Remember that show “Pimp My Ride” ? There’s a new series in Sri Lanka called Pimp My Tuk-Tuk.

I’m about halfway through my Sri Lankan tour, and I am proud to say I have lost track of time, space, and pretty much anything else. The pace of life here is much slower than the last two countries I visited, and it feels great to just relax. I am such an on-the-go person that having a mellow afternoon doing nothing makes me feel almost guilty, like I should be constantly doing activities. The good thing is that there isn’t too much to do in Arugam Bay, so I am almost forced to slow down. No one is in a rush to be anywhere, and people seem to be rather happy about that!

The main mode of transportation around these parts are tuk-tuks, three wheeled vehicles that are sort of a hybrid between a scooter and a golf cart. They go about a maximum of 50 miles per hour, while the public buses here zoom past at lightning speed. The tuk-tuks feel like they’re going to blow over whenever one comes by! Each tuk-tuk driver personalizes their vehicle with stickers, seat covers, posters advertising movies that were released five years ago, stock photos of random babies, etc. Some of the drivers even have put in sound systems, so you can pump up the bollywood jams on your way to surfing. One of my favorite drivers, Anise, let me put a Hansen’s sticker in the VIP location, right on the front bumper of his tuk-tuk.

On Thursday, I will be saying goodbye to A-Bay, and heading inland to Ella, a mountain town with beautiful hikes and scenery. I have two weeks left here, so I figure I might as well soak up some culture and take a little break from surfing... what a concept. Then I’ll be going to the south coast to surf for my final week in Sri Lanka!