Motorbike is Vietnam’s preferred mode of transportation. And while these kind of vehicles are used to transport a limited load of stuff, images taken by Dutch photographer Hans Kemp show motorbikes in Vietnam carrying incredible things.
When he first visited the country, he was surprised to see numerous motorbikes flooded the road. And when he moved to Ho Chi Minh city from Hong Kong, one of his clients hired him to take photos of the local motorbikes.
With almost 90 million vendors and consumers buying and selling something on virtually every street corner, Vietnam is the perfect place to capture amazing scene after scene of cargo being carried on the back of motorbikes.
“One of the main reasons for this enormous variety lies in the obsession with fresh ingredients for every meal,” explains Kemp.
“No frozen meat or fish here, the way to the consumer is short and direct: from the farm, the abattoir and the dock.
“So instead of transporting large quantities in one time, many loads of small quantities get transported all the time and the bike is the preferred mode.
“It seems that every household in Vietnam has at least one bike. In the city, narrow streets and traffic congestion make the bike by far the fastest way of transporting people and goods around.”
With towering loads assembled on the backs of their vehicles, these bikers demonstrate immense balance, efficiency, and expertise without having an expensive bike gear.
What started as an assignment turned into a passion project and for two years Kemp spent his free time taking pictures of motorbikes across the country.
He has authored and published a book titled “Bikes of Burden”, a popular photography book which gives a glimpse of the towering piles of precious cargo transported by motorbike each day in Vietnam.
To capture the bikes in motion, Kemp would ride in the back of a Honda Super Cub to look for bikes with incredible loads.
Once he sees something interesting, he would have the driver pull a U-turn and then photograph the bikes parallel, from high-speed.
This series pays “tribute to the motorcycles and drivers as the backbone of the Vietnamese economy.”
And during his recent visit to Vietnam, he took more pictures for the revised edition of his book.
“Seeing this unique species alive and kicking and swirling through Vietnam’s traffic, still vigorous and proud after so many years made me realize that they could very well be there to stay,” he said.
To see more of these amazing scenes, check out Kemp’s book and check out his website.
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