Sitting outside of Starbucks on a stop over to La Union, I went silent mid conversation when this spectacle rolled by. This would be Lolo Badong (grandfather Badong) and his trusty billy goat, Golayat. Golayat of course, is supposed to be Goliath, but the filipinos aren't big fans of the "th" and usually replace "i"s with "y"s. Regardless, the irony remains. As if a billy goat rickshaw isn't enough, apparently, Golayat has been pulling Lolo Badong since he was a wee baby billy goat, about a decade ago. It's hard to imagine anything smaller pulling a human being.

As with most modes of transportation in the Philippines, Lolo Badong's cart had comical flair. He placed a horse statue on the "dash board"(hopefully this did not hurt Golayat's feelings) and gave Golayat a headpiece of poinsettias and devil horns. A bill goat who thinks he's the devil...not exactly Pixar material.

But if you think about it, provided speed is not a factor, a billy goat is less maintenance than a horse, avoids rising gas prices, and is a cute pet to boot. So maybe Lolo Badong is actually ahead of the game, instead of behind the times. If I didn't live in a polluted, traffic filled metropolitan center, I might give it a go...provided the billy goat isn't possessed by the devil.