Some people in Thailand including foreign visitors love to travel around city or travel center by “tuk tuk” because of their small shape which fit to the busy traffic in the city and their easy-to-ride pattern. Their noise sounds like some toys which anyone, especially, the tourist who first visit in Thailand may enjoy.

The "TUK-TUK"  is a small three wheels vehicle with a two strokes engine. It is one of tourist attraction. In Bangkok, however, it is not always a good idea to travel by it because of its heat and smoke from the other vehicles during traffic jams.

In year 2006, more environmentally-friendly "TUK-TUK" hit the market. The new "TUK-TUK" use a four-stroke 650cc engine with two cylinders, designed for natural gas instead of conventional liquefied petroleum gas.  You may find some reviews below By Charlotte McDonald-Gibson

BANGKOK: London has its black cabs, Venice its gondolas, and Bangkok its tuk-tuks, but Thailand’s iconic three-wheeled taxis are going global as foreigners scramble to pick up a piece of Thai culture.

The smoke-belching motorized rickshaws can now be seen plying Britain’s seaside towns, Canada’s golf courses and Tokyo’s neon-lit streets, and manufacturers have seen a surge in global sales and recognition.

“Japan they have Toyota, they have Nissan, so Thailand has a car also — a tuk-tuk,” says Anuwat Yuteeraprapa, owner of Expertise, a  manufacturer which exports 95 per cent of its vehicles abroad.

Anuwat says it is clear why foreign dealers and nostalgic tourists are seeking them, known for their white-knuckle rides through Bangkok’s congested streets.

“They are really cute and unique,” explains the 32-year-old entrepreneur, who exports to the United States, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Britain and elsewhere in Europe.

“Tourists come to Thailand and they know the beaches, temples and them. It has become a big symbol of Thailand.”

But as foreigners snap up the tiny taxis, Thais are turning away from the traditional transport, favouring the slick modernity of air-conditioned cabs or imported Japanese cars.

“Thais want to be modern, and there is a cultural phenomenon that happens in most developing countries of rejecting the old and embracing the new,” says Philip Cornwel-Smith, author of “Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture”.

And he says there is good reason for snubbing the humble of them: they are overpriced, noisy and expose city dwellers to intoxicating blasts of exhaust fumes.

“Fundamentally there are some problems with tuk-tuks,” he tells AFP. “They are too big to nip through the traffic like a motorcycle does, and yet they don’t perform all the same functions that a taxi can.”

Although the tuk-tuk, so-called because of the noise it makes when it starts, has been adopted as a Thai symbol, it actually originates in Japan.

The motorized version reached Thailand in 1959, and after a few technical and aesthetic modifications, it became the colourful, open-air vehicle seen careering across Thailand today.—AFP