Tuk-Tuk to the Road. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent

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      I can’t believe it! The tukathon has actually begun. At 11.49 a.m. on Sunday morning Jo, myself and Ting Tong, under the watchful gaze of Queen Victoria’s statue, turned left out of the British embassy in Bangkok and set sail for England. After so many months of planning, it’s extraordinary to think we have actually embarked on our 12,500-mile journey and that for the next three months we will slowly be heading home, each day inching a little closer across the globe.

      Having only come out of hospital on Friday I was unsure whether I’d actually be able to go with Jo for the first few days. But after a shaky day on Saturday and a few green, wobbly moments on Sunday morning we were off and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

      On Saturday night we took Ting Tong to the Khao San Road and got a taste of what the next few months might be like. Even in Bangkok, where tuk tuks are ubiquitous, people stopped, stared, laughed, took pictures and shook their heads in amazement when we told them we were driving our pink bomber all the way to England. Jo drove her into the Khao San and we parked her up for a few hours while we did a few interviews, people took pictures and Jo clambered on the roof-rack and risked her and Ting Tong’s life for some photos. They’d better be good. Ting Tong went down a storm and, although we might be a little bit biased, she really must be the most supersonic tuk tuk this planet has ever seen. Everyone who sees her definitely goes a little green around the gills. Thanks Anuwat—you are a total star, and Jo and I are both very, very happy that we found you and your amazing tuk tuk factory.

      Sunday morning was an early start as we had to load all our kit on to TT and be at the British embassy by 10 a.m. After a rigorous security check at the gates, we cruised up to the front door of the ambassadorial residence to find a pack of photographers and TV crews waiting for us. When Nuttanee, the embassy’s press officer, had said she would be able to get some press along to the launch, we never expected such a good turnout. Maybe it was the lure of a morning at the ambassador’s residence, where they do make exceedingly good cakes.

      The next two hours were a blur of interviews, photos, smiling until it felt like our faces might crack, hanging off the side of Ting Tong for more photos, giving the ambassador and his wife a lift in TT, and hurried goodbyes to cousin Bert and Hannah, Jess and André. Then in we got and off we went. We could never have dreamed our launch would be such a grand affair, and we owe a very big thank you to Mr and Mrs Fall for their amazing hospitality. Even better—Mr Fall might get a tuk tuk fromAnuwat to drive around Wiltshire in his retirement. Spread that tuk tuk love!

      Since then, we’ve been speeding north in Ting Tong, eliciting smiles wherever we go. Jo was at the wheel for the first two days, cursing everyone’s slow driving and bombing past astonished drivers at 60 mph in the fast lane. Despite the floods in the north of Thailand, the terrible Indonesian earthquake and all the strife in East Timor, we made it into seven Thai newspapers on Monday morning and onto two TV stations. We’ve heard back from Blighty that we’ve also been gracing the airwaves on Radio 2, XFM and Five Live, have been on BBC South Today and are on the BBC news website. Even weirder, Ting Tong also appears in papers as diverse as the Indian Financial Times, the Deccan Herald and the Pakistani Globe today. Why on earth would someone in Karachi want to read about a bright-pink tuk tuk?

      We’re in Khao Yai National Park now, where The Beach was filmed. Our hut is surrounded by jungle and I’m hoping we won’t get eaten by a hungry tiger in the middle of the night.

      200 miles down. Only about another 12 000 to go…

      We drove from Khai Yao National Park to Phimai today, just over 125 miles, and have dived into the nearest Internet café to check our mail and update our blog. The drive here was fairly amusing. People were pulling up level with us on the freeway, winding down their windows and waving and taking photos. When we stopped for lunch at a tiny roadside café, the owner rushed out brandishing yesterday’s newspaper with Jo and I and Ting Tong on the front page. More photos were taken, lunch was free and a crate of water was loaded on board before we waved and tukked off up the road.

      The main purpose of this blog, though, is to highlight some of the press we have had in the last few days. Thanks to giving an interview in Bangkok to international news agency Associated Press, the tale of our tukathon has reached some most unexpected corners of our planet. We were thrilled to see an article on the BBC news website entitled ‘Two in a tuk tuk for 12,000 miles’. Our story in the Deccan Herald is sandwiched between articles about a dog show in Bangalore and honour killings in Pakistan. Spot the odd one out.

      Last but not least, Jo and I have been giggling inanely at a blog we found that takes the piss out of our venture. For cheap laughs you really must read it: www.armedtechnician.blogspot.com.

      I’ve no idea СКАЧАТЬ