Tuk-Tuk= One of the best ways to get around in Phnom Penh! A
motorcycle connected to a buggy with 2 benches on it.
On day one we found our driver for what looks like will be
our entire stay here in the city! His name is Phoeun (Pronounced Poo-en). We
have had many grand adventures so far. There are 7 people on our team so for
the first few days Stephanie got to ride on our laps until we decided to ask if
she could ‘sit’ on a little piece of metal beside the driver. He said ‘Yes!’
and that made Stephanie’s day! The first day we went to Love in Action (an
orphanage) we quickly found out that having 7 people in a Tuk Tuk and
attempting to go up a hill is a very difficult task. We made it but the Tuk Tuk
did not sound very good. The next day the boys were VERY sweaty and Tim decided
that it would be a good idea to ‘ride’ hanging on the back of the Tuk Tuk.
So
picture 3 people sitting on the bench at the back of the Tuk Tuk and then Tim
jumping on the back. NOT A GOOD IDEA! We tipped the Tuk Tuk on its end had a
great laugh about it AFTER we got our heart rates back to normal! A few days
later we had to go up an even bigger hill. We got close to the top and stopped
moving and Phoeun yelled “Get out, get out” so we had to jump out of the Tuk
Tuk and push it the rest of the way up the hill. Yet another adventure! What
makes this an adventure is that traffic in the city is crazy and people are not
really meant to be outside the Tuk Tuk pushing it!
Later that same day Phoeun
told us that when we arrived at the hill we would need to start getting out and
walking up the hill and across the main road and then get back in. I wondered
if that meant we would get a break in the price, but I didn’t ask J Our last adventure deals with how to
successfully get in and out of the Tuk Tuk. In order not to flip the Tuk Tuk on
its side you need to make sure that it is balanced when people get into the
vehicle. AKA when one person gets in on the right side someone else needs to be
getting in on the left side. We found this out when we accidentally had 3
people on one side and we were on a slight incline and the Tuk Tuk started to
lean a little too much to one side. Great fun! Im sure we will have a few more
adventures to pass along over the next few weeks but it has been a fun
adventure thus far!
