Dear Toyota Hilux,
Firstly, I would like to apologize up front for maligning you with such frequency and vehemence during our previous acquaintance in Papua New Guinea. Yes, you did fishtail all over the road, even with 15 villagers in the back. It's true that you had zero traction in the mud and getting out to lock your wheels before putting you in four wheel drive was a pain, and usually fruitless, besides. And it's also true that your shocks were so hard that the poor souls in the back looked like they were riding broncos, even at 15kph (I deliberately didn't do headcounts so I wouldn't know how many people bounced off the cab on the way).
But to be fair, you got us through cane fields, over lava plains, and across ditches in one piece. What's more,13 months in Haiti among our bedraggled fleet of patched together vehicles has given me some perspective. Your renowned big brother, the Land Cruiser, is a fine vehicle, but fishtails worse than you do and is geared so low that I can start it from third - not a comfortable ride on the stop-and-start streets of Petion-ville. And let us not forget the crap-tastic Nissan Navaras that were my first companions in Haiti: stained fabric seats with springs so shot that I had to haul myself out of the seat using both arms and legs, bouncy shocks that sent me shooting to the ceiling at the slightest bump, and windows and doors so ill-fitting that it rained inside as well as out.
But you, rented blue Hilux...you were the highlight of my day! Your doors keep out the rain and the dust so well, it's like being hermetically sealed in there! Your 17,279 miles have done little to affect the youthful (yet moderate) bounce of your shocks, so much so that I intentionally took The Road Most Cratered for the sheer delight of doing so in comfort! Your A/C works and you shift gears without fuss and you don't emit high-pitched squeals that send pedestrians screaming in fright. You don't smell like armpit and no sticky mystery substances coat your interior. Thank you, Toyota Hilux, for the most enjoyable 1.3 km drive home I have ever had.
Yours sincerely,
Carla
Firstly, I would like to apologize up front for maligning you with such frequency and vehemence during our previous acquaintance in Papua New Guinea. Yes, you did fishtail all over the road, even with 15 villagers in the back. It's true that you had zero traction in the mud and getting out to lock your wheels before putting you in four wheel drive was a pain, and usually fruitless, besides. And it's also true that your shocks were so hard that the poor souls in the back looked like they were riding broncos, even at 15kph (I deliberately didn't do headcounts so I wouldn't know how many people bounced off the cab on the way).
But to be fair, you got us through cane fields, over lava plains, and across ditches in one piece. What's more,13 months in Haiti among our bedraggled fleet of patched together vehicles has given me some perspective. Your renowned big brother, the Land Cruiser, is a fine vehicle, but fishtails worse than you do and is geared so low that I can start it from third - not a comfortable ride on the stop-and-start streets of Petion-ville. And let us not forget the crap-tastic Nissan Navaras that were my first companions in Haiti: stained fabric seats with springs so shot that I had to haul myself out of the seat using both arms and legs, bouncy shocks that sent me shooting to the ceiling at the slightest bump, and windows and doors so ill-fitting that it rained inside as well as out.
But you, rented blue Hilux...you were the highlight of my day! Your doors keep out the rain and the dust so well, it's like being hermetically sealed in there! Your 17,279 miles have done little to affect the youthful (yet moderate) bounce of your shocks, so much so that I intentionally took The Road Most Cratered for the sheer delight of doing so in comfort! Your A/C works and you shift gears without fuss and you don't emit high-pitched squeals that send pedestrians screaming in fright. You don't smell like armpit and no sticky mystery substances coat your interior. Thank you, Toyota Hilux, for the most enjoyable 1.3 km drive home I have ever had.Yours sincerely,
Carla
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