Colombo Bound : Sri Lanka Tuk-Tuk Challenge, 25 Teams from Across the Globe in a 10-day, 750-mile Three Wheeler Race across Sri Lanka

06th November 2009, www.telegraph.co.uk

What do you get when you put 70 foreigners in charge of 25 tuk-tuks? Charles Starmer-Smith finds out as he leads Team Telegraph on a wild and wonderful 10-day ride as a rookie rickshaw driver.

LEG 1 - Rickshaw Rookies (Negombo to Sigiriya – 100 miles)

I'm pleasantly surprised by the make-up of the group as we gather at the beachfront hotel in Negombo. Fears that it might be gap-year and bearded types with an overly relaxed attitude to personal hygiene prove unfounded. We hurry outside to get acquainted with our tuk-tuks, which have been "pimped" with maps and garish motifs. I join my team-mates, Barney, a DJ from Kenya, and Mark, who works for a drinks company in London, in number 23, labelled "The Daily Telegraph". Alongside us are teams from countries including Australia, South Africa, India, Colombia and Thailand.

With its canvas roof and thin metal frame, the tuk-tuk, still the most common form of tranpsort across much the subcontinent, will never score highly for safety, but few care once orientation lessons begin.Hotel staff wince as we knock over flowerpots. I perform a passable kangaroo impression as I bounce down the track, struggling with the gears. Someone ends up in a hedge. But fast forward to the welcome party and, emboldened by several Lion lagers, everyone is suddenly a seasoned tuk-tuk driver and eyeing the yellow sarongs awarded to the winners of each stage.

I awake the next morning to find the 25 tuk-tuks organised in what looks like a grid for the world's slowest grand prix. Local television crews gather despite the rain.

"Start your engines." We roar out of the hotel as the first rays of sun emerge. But within 500 yards, disaster strikes as our tuk-tuk splutters to a halt. In all the excitement we had forgotten to fill up. It's a long push to the nearest station. Things get worse as we are deceived by the Sri Lankan "figure of eight" head movement. When we ask the attendant if left is the correct way to Digampathana, he does his nod/shake thing, which we decide means no, and plump for right. Wrong. Two hours into the rally, we are back where we started.

I put my foot down, sweeping us through paddy fields and plantations of teak and coconut. The roadblocks I remember from a decade ago are still there, but the soldiers wave us through. We stick to the main roads, but they are not without danger. Trucks sweep us sideways as they blast past. Wild dogs wander into the road. Drivers of belching Leyland buses seem to wait for blind bends to overtake each other, leaving us to swerve or become a human speed bump. But what I will remember most is the look of bewilderment on people's faces at the sight of a foreigner behind the wheel of a tuk-tuk.

Soon it is our turn to gawp when an elephant crashes through the foliage. We dodge it, and arrive at our hotel in 23rd position. The yellow sarong will have to wait.

Related Articles

LEG 1: Rickshaw Rookies

LEG 2: Vehicle Problems and Veddha People

LEG 3: Hills and Haggling

LEG 4: Tree and Tea Country

LEG 5: From Nuwara Eliya's Summit to the Sea

LEG 6: Back to Mirissa Beach

LEG 7: Colombo Bound

The Lanka Challenge Returns to Sri Lanka in 2010
The Lanka Challenge returns to Sri Lanka between September 1-13, 2010. The trip costs £705 per person, based on a team of three. Includes food, lodging and tuk-tuk hire, but not flights. Return flight to Colombo with Sri Lanka Airlines (0208 538 200; www.srilanka.aero) from £365.

For more information: 0845 88063333; www.srilanka.travel