The Asian World of Tuk-Tuk.

Tuk-Tuk

Tuk-Tuk that quintessential form of transportation in most of Asia vary greatly in comfort, size ,and price. In Indo-China some drivers go to extraordinary lengths to validify  their price demands, often producing fare tables to prove their point. I have found the wandering ones are the best value, those you hail down on the open road. Vehicles out side tourist spots and hotel are a no no. Recently when landing at Luang Prabang after sailing down the Mekong, I needed to load and unload a couple of times in order to avoid some outlandish price demanded by the owner. These drivers have a great advantage for unlike the traveler, know their town and the distances involved giving them a great entrepreneurial  advantage, in this case I only needed to go around the corner to my guest house. Here in Vientiane the same seems to apply.

Tuk-Tuks come in a variety of sizes depending on the motorcycle's horsepower. This influences not only the seating capacity, but to some extent the comfort of your ride, particularly over rutted roads.The larger ones may have a "type" padded seat, but these comfort factors don't influence the price, this is always determined by what the driver feels he can extract There are times the rather erratic driving habits require a firm grip on the railings. To fall out would not be a good look as your Tuk-Tuk weaves its way through traffic and pedistarians. Last year while in Phuket prices varied from 200br to 800br for the same journey' so you can see there is considerable flexibility.  Not that I feel you need to exploit various situations, after all they need to earn a living. But this is a two way transaction and a fair price needs to be arrived at by a two-way effort.

The decor of these unique vehicles represents their greatest attraction.Many are overall painted in different designs from flowers to abstracts. The important things is the colours must be bright, so as to be noticed. Some drivers I have noticed rig up a hammock in the back to have a sleep while waiting for custom. Others will sit under a nearby tree, no doubt discussing the world economic crises, and the lack of customers. No matter, travelling by Tuk-Tuk can be fun and is a great local experience not to be missed. I have produced a few drawing of these unique vehicles, but will not be able to post them onto the blog until I return home.