Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Modes of Transportation

 Taken from my window at the Hotel Meteor, Shtoj e ri (just northeast of Shkoder), Albania.  I had gone to visit some friends who had been  running an archeological project close by for the last couple of years.  I noticed from my balcony quite a variety of vehicles.  This one is sort of a small motorcycle with the front wheel replaced by a wagon.
 This blue tricycle vehicle is known in the vernacular as a "dum-dum" because of the way the two-cycle engine sounds.  They are pretty handy, though.  There are three-wheel and four-wheel versions, and usually the bed will dump to either side, making them very versatile in narrow roadways.  The term "narrow roadway" probably encompasses about 90% of urban roads.

 Dum-dum going north, two vans and a tractor coming south.  Dedicated lanes of travel are mostly an academic concept.

 Horses and donkeys are still common in rural areas, but the wagons are much advanced.

 I like this mode; you can ride a bike but you don't have to pedal.

My balcony at the hotel.  I wasn't quite sure whether this was temporary wiring or permanent.   All these pictures were taken June 3, 2012.