Is this the BEST way to travel in Cambodia?
and how do you all know each other we don't we don't we don't uh I've got a uh personal affection for Cambodia this will be my sixth time here wow but uh not traveling like we're going to be traveling next uh two weeks yeah so this is the best way to see the country there's so much more to see in Cambodia that people don't see and so I'm kind of excited but a little bit nervous about what's out there you know hopefully all you guys that are out there on the road are able to have amazing experience but also be able to stay in hotels you know rather than sleeping or camping on the side of the road so that's my uncertainty together we build the paths that others will follow we are the tuk tuk trailblazers 4 3 2 1 Welcome to the start line of the Tuk TuK Tournament this is an incredibly unique event I have been participating for the past few years in Sri Lanka but this is the first time it's being hosted in Cambodia and I just want to share a little information about what this event is and what the heck I'm getting myself into we got some teams pulling up right here hey I love it so this event is designed to bring Travelers off the beaten path we are officially Offroad interact with locals in ways we normally wouldn't wow wow wow wow wow wowow and it focuses on trying to make a positive impact in local communities oh 50 for you the change no change momm for you thank you thank you thank you for having us in your home so and I just love it so much a little summary of how it works this is not a race it's called a tournament because there are a variety of different challenges we have location based challenges so for example we are given access to an app a mobile application that everybody has to use and in this app there is a map of the entire country and there are locations spread all over this country pinpoints for suggestions of places we can travel the more locations you visit the more points you receive but every team decides their own Direction you create your own adventure so everyone has a unique experience and you decide where to go there is no set path you're figuring out as you go I don't even know where we're going yet and that's part of the excitement so those are the location challenges and then we also have a list of other challenges they're called quests that you can complete regardless of location and each Quest has a certain level of difficulty and a certain amount of points awarded if you complete that Quest now the unique thing about this tournament since it's the first time it's ever happening in Cambodia we are this is called the pioner edition so we are we're the pioneers of this one so we do have a lot of locations that are already pinpointed on the map but a main focus of this tournament is finding new locations and creating new quests and coming up with new ideas for future tournaments so I'm really excited because I have no idea what's going to happen this is my first time in Cambodia I've been here for a few days and already I am loving it such friendly people such great energy around here amazing places to visit so many interesting religious sites and just look at this look at where we are right now we're starting this at a pagoda a temple here and uh the the nature around here is just so beautiful I'm really excited to explore more of this country and bring you along with us for these adventures so if you're interested in this I invite you to subscribe because I'll be sharing more videos of this journey to document what Cambodia is really like outside of the popular tourist areas we're going to be going to some what I believe are more rural areas the countryside hopefully meeting a lot of local people and just having unique experiences and I'm just so excited I've been anticipating this for so long so we all the teams are meeting up here right now and I want to go just document what this is like in this video uh right before we hit the road so in Sri Lanka last year there were 64 teams when I competed this year in Sri Lanka I wasn't there it just happened two weeks ago there was 94 teams so the the tournament is growing very rapidly very quickly this tournament is a lot more intimate there are only 10 teams competing so let's go meet some of the other teams and see what it's like here to start the tuk tuk tournament and I believe we are going to have uh an official blessing and welcoming ceremony to give us luck and good energy for our journey and by the way this is a a two week event so today we are starting we are driving around wherever we want to go for 6 days we're in Siem Reap right now and then we have in 6 days everybody meets for a midpoint celebration in Phnom Penh and then we have another four days where you can go wherever you want and then we all finish in Kampot so although another fun thing is all of the teams here they create their own identity and everybody's encouraged to dress up in costumes and decorate their tuk tuks so my team I'm here with Alana we are the quack pack we have these duck masks that we're wearing just a lot of silliness a lot of fun it's like bringing out everyone's inner child but let's go check it out let's see what the other teams are like here hey hey love it what's your team name uh Retro Racers as you can tell from the Retro Racers very retro I love it are you excited we're so excited right this first so very excited right yeah yeah first tournament yeah well first tournament for you and you've done one in Sri Lanka yeah last year and it was so amazing that I had to come back you know so there we are and where are you from from France France from France he lives in France I live in Irelan so yeah we came all the way for this and and where do you live sorry Ireland Dublin Dublin wow that's incredible yeah it was a long way to go but it was worth it that's amazing well good luck out there thank you you too see you on the road or maybe not we might be going in different directions we got the where's waldo team up here everybody's taking photos in front of the arch before we start thank you very cool hey solo Warriors how we feeling yeah great are you feeling great of course eager to go do this let's do this like a zip pouch on mine how y doing yeah so you're the solo Warriors right with our look how handsome these men are yeah what are these what are these costumes can you explain oh well please come look inside our tuk tuk you'll notice that we have a hand embroidered Playboy Bunny on the ceiling too yeah yeah we just so we leaned into that thing we leaned into the Playboy Bunny look yeah here I love it so you are the Cambodian bunnies bunnies amazing couple monsters to slay on the way did you get these here in Cambodia no I brought them that's so cool and how do you all know each other we don't we don't we don't so you all joined as solo Warriors right and now you just met here have a a look so where are you all from we've got this continent Australia here uhhuh North America okay and South America and where in South America are you from Suiname this is Suriname incredible this your first time in Cambodia I'm representing representing I love it yeah no it's my second time in Cambodia but this time for real for real yeah I love it a nd what do we have over here we have the tuk tuk Canucks the tuk tuk Canucks how are you doing today our team representing Canada yes you got it my friend how yall feeling actually stoked you know St happy to just like you yeah we're ready to go can you uh give me a little tour and introduce what's on top of here and why you have that there well we have that there because we heard you guys with the Ducks and uh we just wanted to put the boots to you early have you got a duck on yours no no we don't you can purchas one I got one not not cheap but you know it's accessible I love it I love it uh well the duck you know like you know represents Goodwill around the world okay so that's what we're going with I love it the rest of it is just uh you know sharing the wealth with Cambodia and Cambodia is sharing the wealth with us incredible so I know you've done the tournament in Sri Lanka yes yeah last year and this is my first first time what brought you out here what what convinced you to come him yeah why why well we were having lunch together and his partner said like he's going to cancel and he said do you want to go like what do you need to know tomorrow okay so short notice like that you just made a spontaneous decision that was quite spontaneous I talk to people over to do that yeah okay so it's an easy story to sell and why did you come back why did I come back yeah well I've been uh I see I seen that we're expanding to Cambodia uh I've got a uh personal affection for Cambodia this would be my sixth time here wow so uh but uh not traveling like we're going to be traveling next uh two weeks you know into the outer reaches and the parts yet undiscovered so uh but I can't believe always feels like a second home so it's why I'm here and why is that I don't know I just uh made a connection early on about you know 15 18 years ago came here for the first time and it was just uh first time in Southeast Asia it's been about a month here doing some work with a landmine clearing organization wow and uh and it just uh just you know hit home right away that's really special yeah so what are you looking forward to most about this trip in Cambodia well just meeting people yeah like experiences we with open mind we'll find out what happens we have that list of what 10 10 pages yeah we'll do something that for sure it'll be fun I saw you already come up with some ideas for new challenges all right yeah yeah yeah you know what you going to what you're going to follow through of course yeah you I want to see some full moon Half Moon yeah yeah what you about it no pressure all right well good luck guys see you good luck man see you you're out there good how are you thank good to be back yeah hi this is our Fierce and mighty leader of Cambodia are you are actually our only Cambodian representative here yeah yeah so now yeah soon this is joh he's working with tukk rental here in Cambodia because the tukk tournament is a special event that happens once a year but Tuk Tok rental is a company that exists all year round and allows foreigners and travelers to drive themselves in the Tuk Tuk which is a super unique experience for a traveler and drum is here working with the team in Cambodia and there's only one other guy George Who uh is a co-founder he's over there what's up George get over here come over here so George and John are meeting the group here yeah well I follow no no I take I take his guide no don't do that no this is a dynamic duo right here these guys are growing the Tuk Tok rental business here in Cambodia which is really exciting and how's it been going so far what do you think yeah super excited we heard some really cool experiences has some amazing customers yeah looking forward to more people coming over and seeing this crazy but fun play yeah yeah yeah really good awesome well thanks so much for everything you're doing thank you really appreciate you guys great work hey Mr Tom can I bother you for a minute how do you feel how do I feel yeah what's the energy like today which by the way you can think of that this is Tom he's a co-founder of tukk rental and this tournament is his baby he started this in what 27 first year we ran it was 2017 2017 was the first year of the tournament 12 months after we started Tok Gren we ran the first tournament in 2017 incredible and it's grown so much you had what 94 teams in in Sri Lanka this year yeah 94 teams from 27 countries in Sri Lanka this year and maybe up to 130 next year we'll see how we go um but yeah it's it's done well obviously Cambodia is really different um because we don't know this as much um and people who come here for tourism predominantly are spending like 3 days here going to the temples and kind of moving between Thailand and Vietnam so there's so much more to see in Cambodia that people don't see and so I'm kind of excited but a little bit nervous about what's out there you know hopefully all you guys that are out there on the road are able to have an amazing experience but also be able to stay in hotels you know rather than sleeping or camping on the side of the road so that's my uncertainty um but otherwise I think I think the event been run and organized really well you know so many things happening last minute behind the scenes but for everybody else out in front of the scenes I think it's it's at least looking like it's um flowing so yeah excited by the new story coming to a new country these Pioneers who are here Steve Yo's here you know going to go out and explore and and put some gems on the map for us for everybody in future to come through so yeah I want to I want to go out there and see what's out there personally um but I'll see through you guys eyes for a little while now yeah yeah I love it I do have one more question for you if you could summarize or briefly explain some of the purpose or the mission behind Tuk Tok rental not just the rental not the tournament not just the tournament but Tu to rental in general so Tuk rental was started because of the experience that I had driving a Tuk Tok and interacting with locals in India I don't know how many years ago it was now it was a trip that went wrong and then I ended up in this Tuk Tok for 3,000 km completely not what I plan to do um but driving that Tuk Tok in India and having those experiences with locals when you're basically a foreigner you're considered quite wealthy but you're driving the poor man's vehicle and to me that just opened so many doors that would otherwise be closed you know if you're in a car or any other form of Transport buses whatever you're in a Tuk Tok you're actually in amongst the people you know you've got no no blockage of the noises the smells and there's no doors there's no AC so you're like you're right there whatever you're doing you're right there people can communicate with you see you um and so that experience was just really eye opening for me I love interacting with locals and learning about the culture through those locals rather than going to the tourist hotpots and so the Tuk Tok just ended up being the perfect vehicle and I wanted to really share that experience with other people in the future so that's how Tok toal started and then as a social business we here come over here let's get away from this music as a social bu so it started like that and then as a social business um we made the decision very early on to use Tok TOS from local people to help increase their income and so yeah those two things together I think and then obviously we try to add you know an exceptional service on top and make it as easy as possible for people to come and rent to took and so yeah since then luckily other people have enjoyed that experience and that and then that has meant that people are telling each other and they're sharing that experience and then we've just had more and more people come through and I'm very grateful and I never would have expected um Tuk Tok rental to actually be as big as it already is now and it actually looks like it's still growing gr at the moment so yeah yeah yeah still growing and I could attest firsthand with how amazing the experience of driving a Tuk Tuk is so I just want to thank you for making this possible pleasure mate pleasure and again one of the great things about having this Tuk to rental business has been the amazing people that I've met along the way Steve being an incredible human who I've met up with in a few countries now and love traveling with and a yeah give me hug I'm excited hug thank you Sav life for a long time into the future a thank you you're so kind thank you for making all this possible I'm so excited to get out there and experience this beautiful country I'm excited too I'm excited too yeah it's going to be good let's go talk to some more people where did everyone go a blessing without us yeah it's really quiet let's go uh figure out where everyone is we're going inside of the temple so they can give a blessing to all the teams wish us luck give us good energy for this journey okay so the way that receive the blessing you can do this yeah everyone right now is getting this bracelet which represents a blessing he was just explaining how there are pagodas all over Cambodia so although we are receiving this blessing now we are a little tight on time so we're not going to get the individual blessings but you explaining how he has this this bucket and you can get in a bucket oh it's a it's it's a bath almost yeah wow so we full full body soak we're not going to do that here today just for the sake of time but as we travel around it would be nice to get the full blessing individual yeah see you got the I wonder if this has a name probably call it something is this is this a name is there you call this anything besides a bracelet okay so I'm trying to get videos with different teams can I interview you guys real quick as we walk over to take a photo we can just walk and talk at the same time you're one of the only teams I haven't got yeah so quickly where you're from what's your team name Jersey Florida I'm from Canada all right so two Americans and a Canadian and we're racing PA baby what's your name racing paw racing Paws I see I see oh very cool and you've participated in some tournaments before huh yes yes six years ago won the Sri Lanka tournament baby yeah and then just this year again right and this year again did not win this year this year just a participant in this year and why why are you here again uh because this is awesome and we want to see Cambodia we've never seen Cambodia before and we're we're here to race I mean we're and we're best friends now we get to do it together yeah so cool and what did you say about it so this is the best way to see the country yeah I think we're being summoned to go take a group photo but what are you looking forward to most about this challenge uh the local experiences and the people yeah I totally agree cool well now we got to take a group photo all together thanks guys for anchor we I want you all to remember the Pioneer Credo because you're going to be out there the days are going to be hot they're going to be long and the Darkness is going to start to close in on you some days so remember we are the pioneers of the Uncharted the Trailblazers who laugh in the face of the unknown with every Twist and Turn every mile ventured we embrace the wild the uncertain the adventure that calls to us we are not not just Travelers we are the heartbeat of this journey together we build the paths the others will follow in the face of challenge we roar we are the Tuk Tuk Trailblazers you guys have to yes please so after after do you want to do no you take it repeat after me we are the pioneers of the Uncharted we are the pioneers of the Uncharted the trail blaz trail blazers who laugh Trail Blazers who laugh in the face of the unknown in the face of the unknown with every Twist and Turn every mile ventured with every Twist and Turn every ment we embrace the wild the uncertain we embrace the wild the uncertain the adventure that calls us the the adventure that calls us we are not just Travelers we are not just Travelers we are the heartbeat of this journey we are the heartbeat of this journey together we build the path that others will follow together we build a path that others will follow in the face of challenges we roar in the face of challenges we roar we are the TK Tok Trail Blazers we are the T Trail Blazers this is for all of you everyone around you all the teams going out exploring put it to the sky four on core ride we ride get to your to let's get this party started wo do a countown from 10 so don't start right away just wait for that countdown all right here we go here we go how you feeling gentlemen start your engines hopefully hopefully good luck out there good luck we got this we got this all right darling you're driving the count Down's going recording recording 3 2 the tournament Cambodia Pioneer Edition has officially begun let's go W wo let's go wow okay I think we went the wrong way great start we just started following teams and they went the wrong way but we just made a quick U-turn all right we are officially on the road the Tuk took tournament has begun we don't know where we're going we don't know what kind of Adventures we're getting ourselves into but we are taking you along for the journey let's do this let's have some fun subscribe to join the adventures we'll see you out there I love you and I love Cambodia oh boy I'm so excited we're driving and we see these local men casting Nets out here I want to check out what they're doing hello all righto let's see if we can learn how to do this he's giving you a fish we don't have um oh we have nothing to keep it with we don't have a place to cook oh that's very nice he grilled up some fish yeah people in Cambodia like drink Ang go beer you like drink Ang beer okay most people come to Cambodia for in cat but I come here for this for this
2024-12-10 15:46
