Tuk-tuks, loud music & ice cream.

I used tuk-tuks all the time in Sri Lanka.

For shorter journeys, they quickly became one of my favourite ways to get around. They are easy to find, practical, open to the surroundings and, somehow, every ride feels like a little adventure.

My standard question to a driver was:

“Can you tuk-tuk me to the city?”

And off we went.

Not just a ride

Tuk-tuks aren’t always quiet.

Sometimes you get a driver with music playing very, very loudly, turning an ordinary ride into something completely different.

And then there are the ice-cream tuk-tuks.

Yes, you can actually come across tuk-tuks selling ice cream, with the music announcing their arrival before you
even see them.

When I heard one, I had to stop it.

You wave the driver down, choose your ice cream, and stand there with the music absolutely blasting while your little roadside ice-cream stop happens right
in front of you.

I have never enjoyed an ice cream more.

Maybe it was the music.

Maybe it was the tuk-tuk.

Maybe it was simply the fact that I was standing somewhere in Sri Lanka, choosing an ice cream from a tuk-tuk with music shaking the whole street.

Whatever it was, it was perfect.

My favourite way to go
short distances

I used tuk-tuks frequently for
shorter journeys.

They were convenient when I didn’t need a car or a long-distance transfer, and I loved being able to see and hear everything around me rather than sitting inside a
closed vehicle.

There is something wonderfully immediate about a tuk-tuk.

You feel the warm air, hear the street, smell the food, notice people passing by — you’re not separated from the place you’re travelling through.

And yes, sometimes the ride is a little bumpy.

Sometimes the traffic is chaotic.

Sometimes the music is way too loud.

But that’s part of the fun.

A little Sri Lankan adventure

I don’t think I’ll ever remember my tuk-tuk rides simply as transportation.

I remember them as part of the experience of being there.

A short ride could turn into a conversation with a driver, a funny moment in traffic, a loud song I didn’t recognise or an unexpected ice cream stop.

That’s what I loved about tuk-tuks.

They didn’t just take me somewhere.

They made getting there part of
the adventure.