Hamba Travel Magazine
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From a detour close to home to a long road through East Africa. Pick a part of the world, or read them in order.
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Stories about Asia
35 stories from our editors. Filter by part of the world, or page back in time.
Asia · Pakistan · Lahore
Bread from the Wall in Lahore’s Mozang Bazaar
Mujahid Taj Din Naan Bakers occupies a modest shop on the main street of Lahore’s Mozang Bazaar, where fish and poultry sellers, paan counters, bed makers and hardware merchants work at close range. Behind that small frontage stands a notably large tandoor, and its naan passes from oven worker to owner to customer in a few direct movements.
Asia · Middle East · Europe
Inside George Town’s Working Kopitiams
At lunchtime, Kek Seng on Jalan Penang fills with office workers, returning regulars and visitors under ceiling fans, among old tiles and booth seats. The room shows why George Town’s kopitiams still matter: they give small food traders, workers and longtime customers the same practical place to eat.
Asia · South Korea · Busan
Jagalchi: Fish, Fire and Busan’s Working Waterfront
At Jagalchi, Busan’s fishing trade reaches the city through tanks, wooden boxes, knives and charcoal grills. The market sits on the edge of South Harbour, where vendors, cooks and customers turn seafood into an everyday meal.
Asia · China · Chengdu
Before the Mahjong Tiles Click: Opening Heming Teahouse
Before seven, staff sweep the stone paving at Heming Teahouse in Chengdu’s People’s Park. Bamboo chairs and low tables stand under trees beside the water; soon, hot water will fill porcelain gaiwans and mahjong tiles will begin to click.
Asia · Georgia · Batumi
From a Hauled Boat to Batumi’s Fish Counter
In Batumi, a documented small catch begins with a boat pulled from the Black Sea on wooden runners, not tied to a market quay. Nets and sacks carry the work forward, then scales and scissors finish it in the compact fish market near the port.
Asia · Armenia · Gyumri
Workshop doors on Abovyan Street
A short stretch of Abovyan Street in Gyumri runs from a ceramics workshop at number 182 to a creative workshop at 252 and a tailor at 258/2. Snow, dark tuff and low winter light frame work that continues behind wooden doors and iron gates.
Asia · Vietnam
Van Long Biên naar een dampende kom op Hàng Khoai
Onder de stalen vakwerken van de Long Biên-brug gaan kisten al van hand tot hand. Zeshonderd meter verder, naast de Đồng Xuân-markt, tilt stoom uit een open pan boven lage plastic tafels en kommen noedels.
Asia · Armenia
From Kond to Republic Square, as the Pink Stone Turns Gold
Late-afternoon light reaches Kond in fragments: a stair edge, a red wall, the rim of a courtyard. The walk from Surp Hovhannes down to Republic Square follows that broken light out of the hill’s narrow lanes and into Yerevan’s broad, rose-coloured centre.
Asia · Uzbekistan
One Warm Round of Non at Siab Bazaar
A Samarkand non begins in a clay tandyr long before it reaches the bread stalls at Siab Bazaar. Its stamped centre, thick rim and red-gold crust carry the marks of fast work, fierce heat and a morning market already busy with food.
Asia · India
Morning Crossings in Kuttanad
Before school bells and market errands, the canals around Alappuzha carry the first small traffic of the day: tea glasses, cooking smoke, narrow boats, and children crossing the water between rice fields and home.
Asia · South Korea
From Hot Griddles to Steel: A Seoul Morning from Gwangjang to Euljiro
At Gwangjang Market, shutters rise at different hours and a bean grinder starts beside a hot pancake pan. South of Cheonggyecheon, Euljiro answers with loaded three-wheelers, forklifted paper and the clipped noise of tools against metal.