Farmer's Carry-on

On a recent trip to Indonesia, I found this bamboo and pandan leaf basket in a local market which looks very utilitarian yet attractive at the same time. In the Philippines, we have a similar native carry-all called bayóng but this shape tells me it serves something more specific than a dump-anything, earth-friendly shopping bag. On one side (below left), it is permanently taut with a rattan braid; on the other side (below right), it is open by default but has a bamboo peg and abaca twine to secure the content.

Now I don't speak Bahása but it didn't take long to understand that it's a basket for carrying chickens (admittedly, it did involve someone having to borrow someone's rooster some stalls away). What I see here in the country are mostly perforated cartons or a bayong with improvised holes. Anyway, I promptly bought one and because it is quite an unusual shape, I just carried it on with me on the plane. Such is the life of a weekend farmer; while everyone on my flight via Singapore had smart-looking carry-ons and the latest electronic gadgets, there I was lining up in the gate with a chicken basket!