The "steeds" in the A Luoi Upland Area
By Van Nguyen, May 3, 2019
It is very easy to see the "iron steeds" in A Luoi Upland Area, Central Vietnam. They are kind of motor vehicles that help local people reach their acacia and rubber fields as well as the natural forests nearby. The section below are photo gallery of these "steeds" that I collected during my fieldwork from January, 2019.
If the Japanese Honda sees these vehicles, they would surely be terrified!!! The vehicles have been miraculously localized by the creation of local people.
Except for the machine drive, the chassis, the shock absorber is still the same as a normal motorbike, the other parts have been changed to fit in the sloping terrain as well as flooding. There are three important improvements:
The frame is machined with steel to withstand the bigger load;
The fuel tank is plastic can sometimes hang on handlebars so that it can easily refuel when running;
The sprocket chain is bigger to help the vehicle pass the steeps, stream and big potholes.
On the day in Chi Du -Nghĩa Village (Huong Nguyen Commune), I was going to try a round of this steed but the owner stopped me "You cannot drive this. You will fall- "Yes, this machine is for "real" warriors, not for me"
