This entry is about the many tuk tuks that we saw around the country and my collection of the sayings posted on them. Everywhere – city, country and bush you will find tuk tuks getting around. Auto rickshaws, commonly known as Tuk Tuks, can be found on all roads in Sri Lanka from the curvy roads through the hill country to the congested roads of Colombo transporting locals, foreigners, or freight about. Nearly always driven by men (?) they can't go very fast and constantly seem to get in the way but they add to the experience of a different country. Popular in many SE Asian countries it is only in Sri Lanka where I have seen them adopting a style all of their own.

Some facts from Wikipedia…….

Sri Lankan tuk-tuks are of the style of the light Phnom Penh type. Most tuk-tuks in Sri Lanka are a slightly modified Indian Bajaj model, imported from India though there are few manufactured locally and increasingly imports from other countries in the region and other brands of three-wheelers such as Piaggio. In 2007 January the Sri Lankan government imposed a ban on all 2-stroke three-wheelers, and therefore the ones imported to the island now are only with a four-stroke engine. Most three-wheelers are available as hiring vehicles, with few being used to haul goods and as private vehicles. Bajaj enjoys a virtual monopoly in the island, with its agent being David Pieries Motor Co Ltd. A few three-wheelers in Sri Lanka have distance meters, but the vast majority of charges are negotiated between the passenger and driver.

What fascinated me was the way in which the owners have personalized their vehicles. It got to the point where after a few days in the country I was looking at each one to see what the owner had done. Most seem to have sayings related to love. Some made me laugh, some made me go ouch and some made me cringe but it was all fun looking everywhere to see what was done J