price which is usually half of what they ask and then hop on the back. Cost-wise, I can zip from my door to the office, about 2km away, for 1,500 Riel, or about 38 American pennies. I can go anywhere in town for R2,000 ($0.50) or to Pochentong Airport, 20 minutes out of town, for R8,000 ($2.00).
Back in January Lizzy and I rode probably 100km in total on motos. They’re really fun and cheap, but ridiculously dangerous if you ride without a helmet. I’m a bit ashamed to admit that we neglected that little detail back then, but now I always wear my helmet (it’s part of my agreement with VSO). A few moto-dops wear helmets but they prefer baseball caps over safety. I suspect the ones that do have had their brush with reality at some time in their driving career. Actually, the law just changed in January where everyone is required to wear helmets. Hah! Where is the enforcement?!
Motos are by far the most common form of transport. They swarm on the road like bees in a shaken hive, totally responsive to anyone on foot. Step out of the gate at my place and within seconds there’s a guy zipping up and saying “MOTO SUH?” You negotiate a price which is usually half of what they ask and then hop on the back. Cost-wise, I can zip from my door to the office, about 2km away, for 1,500 Riel, or about 38 American pennies. I can go anywhere in town for R2,000 ($0.50) or to Pochentong Airport, 20 minutes out of town, for R8,000 ($2.00).
Back in January Lizzy and I rode probably 100km in total on motos. They’re really fun and cheap, but ridiculously dangerous if you ride without a helmet. I’m a bit ashamed to admit that we neglected that little detail back then, but now I always wear my helmet (it’s part of my agreement with VSO). A few moto-dops wear helmets but they prefer baseball caps over safety. I suspect the ones that do have had their brush with reality at some time in their driving career. Actually, the law just changed in January where everyone is required to wear helmets. Hah! Where is the enforcement?!
Motos are the family Volkswagen of Cambodia. Inexpensive, maneuverable, cheap to operate, they are a staple of Cambodian life as well as SE Asia. So I just now went to the railing on my balcony and did a quick sixty second survey of moto-mania. I saw probably 200 motos in that short bit, two cyclos, one heavy truck, two cars, one van, three handcarts and a couple of bicycles thrown in. Most were solo drivers, but a number of them had passengers, one of which had three. I’ve seen up to five on one! The women usually perch sidesaddle which to me looks precarious but they do it somehow.
Tuk-tuks are what black cabs are to London. They transport families and tourists in groups of up to four comfortably, two facing two. The cost is about double that of the moto and a bit slower. The only time I use a tuk-tuk now is when I have a large item to transport or if a group of us want to go somewhere together. Or if I don’t have my helmet with me it’s my only real option. Tuk-tuks are fun but more sensitive to the potholes and tend to jar you more than the agile and shock-cushioned moto.
Now if you want a leisurely ride through the streets of Phnom Penh then taking a cyclo is the ultimate. There is a different feel to this mode of transport, devoid of the pinged puttering of the mechanized options, the cyclo is almost meditative. Cool breeze brushes against your face as you slide by the street scenes. The depth and richness of life here is suddenly more accessible to your senses.
And the cyclo drivers are really amazing guys. With weather-worn faces, tatty clothes and spindly lanky legs, many of these men live in the elements 24 hours a day. What is an income-generator during the day serves double-duty as home and bed at night. Simply park your moto on a sidewalk under a tree and instantly you have your home for the night. Many of these men are rice farmers who come in from the countryside to earn a few thousand riel a day ($1 to $3) during the dry season. Rarely any English spoken here.
Funny enough, I’ve had more than one experience where I thought I’d explained well enough where I wanted to go in my pigeon-Khmer and my cyclo driver didn’t get it. He smiled, nodded and started pedaling away, but had no idea where he was taking me! Better to have a paying fare going somewhere than an empty seat. I love these guys.
Monday morning I go to Battambang, which is near the lake, about five hours by bus. I’ll step out my door at 6:30am and hail a tuk-tuk. He’ll take me to the bus station where I’ll catch my ride in air conditioned luxury. Sort of. When I arrive at my destination I’ll step off the bus and hop on a moto and zip to my hotel. I’ll step out of the hotel at 1:45pm to go to my appointment. At 2pm we hop on the back of a moto and head out to the village for a twenty minute ride. That’s a taste of how accessible transportation is in Cambodia, even in the villages. So there you have it, a salute to the men (literally) who keep things moving in Cambodia. Enjoy more pix of motos, cyclos and tuk-tuks here.
