Myanmar Snapshots 7: The Retro Sidecar

July 17, 2016

Kawhmu Township, Myanmar; March 2016: Walking around the township center, I can’t help but feel as if I was thrown back in time to the 1930s. Not that I knew exactly how the place looked like then but I’ve heard of the “Watsonian” brand of sidecars that was famous in the U.K. in the 1930s to 1950s. And then, also knowing that Burma (Myanmar’s former name) was under British colonial rule from 1824 to 1948; I assumed that all these sidecars I was seeing around me were remnants of that colonial period. I could be wrong but, anyway, I processed my sidecar photos in that township to look like they were vintage 1930s and the effect seems to work, perhaps just a little too sharp considering the technology in that period.

A sidecar driver fixes a flat tire

Sidecars dominate Kawhmu’s market scene

Operating passenger sidecars appear to be a profitable source of income in both the cities and rural towns

A lady approaches a line of sidecars after buying foodstuff from the market

A sidecar driver prepares to deliver his passenger to her destination

Author’s Note: I have actually taken dozens of photos in various other places showing the sidecar as Myanmar’s alternative “beast of burden” and the amazing hauling feats this simple machine does. Watch out for that series. 🙂