The Courier
Carries the whole market on one seat · Keeper of the motorbike rivers
Ho Chi Minh City is famous for its motorbikes. People carry everything on them: crates of fruit, flower pots, even a fridge.
The legend
Ho Chi Minh City is famous for its motorbikes. People carry everything on them: crates of fruit, flower pots, a fridge, a whole family. In rush hour they flow through the streets like a river, swerving round each other but hardly ever stopping.
“I'd ride on the back and hold the duck.”
Where it comes from
The keeper is inspired by the motorbike riders who carry goods and people across Ho Chi Minh City.
The first Honda Super Cubs reached Vietnam in 1965, when an importer in South Vietnam ordered 20,000 of them. The bike proved so reliable that people began calling every motorbike a "Honda", whoever made it, and owning one was a mark of status. In December 1997 Honda began building motorbikes in Vietnam itself, starting with the Super Dream.
The city now has about 11.3 million motorbikes and more than 1.4 million cars, the biggest fleet anywhere in Vietnam. The photographer Hans Kemp's book Bikes of Burden, first published in 2003 with 146 pictures, records the loads they carry. Change may be coming. The city is considering a low-emission zone downtown and in Thu Thiem from July 2027, with ride-hailing and delivery motorbikes switching to electric or other clean power by early 2028.
Where to see it
On Ung Văn Khiêm street, up to 15 police officers direct the traffic each morning and afternoon. The Saigon Skydeck on the 49th floor of the Bitexco Financial Tower, 178 metres up, looks down over the streets of District 1. Bình Tây Market, built from 1928 and opened in 1930, is the largest market in Chợ Lớn and a busy place for goods coming and going.
In the game
The courier tips back her hat and revs her scooter. The duck on top wakes up too. Her tower of crates leans one way, and she leans the other to hold it up. The courier puts a hand on her heart, holds out a little gift and waves. The duck flaps along.
