Unlike India, where color scheme and customization is regulated, anything goes in Sri Lanka. It's hard to believe that India, so much bigger and so much less organized, can clamp down on the millions of tuk tuks, but tradition is a strong motivator. Where we live in Chennai, you can paint your tuk tuk any color as long as it's yellow. And don't forget the black top.
In Sri Lanka, you can forget everything and just enjoy expressing yourself through your tuk tuk. Here's a driver who believes in blue.
Burberry could have sponsored these tuk tuks. Their famous color scheme translates well to the three wheeled machines. More tuk tuk colors at a garage.
Tuk tuk portrait in red. Three beauties.
What else can you do with a tuk tuk? Turn it into an, ahem, ice cream tuk. Yuk, yuk, yuk. We do like that the little tuk tuk ice cream company's name is Elephant House.
Oh my, the Sri Lankan tuk tuk has come a long way in 20 years! Back then there were only the crappy old green with a yellow top. Thank goodness they have upgraded since! Best memory though was renting a tuk tuk for the day to take us from Unawatuna to Colombo on the Galle Road. We loaded up with tambili for our beverages and pulled over for site seeing, photos, roadside shopping as we wanted. It took FOREVER but was a great day! BTW, how much is it now for the average tuk tuk to different points in town?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the historical perspective. We didn't actually take a tuk tuk in Sri Lanka so I'm not sure what the cost is. During our five day vacation we had a driver.
DeleteSmart, if you had only five days! Looking forward to more posts and pics. Sri Lanka is lovely -- hoping you got to enjoy their hospitality and taste the local cuisine!
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