lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

YANGON©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd72RAISING BUS FARESPrior to the summer of 2007 mostlocal bus fares used to be K5, but overnight,due to government fuel pricehikes, prices rose by 2000% to K100.The majority of Yangon workers, whoearn just K9000 a month, suddenlyfound themselves forking out K6000for transport to and from work. It wasanger over these price increases thateventually led to the huge Septemberprotests. Depending on fuel prices, thecost of bus tickets may also fluctuate inthe future.some English (although it’s advisable to havesomeone write out your destination in Burmese)and are almost universally honest and courteous.All licensed taxis have a visible taxi sign onthe roof. The less expensive licensed taxis arethe usually older, midsized Japanese cars, manymissing their door handles and other ‘extras’.Most drivers charge about K1000 for a shorthop, K1500 to K2000 to go from one part oftown to another, and K2500 or K3000 to goacross town. From downtown to either bus terminal,drivers ask for K7000 and the trip takesfrom 45 minutes to an hour. You can also hire ataxi for about K4000 an hour or about $25 fora half-day. For the entire day, you should expectto pay approximately $40 to $60, depending onthe quality of the vehicle and your negotiatingskills. Be sure to work out all details before youagree to a price and itinerary.For all types of taxi the asking fares usuallyleap by 30% or so after sunset and on weekends,when rationed petrol isn’t available. Late-nighttaxis – after 11pm or so – often cost double theday rate, mainly because the supply of taxis isconsiderably lower than in the day, so the driversare able to charge more.TrainYangon Circle Line loops out north from Yangonto Insein, Mingaladon and North Okkalapa townshipsand then back into the city. For more info,see p 50 .TrishawEvery Asian country seems to have its own interpretationof the bicycle trishaw. In Myanmar,trishaw passengers ride with the driver, butback-to-back (one facing forward, one backward).These contraptions are called saiq-ka (asin side-car) and to ride one across the city centrecosts about K500.© Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. To make it easier for you to use,access to this chapter is not digitally restricted. In return, we think it’s fairto ask you to use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only. In otherwords, please don’t upload this chapter to a peer-to-peer site, massemail it to everyone you know, or resell it. See the terms and conditionson our site for a longer way of saying the above - ‘Do the right thing withour content.’