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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153 stories from our editors. Filter by part of the world, or page back in time.
Europe · France · Lyon
Where Lyon’s silk looms still move
On Croix-Rousse, Lyon’s silk trade still shows in tall windows, stone passages and a former family workshop where preserved looms run during demonstrations. At 12 bis montée Justin-Godart, Soierie Vivante keeps the rooms, machinery and working knowledge together.
In Arusha, a Bicycle Stays Useful Through Work
Opposite St Constantine School in Burka, ABC Bicycle Company brings sales, spare parts, maintenance and repair under one roof. The garage on Tanga General Road serves a modest but practical part of Arusha’s daily transport: bicycles used by riders that the company describes as daily commuters.
Where Faso Dan Fani Takes Shape: Cissin and Koudougou
Under a shelter in Cissin, Ouagadougou, weavers press pedals while wooden shuttles pass from left to right. The stripes of Faso Dan Fani begin as counted rows of coloured cotton, not as decoration added later.
Asia · Laos · Luang Prabang
From Luang Prabang’s Morning Market to the Mekong
Before the souvenir market takes over the main street, Talad Sao handles the more ordinary business of food. In a narrow lane on the Mekong side of Luang Prabang’s historic centre, vendors sell vegetables, meat, rice, snacks and fresh fish to people shopping for the day.
From Bread Boards to Copper Hammers in Fez
At a neighbourhood *ferran*, round loaves reach a hot communal oven on wooden boards, under cloth or in other familiar carriers. Downhill beside the Qarawiyyin, coppersmiths work in open-fronted shops, where iron hammers strike copper and brass.
Central America · Mexico · Mexico City
La Merced’s Working Streets
Drivers unload produce at the kerb. *Diableros* tilt boxes onto metal hand trucks and steer them towards stalls, while street vendors, shoppers and parked vehicles claim the same strip of pavement. In La Merced, the market reaches well beyond its doorways.
Asia · Bangladesh · Dhaka
Dhaka’s painted rickshaws put pictures into traffic
A film star, a tiger or two peacocks can travel through Dhaka on the back of a cycle rickshaw. Painters turn the vehicle’s working parts into public pictures, even as cheaper printed panels replace much of their handwork.
Europe · Finland · Sweden
Winter Passage from Helsinki’s Olympia Terminal
At Helsinki’s South Harbour, cars take the quay road between the Olympia Terminal and the sea while foot passengers pass through a restored 1950s hall to the Stockholm ferry. Winter work stays mostly out of sight, but it matters when snow or harbour ice affects the narrow space between ship and shore.
Where Lake Victoria’s Catch Comes Ashore at Kigungu
At Kigungu Fish Landing Site, boats from Lake Victoria meet a weighing place where fishers and traders gather around the catch. Fish moves from boat to shore, then into fresh sales or the smoke ovens used by local households.
Asia · Thailand · Pak Khlong Talat Flower Market
Pak Khlong Talat, Bangkok’s Flower Market at Work
After midnight, flower carts move through Pak Khlong Talat while workers bundle stems for florists, temples and hotels. Bangkok’s best-known flower market is also an old trading district, first shaped by the Chao Phraya and then by the road that runs through it.
Asia · India · Mumbai
Before Sunrise, Mumbai’s Flowers Change Hands in Dadar
Before sunrise, trucks reach Dadar with marigolds and chrysanthemums from farms across Maharashtra. Within hours, traders divide those loads among florists, decorators and street sellers who carry flowers into neighbourhoods across Mumbai.
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.