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 th
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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 hedg
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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 reme
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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
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