Illustration update: a spot for Oryx In-flight Magazine
On and around York Street, Sri Lanka.
I got a big kick out of doing the tuk-tuk on this map. My parents went to Thailand once, and brought us back souvenirs that included these little models of tuk-tuks. These three-wheeled vehicles are apparently all over south and southeast Asia, I think they are so cute with their curves and zippy-looking small wheels.
A friend reminded me that Hergé never really traveled, but did a fantastic job drawing places he had reference for. I took it to heart and drew the most Hergé-inspired tuk-tuk I could manage.
This appeared in Oryx In-flight Magazine in the April 2010 issue.
Many thanks to Steve Peaple and Lindy Polmeer!
As an aside, my parents going to Thailand really lit me up. I remember them telling me that the people they met there were some of the kindest, most friendly, helpful, and genuinely pleasant folks they had ever met, anywhere. My parents get around a lot, so that was impressive to me. I've thought about going to Thailand ever since, and so far my journey has consisted of me learning how to cook Thai food. That's not much in terms of actually getting to Thailand, but it does make for some good dinners. If you, too, are interested in cooking Thai food, the books by Nancie McDermott have been great to me. I started with Real Thai: The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking and later picked up Quick and Easy Thai: 70 Recipes for Everyday Cooking as a pleasant addendum for quickly making some of my favorite dishes (it also has photographs, which are nice in comparison with the straight-up text information in Real Thai.).
It's getting to be summertime soon, so I encourage you all to go for the Som Tum and the mango-topped coconut sticky rice. :)
Lastly, Sri Lanka is not Thailand, at all. I'm just easily distracted. I'd like to go to Sri Lanka, too. Thanks for having such a lovely street to research, Sri Lanka!