Let’s Get the Tuk on the Road! - by Quillian

The cramped space of a tuk tuk 

Tuk tuks are small three passenger vehicles with one front wheel and two back wheels. They are used as taxis in Sri Lanka. You can fit four passengers if someone sits on someone else’s lap. Even with only three, it is still very packed. They are open to air where doors would be on a car or truck. They are very wobbly. You don’t get car sick because of the breeze. The drivers communicate with each other about turns to move and where they are going with hand signals and horns. The colors of the tuk tuk in Sri Lanka are tan, blue, red, green, and black. But it is not just the color that makes a tuk tuk a tuk tuk. You also need funny bumper stickers, buddhas on the dashboard, lights on the bottom, and slinkies hanging from a mirror. Some tuk tuks take you a very long way. It’s impressive that they can go up and down very steep hills. Once we had to get up a short but steep driveway. The driver said, “one people out,” and Papa got out. The rest of us thought we were getting out too but he drove us all the way up. It was very funny. Tuk Tuks are very fun and feel like a a Disneyland ride. 

Yay! The ice cream tuk!

Our smushed knees

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A Cherry red tuk tuk at a fruit stand

Sometimes, for long distances, we decided to take two