Vietnam Rickshaw - Shadows from the Past

 In the past decades, rickshaws have merged the lives of many poor laborers in urban areas of Vietnam. When they could not get any better jobs, they earned their living by conveying passengers on the rickshaw by only their own foot’s strength. They became special pedal cyclists of the country. Their images of being hard-working on the street and raw-boned foot on pedals is considered as an unforgettable, affective part of the city life.

The picture of rickshaw reminds people of a memory of class distinction in the period of French domination in Vietnam. The rich sat on the pulled rickshaw pulled heavily, exhaustedly by human runners.

Vietnam Rickshaw (Source Internet)

Cyclos (xích lô) and pedicab (xe lôi) are popular kinds of rickshaw in Vietnam, and became a dispensable part of the picture of Vietnam transportation in the past. Cylos appeared in Vietnam 100 years ago, used as a passenger transportation. Today, rickshaws can only exist in the tourism areas to serve tourists who would like to enjoy a slow city tour in Vietnam. Otherwise, Vietnamese people do not catch the rickshaw to travel because its speed is so slow compared to the fast-paced life and inconvenient.

Vietnam Rickshaw (Source Internet)

Some cities in the Mekong Delta such as Chau Doc (An Giang province) and Ha Tien (Kiên Giang) keep the memory of rickshaws by using pedicabs as a popular conveyance in daily life. It is very unfashionable but making the lifestyles in those cities more unique. The drivers ride the bicycle in front to convey local passengers moving slowly in the sunset arouses the picture of the Mekong delta in the very past. Even existing silently, the picture of  rickshaws  is an authentic piece of the cultural picture of Vietnam.