Rows of motorcycles parked in neat lines in Hanoi

Dozens of motorcycles are parked neatly in dense rows along a street in Hanoi. Throughout Southeast Asia, motorcycles are more common than cars because more people can afford them. Motorcycles are the vehicles that middle class families are most likely to own, and they typically are driven by women as well as men. In Vietnam, as in many other parts of Southeast Asia, motorcycles often are loaded with entire families or large lots of heavy merchandise.