What's a TukTuk?
Rickshaw, autorickshaw, 3-wheeler, TukTuk - whatever you want to call it, it's the best and coolest way to get around Sri Lanka. You're guaranteed smiles and you'll easily make friends with the locals. It'll cost way less than a hire car, and it's so frugal on fuel. OK, so it's not entirely emissions-free! But it is cool.
I can hear you asking, "What's it like to drive, and how can I get one?" Read on...
The legal bit
You'll need a few things sorting out before you take a TukTuk on the road yourself. Unless you have a Sri Lankan driving licence, you'll need a Sri Lankan driving permit. They're issued by the Automobile Association (AA) of Ceylon in an office down in Colombo. To get that driving permit, you'll need
- your own driving licence from your home country (a European full licence for driving a car, category B, is acceptable. No need for a full motorcycle licence in Sri Lanka)
- plus an International Driving Permit. These can be awkward to get unless you are in your home country. In UK, for example, they are issued for one year and cost GBP 5.50. Bargain! There are various types, so you'll need to buy the right one.
Best plan ahead: do you really want to spend a day of your holiday in an office trying to get a driving permit, or would you prefer to leave it to the experts? Pay the money to a company such as tuktukrental.com and they'll take care of it; their rate is quite reasonable. I've got no affiliation to tuktukrental.com but I like to give praise where praise is due - they really take care of everything.
Starting off
We picked up our TukTuk and driving permits (2 days' notice needed, so order way in advance) on the morning after our flight landed. After a short briefing in the office, we were out on the busy roads in the south Colombo suburbs for some 'training'. So, what's the traffic like? Noise, blaring horns, smokey engines, big crowds, busy-busy, scrambling for position, survival of the fittest, aggressive driving, shouting, chaos? Well, Yes, but once you understand the rules of the road, the system works fine.
There are rules, of course, and the system does work; it is just that the rules are different than those in northern Europe, the US, Australia, NZ and other 'first world' type places. I was told, and readily agreed, that if you drive in the style you do 'back home', you'd end up in an 'incident'. I guess it helped that we've lived in southern Europe, the Middle East, East Africa and South Asia for the past 30 years; to us, Colombo's traffic was just like that in any other hot, stinking city.
Just remember: you're on holiday. So, relax, take it easy, go with the flow and don't get stressed if someone blares their horn at you - they're just being friendly and letting you know that they're there. It's a road-safety thing. Get used to it.
The machine and its engine
The TukTuk is a light-bodied vehicle made of sheet steel and covered by a canvas roof with drop-down sides in case it rains. It has 3 wheels and is powered by a small petrol engine. Ours, like most on Sri Lanka, was a Bajaj 4-stroke, 2-cylinder, 400cc model that put out about 11 horsepower. It's a longstroke design of engine, great for low-end grunt but it runs out of steam pretty quickly at the top end. What does all that mean? Well, it means that even though it can carry tons of stolen cash and all your bank-robber mates, you probably wouldn't want to use it to make a fast getaway. It's an everyday workhorse and you see zillions of them on the roads carrying all shapes and sizes of improbable loads.
An improbable load being carried by our Bajaj TukTuk
We found it very roomy for us and our kit. There were just the 2 of us - both of us had the driving permit - so we could share some of the driving. We took 2 kit bags and a small day rucsac each. The passenger in the back has lots of space and can work gadgets such as the speaker system, the GoPro camera and of course the Google Maps navigation.
Driving position
The driver sits up front alone and steers by way of a handle-bar. Think of it as a scooter front-end. Why? Because that's exactly what it is. And not one of those modern twist-and-go scooters. No, this is like one of those old-style Vespas where you also have the gear-change and the clutch built in to the handlebar. The left grip is twisted to select the gear, having first disengaged the clutch by pulling back on left-hand lever; it becomes a natural movement after a short time. The right-hand grip is the throttle. The brakes are activated by the floor-mounted pedal (again like those old Vespas); there is also a floor-mounted handbrake to secure the vehicle when parked. Brakes tend to aid slightly in the deceleration of the vehicle rather than stop it abruptly. That's code for 'not that good'. ABS is not something you'd associate with a TukTuk's basic mechanicals.
A bit like a scooter handlebar - because it is!
Reverse gear is selected by first of all stopping the vehicle (very important), then selecting neutral gear and then lifting up a ridiculously-long handle that then clicks into place. Engaging first gear after that means the whole thing moves backwards. Once the reverse has been completed, the long lever can then be returned to its usual position. Weird, but also fun at the same time!
Oh yes, there's a handy bottle-holder low down on the right. Don't be alarmed at seeing other drivers swigging from old Absolut vodka bottles; it's just water. Hahaha! (I think)
Driving on the open road
With 4 forward gears and one reverse, you've got some options for varied road conditions. Most professional (ahem!) TukTuk drivers aim to get into top gear in as short a time as possible. In 4th gear, you can do as little as 15 kph and accelerate up to the max quite easily and smoothly (smooth? - TukTuk? - it's all relative!). By the way, the legal limit on most roads is 40kph; I managed to wring 68kph out of mine, but it was downhill, fully-loaded with a following wind. It's so frugal on fuel, it really isn't worth converting into a comparative miles per gallon. Believe me, it's cheap to run and pulling into gas stations is a novelty event.
OK, so it's a 3-wheeler. And it's going to be unstable at times, especially when turning. So, take it easy. The guy at TukTukRental.com told me they'd had a couple of drivers roll their vehicles. Mostly on mountain roads coming down the hairpin bends waaaayyy too fast. Since there's very little crash protection (no airbags, seat belts or other 'fancy' stuff), if you roll one of these babies, it's going to hurt. So don't do it!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwDWraUDPQU&w=560&h=315]
Of course, there are always some nutters.
Once out of the cities and busy towns of the south-west coast, the TukTuk will burble along all day at the speed limit of 40kph. You don't need to go any quicker. To go quicker is to miss the chance of being with the locals; you'll miss the opportunity to peer into homes, glance down muddy lanes or get a close-up view of the wildlife. Take your time when driving so you get to really experience the country and to see it from a local's perspective.
Keeping it running
Maintenance is easy. Just make sure, every day, you check the engine oil level and brake fluid levels. A visual check of the tyres and functionality of the lights is also advised. With all that shaking, wires come loose quite easily; they also fix back on quite easily too!
Happy Tukking!!
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