Tuk Tuks, Trash Cans and Toilet Paper

March 10
After Emma posted her blog on the monkeys at Angkor Wat, my mother emailed and said, “I loved Emma’s post but what the heck is a tuk tuk?” We didn’t know what tuk tuks were either when we arrived in Southeast Asia seven weeks ago. There are many things that were different and unusual at first that now seem commonplace. We take off our shoes everywhere, use new varieties of squat toilets with ease, quickly find trash cans and puzzle over the toilet paper placement.

To answer your question, Mom, tuk tuks are small vehicles used all over SE Asia for transportation. They vary in size and shape depending on the country. In Siem Reap, Cambodia they are wagons or carriages that attach to a motorcycle. There are still very few cars so the streets are filled with bicycles, motorcycles and tuk tuks.

Our driver and tuk tuk in Siem Reap

The motorcycles are all fairly new and quiet and it costs only one or two dollars to go anywhere in the city. Locals like to cram as much as possible into a tuk tuk. So, when our new friends the Owens (an around the world family from Seattle) arrived in town they managed to fit all their luggage as well as their 5 person family aboard. Unfortunately, as they drove out of the parking lot of the bus station the tuk tuk slowly tipped over. No one was hurt and they eventually made it to a hotel.

In Laos, tuk tuks are three wheeled vehicles with old two-cycle engines that must be at least 25 years old. They look welded together from spare car and truck parts. The benches in the back for passengers are mere suggestions, made for only the most slender of rear ends.

Perhaps the most mystifying practice in Asia is the placement of toilet paper. You’ll rarely find it in public restrooms. So, the savvy traveler never leaves her guest house without squirreling away a TP stash in her pocket or purse. However, at restaurants you’ll find interesting straw boxes on your table with a hole in the top, out of which you can pull a length of toilet paper to use as a napkin while you eat.

While we’re on the subject of toilet paper I may as well mention the toilets. I was a bit surprised when I opened a stall door to find one of these for the first time in North Africa.

A sparkling clean squat toilet in a bus rest stop in Thailand.

The pool of water on the left is for flushing. You pick up the scoop and pour it into the toilet when you finish. Toilet paper goes in the trash.

One of my favorite sights in Asia are the well designed trash cans ingeniously made from old tires. I’m so conditioned to looking for the large plastic variety common to North America and Europe that it took me a long time to spot these while waiting for the ferry in Thailand.

recycled tire trash cans

In Laos, we found many of the recycled tire trash cans but baskets are their container of choice for just about everything. They make very attractive trash bins.

We adapted very quickly to the habit of taking off your shoes before entering many buildings. When we see clusters of shoes outside a shop or temple we quickly slip off our sandals and pad about on the cool tile floor. Many of the guesthouses where we stay have shoe racks by the front door and they keep the shiny wood floors spotlessly clean. Mitch loves it as he really appreciates a clean floor.

We leave in just a few days for India and there is still much to write about our adventures here. We haven’t had very fast internet so posting is painfully slow. Southeast Asia has definitely been one of my favorite areas to visit on our trip. The people are so warm and friendly, the scenery is beautiful and the food is tasty.
-Margit