The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe: Being Sketches of the Domestic and Religious Rites and Ceremonies of the SiameseYoung, Ernest
Religion
The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe: Being Sketches of the Domestic and Religious Rites and Ceremonies of the Siamese
Young, Ernest
Thailand -- Religious life and customs; Thailand -- Social life and customs
The rickshaw was borrowed from Japan; the "gharry" has been imported
from India. It is a square box-like structure, the upper half being
fitted with sliding windows similar to those in the door of a London
four-wheeler. These windows, when open, admit of a free circulation
of air, and they can easily be closed to keep out either rain, dust,
or sun, at the will of the passenger. The sliding window-frames are
always badly fitted, and they rattle and shake with such a terribly
deafening noise, that two people sitting side by side, are compelled
to shout when they wish to address each other. Riding in these
coaches gives one the sensation of being a kind of marble inside a
gigantic rattle-box that is being vigorously shaken for the driver's
amusement. The majority of the gharries are not in a very much better
condition than the rickshaws. The harness is generally made of rope
or string, instead of leather, and even if a leather strap or trace
is visible, it is nearly always in two or three pieces temporarily
connected with string. At very short intervals of time and space, the
driver is compelled to descend and repair as best he can the broken
connections. These drivers are chiefly Siamese or Malays, and so many
of them have adopted the red Turkish fez as a head-dress, that it can
safely be taken as the badge of coachmen. In fine weather both Malay
and Siamese drivers wear their own national costumes, but should it
rain, they promptly divest themselves of every stitch of clothing
except a cloth round the loins. They place their garments in a box
under the seat, and drive about in a state of almost perfect nudity
until the sun reappears and dries them with his rays, when they once
more clothe themselves in their native apparel.
The "omnibus" is a variation of the English one, with extensive and
important modifications. It is of local construction, and without
springs. It consists of a long shallow box on four wheels. A rickety
roof is supported by equally rickety pillars, and serves to keep out
the sun and rain. Omnibuses are very popular amongst the poor, on
account of their exceedingly low fares, several miles being travelled
for a few cents. Every kind of vehicle is crowded to its fullest
capacity. A rickshaw will ordinarily hold two; you may often see four
or five in one. A gharry should carry four, but by crowding inside and
piling one person on top of the other, with the addition of a couple
hanging on behind, one on each door-step, and one on each hub of the
wheels, a whole family manages to get conveyed to its destination by
means of a single conveyance. Omnibuses are similarly crowded and
packed, to an extent which is only possible on account, first, of
the absence of any law to prevent it, and secondly, of the genial
good-temper of the natives themselves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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