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Regular-article-logo Wednesday, 16 July 2025

Bond inspires tuk-tuk tour - danes leave with memories of Dosa, Tea, Beauty & hospitality

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ANURADHA SHARMA LAKHOTIA Published 09.04.04, 12:00 AM

Siliguri, April 9: “Pedersen. Michael Pederson,” says the leader of the group of four, his introduction inspired by James Bond.

On a trans-continental tour in an ornate tuk-tuk, another inspiration drawn from Pierce Brosnon’s credit card advertisement, the Danish quartet said they came up with the “crazy idea” after seeing one of the real-life vehicles in Bangkok and falling in love with it.

Wondering what a tuk tuk is? It is Thai for the three-wheelers known as autorickshaws or tempos in our country — a vehicle traffic police love to hate.

“It is a crazy idea,” admits Anne Eborup of Thai Airways International, part sponsors of the tour.

“But lots of fun and adventure,” tuk-tuk manager Michael, of Jysk Rejsebureau Travel Agency, the main sponsor, is quick to add. “Being Europeans, we had never seen an autorickshaw. So, when we saw one in Bangkok after being impressed by the Brosnon ad, we bought one and set out on a tour.”

Used to driving cars, it took Michael and friends some time to get the hang of the tuk tuk. The rest is history in the making.

“We changed some features of the tuk-tuk so we could drive it like a car. This vehicle has no system that needs to be operated by the hand,” said Michael, tucking into alu-dum and puri in a city hotel this morning.

Chauffeured by Michael, the Danes left for Nepal today. On its way back, the group will ride through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Armenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Germany, before giving their homeland its first glimpse of a “real Bond vehicle”.

From Aarhus (in Denmark), and travel agents by profession, the foursome saw their first tuk-tuk on January 7. They left for Malaysia in their “tuk-tuk” on February 8 and continued their journey to Singapore. They sailed for India and reached Chennai by ship on March 12. Charting a route through the country’s east coast, the team arrived in Siliguri three-days ago.

Fun might top the travellers’ agenda, but awareness and information come a close second.

“We have created a website, www.tuktuk.dk, in which we are posting photographs and tit-bits of information on our findings in different countries. The site also will have details of the places we are visiting,” says Kristoffer Haslov, adding that “some people in Chennai actually called me James Bond”.

“Such a trip fosters better understanding. We will go back and ask our clients to come to these places and for a one-of-its-kind experience,” said Michael, already chalking out plans for his next tuk-tuk trip from Denmark to Cape Town.

For now, however, Michael is looking forward to have more masala dosas on his return journey through India.

For Tina Penderson, another member, “Only Darjeeling tea can compare to the scenic beauty”. “And the Indian hospitality more than made up for the bumpy rides,” she added.

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