*uck its a Tuk.Tuk

 We both slept the sleep of the blessed and woke feeling fully refreshed. Which was good as today we picked up our three wheeled chariot that will hopefully carry us all over this amazing island.

To say I felt a little trepidation at the prospect would be an understatement but in for a penny in for a pound. The trip is organised around this little red wheelie machine so we had to grasp the nettle and get on with it. I have never driven in Asia before but have driven cars and quads all over Europe. I'm sure this is going to be very different but a great adventure.

We were due to pick up our little red beauty at 12pm which gave us plenty of time before to watch other road users from the safety of the pavement and form a plan.  It didnt help settle my nerves.

We strolled around old town Negombo whilst waiting for my driving test. I heard there was a Sunday market operating and We needed to pick up a couple of items before going "upcountry' tomorrow. Basic necessities such as a travelling kettle. Some coffee and a pack of razors. Oh and a pair of black shoes for my "meeting" in Kurunegalla in few days time.  I will only need the shoes for a few hours so opted for a very cheap pair of rubber shoes that are meant to immitate leather. They don't do it very well and I'm hoping no one notices. I'll give them away after the meeting

We arrived at the Tuk Tuk rental office on time. Sorted the driving license and was given a short training lesson on the theory of Tuk Tuk driving. To someone that is used t riding a motorcycle it probably made ome sense but for me who has never even sat on one they might as well have been speaking Klingon. I smiled and looked attentive whilst all the time my bottom developed a mind of its own and tried to eat the chair I was sat on. Crispy tried her best to be reassuring but I could read her mind through her eyes and knew she was as anxious as me.

After the theory came the practical aspect of driving this alien little machine.

I climbed into the driving seat with a very anxious instructor behind me and off onto the chaos of the roads. At home it would involve things like mirror, signal, manoeuvre. This was more " beep your horn and go". After an hour of being berated and admonished for "wrong gear" " what have I told you" " your not listening" "your too left" "your too right" "too fast" "too slow" " my God what are you doing" and finally "only God can help you" we arrived back at the rental centre. He climbed out of the back seat sweating and shaking and  looked forlornly back at me. His final words through startled, watering eyes were  " ok. You passed" before making his way to the closest bar. 

Dear old Crispy gently touched my shoulder and said " you'll get better"... 

After the test we drove the tuk tuk all over Negombo practicing. It didn't get better. The thing I am most struggling with is stopping and i think that is a pretty important aspect of the procedure. 

"What could possibly go wrong" he quietly thought to himself!

Tomorrow we set off into the void. It will be interesting I'm sure.  I think I'd better have another word with St James tonight.........

On a lighter note Crispy was overjoyed that we found Dosa for breakfast.

Bare and Crispy signing off Negombo, Sri Lanka