Born
in Japan as the 'man-powereed vehicle' or jinrikisha, the rickshaw later
metamorphosed into the cycle-rickshaw. Whether it's called a trishaw,
sidecar, pedicab, cyclo or becak, it's the true Asian taxicab.
Inveterate
Asia travelers Tony Wheeler and Richard I'Anson chased rickshaws through
12 Asian cities. The riders they encountered ranged from old men in
Penang to teenage, would be jeepney drivers in Manila.
In
text and photographs the book visits rickshaws pullers' dormitories
in Calcutta, tracks down the artists who paint the dramatically colorful
rickshaws of Dhaka, locates the scrapyard where confiscated rickshaws
await their fate in Hanoi and rides with the city official who supervises
riding tests in in Penang.
Rickshaws,
their riders and their customers have been studied by engineers, evaluated
by transport economists and analysed by sociologists. They're celebrated
in this book.
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