tuk-tuks

Since hurting my back almost a month ago, or since realizing how bad I'd hurt my back after falling on my porch in the rain and being given orders not to stretch, run, ride my bicycle, or expose my fractured-but-healing vertebrae to the potential of a motorcycle accident for the next 4 weeks.... I have been under doctors orders to utilize the ingenious form of transportation known as the tuk-tuk for my daily commute.


Call it my pride, or my white guilt, but I have struggled not to feel embarrassed by having to ride around town all alone in this, one of the most expensive form of public transportation in Phnom Penh (typically used by white tourists, older expats, entire Cambodian families, or groups heading to meetings or parties, none of which I am). I have felt especially sheepish with neighbors and my favorite moto dop drivers, as they witness me paying dollars a day on rides, knowing that I already own a bike, and to whom I have made an obnoxious point to announce in my broken Khmer with corresponding hand motions: "sick back, no ride moto or bicycle one month more." Yikes.


But as I get over myself, and enjoy the breeze and the opportunity to read on my way to work (which reminds me fondly of my morning bus rides in Portland) I have come to reflect on how amazing this vehicle really is. A motorcycle with an attached carriage. Enough of a frame to provide protection in case of an accident, with side rain flaps that can be pulled down during a rainstorm, but open enough for full breeze to keep you cool even in hot weather. Two bench seats facing one another, with room for  4-10 people depending on one's age and sense of personal space. My favorite driver, Jahm, has wired a small light into the ceiling for night rides. Others are equipped with built-in speakers. And every one a different combination of paint jobs, bumper stickers, cushion covers, and floor carpeting. Unique to the personality of the driver, some more creative than others. For example...

Who wouldn't love the tuk-tuk!