The man sat down on the roof of the truck and gazed into the distance

Man sitting on roof of truck — Muang Sing Market

A truck stood parked at the edge of the market. This was Muang Sing, a small town in northern Laos, and the morning mist had yet to lift. Around the marketplace, the air was already thick with people—villagers carrying baskets and sacks, weaving in and out of the crowd. Amid this bustle, the truck alone waited quietly. Its bed was fitted with iron railings, suggesting that it served as a link between nearby villages and the town. Crops and household goods bought at the market would be loaded onto it, and at times, even people themselves would be packed in before it rumbled off down the road.

On the roof of the truck, a man sat, motionless. Perhaps he was waiting for the loading to begin, or perhaps he was simply passing the time. In rural Laos, sitting atop a vehicle like this is part of the everyday rhythm of life. Legality may be questionable, but regulations are far from strict. Trucks here are treated as all-purpose transport, bearing people and goods with equal indifference.

In Thailand, a similar vehicle—fitted with benches along the sides of the truck bed—is called a songthaew. What it is called in Laos, I cannot say. Yet in Muang Sing’s market, such trucks seem to function as more than mere transport: they are extensions of the village’s social space. Whether the man on the roof was truly keeping watch over the cargo, or simply fighting off boredom, is impossible to know. But looking at him, I had the impression that in Laos, even waiting itself is transformed into a kind of labor—an occupation in harmony with the slow flow of time.

Muang Sing on Google Map

Comment via

日本語