Yesterday we just got back from a three day vacation in a place called Nasuli, which is about a four hour drive north of where we are living. Here is just one of the many sights we saw along the way. We were following this motorcycle and I took this picture from the front seat of the van that we were in.
Do you know what a skylab is? It is a motorcycle with a board attached to the seat to make it hold more people and/or goods. That is how the baskets are staying in place in the above picture. In the Philippines, motorcycles are a major form of transportation. It is a little unusual to see a motorcycle with only one person on it. Usually, especially in the province, motorcycles hold from 2 to 6 people. Yes, you heard me right. We passed a motorcycle on Tuesday that held a family of six including very young children. Seeing motorcycles with three or four people was commonplace and hardly worth noting. And these are not large motorcycles either - probably 100cc to 250cc (for you non-motorcycle people those are relatively small).
Yet, the above picture does not hold a candle to the picture that I did not get! A man and his wife were transporting on a motorcycle a whole sala set (living room set) made out of bamboo. On his motorcycle was a couch, two chairs, and an end table, his wife and himself. We were amazed.