Looking in the trunk of this car was sort of like asking the driver to empty his pockets (if he had had any in his longyi/baso) or wallet (one fistful money was stored in his overhead sun visor, another wad other stuffed into a gap in the dashboard). Great stories can be elicited from someone about why a particular object is being carried – especially if you go into the situation assuming you know the reason why (the surprise makes finding out the real reason all the sweeter).

This jumbled catalogue of items lets the casual observer know a few things about the day in/out of a taxi driver in Yangon. Jerrycans are a great help when transporting fuel (or any liquid) over distance. The hose helps when fuel must sometimes be siphoned from the jerrycan to into the tank. The spare can of brake fluid and set of engine belts are fairly self-explanatory,  and because it was a short ride I regrettably didn’t have the chance to check out the contents of the toolbox – though the driver was proud to show me before I explained my time constraint (ferry boats don’t wait). I was hoping to better understand the driver’s pride in his set of tools. Was it that it proved he was capable of fixing his taxi himself (what I had assumed was a job requirement for taxi drivers here)? Or was it more that he was able to afford said tools (unless they are actually on loan)?