Ko ohn maung explained to me a few things about his profession. To be successful a trishawman had to be quick-witted and alert. He had to have a smattering of English and hindi and perhaps a little Chinese as well. He had to know the city thoroughly and be able to take his passengers straight-away to any address they mentioned. He also had to know the location of the principal brothels in the area. O ohn maung himself was very successful trishawman. He knew all the brothels in the lewis street neighbourhood and had standing arrangements with them whereby he would steer customers to them for a consideration . in addition to the commission he earned from the brothels he was usually given an extra tip by his passengers. Sailors were his best fares usually giving him five kyats for a trip. European sailors were even more generous were sometimes as high as thirty kyats. On rainy days he would work only for as long as it took him to earn two kyats the fee which he would take the day off fearing that he would catch a cold if he worked in bad weather.