Taxis are one of the major means of transportation in Yangon. To flag a taxi, just make any hand gesticulation, and it will pull up to you. The taxi driver (‘ka saya’) will ask you where you want to go, you respond with your destination, the ka saya will do a quick mental calculation of the taxi fare and tell you his asking price, and then you can negotiate back on the proposed taxi fare. Half of the taxi drivers will propose a fare that is 500 kyats higher than the eventual agreed upon price, so if you want to negotiate, respond back with a fare that is 500 kyats lower than the ka saya’s price. From personal experience, the taxi fares and the corresponding distance are listed below:

• 1,000 kyats for 0.1 – 1.5 miles,
• 1,500 kyats for 1.6 – 3.0 miles,
• 2,000 kyats for 3.1 miles – 4.0 miles,
• 2,500 kyats for 4.1 miles to 5.0 miles,
• 3,000 kyats for 5.1 miles – 6.0 miles,
• To the airport, 4,000 kyats, which is about 10 miles from downtown

Expect the taxi driver (and also, expect to pay this increase) to add an additional 500 kyats when it is raining or when it gets later at night (i.e. 11:00pm and later).

Now speaking of safety, most taxi’s have seatbelts in the front seats, only. Taxi drivers drive erratically (or defensively or offensively, however you want to view it), but, rest assured it seems like they know what they’re doing on the road. 99% of the taxi drivers are male; I caught a ride with a female taxi driver, which is a really rare sighting. Taxi drivers do not turn on the air conditioner, in order to save gas. Most taxi’s in Yangon have manual windows and almost all of them have at least one window that has the window opener handle missing or it’s detached. If it’s detached, you might find it in the arm rest on the door, or ask the taxi driver for the handle. Despite all the oddities with Yangon taxi's, they are a cheap and an efficient way to get around in Yangon. So, take a taxi the next time you're hungry and asking yourself, "Where to eat in Yangon?"