There are two kinds of people – those who’ll go to a market to buy fish and those who won’t. Markets (especially fish markets) can be stinky, and many of us would rather go to the supermarket. We love markets not only because of the great photo opportunities, but because this where the real deal happens. Sassoon Docks is one of the largest fish markets in the city and for us, it was just the right spot to go to. Turns out that the Sassoon Docks is also one of the oldest docks in Mumbai (142 years), and one of the few docks in the city open to the public.

Where Modern And Traditional Lives Cross.

The entrance looks like the gateway of a fortress, but we knew we were at the right spot when the salty whiff of the ocean and the scent of fish greeted us from afar. More and more people shoving large boxes of fish crossed our path and we knew that we were getting closer. What we didn’t know then is that the Sassoon Docks just recently got a funky street-art turnover called Sassoon Dock Art Project as part of the St+art Mumbai 2017 Urban Art Festival. Despite its historical value and with Mumbai’s try to escape its fishy roots, this place has rather been avoided by Mumbaikars. Like the docks, the memory of Mumbai’s Koli past is all but wiped clear.

The Sassoon Dog is hard to miss when walking along the Sassoon Docks in Mumbai.

Koli women are crucial to the running of the fishing trade at the Sassoon Docks and multiple installations and paintings are built around them.

St+art India is dedicated to making art public, taking it out from niche spaces of galleries and museums and the Sassoon Docks in Mumbai where just the right spot to shed light on this historic party of the city again.

Home Of The Koli People.

The Sassoon Dock in Mumbai is home to the city’s traditional Koli fishing community. The Koli people are an ethnic Indian group native to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana states. It’s believed that the Koli people are Mumbai’s original inhabitants and whose goddess Mumbadevi lends her name to the city. The communities have thrived in the hidden quarters of the city, the koliwadas, which essentially means “a home that opens to the sea“. Much of the art here represents the lived realities of the Koli community – its people, their trade and its smell.

The art project started on November 11 and will run until December 30, 2017. Whether the Sassoon Docks will still be visited as frequently after, is unclear. After all, all the art in the world can’t make the notorious smell, the endless heat and the piercing noise – which are a few reasons people have not come here before – go away.

This has been our second visit to Sassoon Docks and tourists are still a rare sight here. The art installation has brought some upwind, yet only the eager and especially smell-resistent make it all the way to the end of the docks.

Currently, about 1,500 trawlers operate at the Sassoon Docks, bringing in around 20 tonnes of fish every day.

Once you reach the Sassoon Docks, at least 500 people are packed on to a partially-covered chunk of jetty, boats bobbing alongside.

A typical day at Sassoon Docks begins at 5 am when the fresh catch is brought in from the sea.

Over 150.000 people depend on the Sassoon Docks for their livelihood.

Men push loaded handcarts through the crowds at Sassoon Docks as they yell for people to get out of the way.

Despite the fact that most tourist wouldn’t buy fish at Sassoon Docks, women holding tubs full of fish will still ask you.

The docks were built in 1875 by the merchant, Sir Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, a prominent member of the Bombay Jewish community.

Where there’s fresh fish, there needs to be crushed ice. While fish is unloaded off the boats, tons of ice is crushed to keep the fish fresh at the Sassoon Docks.

There are so many ice-trucks on Sassoon Docks, that counting them would be impossible.

In addition to the jetty, the Sassoon Docks house a series of warehouses where the Koli fisherwomen shell prawns with staggering ability.

The sheer variety of fish on offer at Sassoon Docks is mind-blowing: red snapper, tuna, octopus, baby sharks, cuttlefish, blue crabs and stingray are some of the fish you can expect to find here.

Initially, the Sassoon Docks serviced the cotton trade as the Sassoon family were cotton merchants. It was after the decline of the Indian cotton industry that fishing became the main activity here.

The Sassoon Docks are ‘wet’ docks, which means it allows boats to enter at all times because the water level remains the same regardless of the tide.

Longing For Sun-Rays.

Springtime, longing for sun-rays and a long weekend at the beginning of May meant that we needed to fly somewhere South. Trapani in Sicily made the cut.

Unless you fly with a European budget airline, getting to Sicily from Vienna is impossible without a stop-over in Rome. But since Bratislava is less than an hour away from our capital city, we booked a Ryan Air flight from here directly to Trapani. Less than two hours after take off, we landed smoothly on the west coast of Sicily.

Ciao Regione Siciliana.

A short walk around the area after checking into the apartment and a glass of red wine at one of the open bars brought the real holiday feeling, which was exactly what we were after.

Trapani begins where the sea ends. The city is an important fishing port, being set on a low peninsula stretching in an arc. The fish market is one of the top spots in the city and the place where the people of Trapani meet every morning. You’ll find all sorts of fresh fish here, from tuna (the largest tuna fishery in Sicily is here), swordfish, shrimps, sardines, squids to other sea creatures. Since we had an apartment with a nice kitchen, it was clear that one of these fresh fish would land on our dinner plate. You really can’t visit Trapani without trying the local cuisine. It’s influenced by Trapani’s role as a marine town, therefore menus are dominated by fish, especially recipes including tuna, which is prepared in many different ways: fried, grilled, baked, boiled or used in the preparation for sauces.

Gateway to the Aegadian Islands.

Apart from the salt and fish production, Trapani is also the main gateway to the nearby Aegadian Islands. We took the Hydrofoil to Favignana, the largest of three islands. This fairly easy access hasn’t spoiled the island (yet), because it’s a pretty low-key destination. Visitors are mostly Italians.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with the lovely smell of flowers. The entire vegetation was blooming this time of the year and the scent of lavender, thyme and many other flowers will accompany you throughout your stay here.

Travellers who come here are happy to fit in with the leisurely island way of life. Simply rent a scooter and you’re good to go. Small bars and typical Italian restaurants are the perfect spot to stop by after a long day out in the sun. One of the charms of this island is that it has never been populated with villas, nor frequented by high society, so compared to the crowded tourist island of Capri for example, Favignana has a refreshing simple authenticity.

Locking the harbour where Peter III of Aragon landed in 1282, Trapani still gives the impression of simple Sicilian authenticity. .

When walking along the Admiral Stati in Trapani, you will notice the ancient castle “Castello della Colombaia”. Hannibal’s father, built the tower around 260 B.C. called “Peliade” at the same spot where the castle lies today.

The fish at Trapani’s fish market is as fresh as you can get it. We highly enjoyed watching the locals barter for their fish and visit with each other during this morning ritual.

The real action happens at around 5.00am in the morning when the fisherman come in with their catch, while most of the locals go and do their shopping after 8.00am.

The fish market in Trapani has all kinds of shellfish and other sea creatures besides just fish.

Trapani’s fish market is colourful and noisy and a great possibility to get to know a bit of Trapani’s daily life. You will get to see some really bizarre fish – and also human – examples.

Favignana is a great place to absorb the islands idyllic atmosphere.

Even though life on the island of Favignana, the younger generation knows how to have fun – here in a cute little Piaggio.

Cala Rossa beach on Favignana island lies a pretty bay with turquoise sea and is one of the most visited beaches of the island.

It’s quite a scramble to get down the rocks of Cala Rossa beach, but determined holiday-makers don’t this obstacle keep them from it.

So in the end we arrived safely but still a bit shaken at Cox’s Bazar, ready to settle in at one of the few waterfront hotels. The name is actually a bit strange for a town … its origin comes from Captain Hiram Cox; an officer serving in the British East India Company who defeated the Burmese Governour, Warren Hastings, and set up a Bazar (market) here and therefore was named after him.

We immediately hired a tuk-tuk and were on the way South to check out the area. We passed Himchari National Park from which you have an amazing view of the beach – which by the way is the longest beach in the world (approx. 120 km of pure sand) and continued to Inani beach, which is one of the very few spots with rocks.

Apart from the beautiful beach itself (not to be compared to paradise beaches in Indonesia though), the sight of the day were definitely the fishing boats along waters of southern Bangladesh. Every single boat can be described as a piece of art! You immediately recognize the great craftsmanship involved in building such boats. They protect the fishermen from any weather weather, storms and high waves.

It takes about two months to build one boat and it costs approximately 5.000 €. There are even bigger fishing boats along the beach, also with a very unique shape (photos will follow soon) that cost about 8.000 € (including an engine and the nets).

We spent the entire day here, watching & waiting for the next boats to arrive with the catch of the day…

For Bangladeshi’s it doesn’t get much better than Cox’s Bazar, the country’s most popular beach town.

Cox’s Bazar is an important fishing port in Bangladesh.

The fishing boats at Cox’s Bazar look really different and you can see that a lot of work has gone into their building.

Fishing boats at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.

Cox’s Bazar sea beach is the longest sea beach in the world, 120 km long. The wavy water of Bay-of-Bengal touches the beach throughout these 120 km.

Tonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and of great importance to Cambodia. It’s a bit more unusual than “normal” lakes: Its flow changes direction twice a year and the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. This is why entire villages are dismantled due to the season and the waterline of the lake. Therefore most villages around the Great Lake have adjusted by living in so called “floating villages” on boats. They are home to a large Vietnamese & Cham community and they managed to adapt very well to the lake’s seasonal changes.

So, whether it’s the school or rubbish dump, living room or local store – the boat it not only the main transport system but also the grounding for every resident.

Chong Khneas is the name of famous floating village at the edge of the lake. It takes a 30-minute-car-ride  from Siem Reap to the boat dock where boats wait for visitors any given time of the day. The boat trip through the floating village takes approximately two hours. Be aware though, it’s total rip off! I’d never ever do it again, since this really is the worse I have ever experienced! Back when we visited the first time (over 10 years ago), the area wasn’t owned by a private company like today, therefore the floating village was still unique…sad to see what happened to this place!

Family life on Tonle Sap Lake. Five provinces circled the area of Tonle Sap Lake, more than three million of population inhabited around the bank of the Lake and 90% of them earn a living by catching fish and making agricultures.

Tonle Sap Lake is also an important commercial resource, providing more than half of the fish consumed in Cambodia.

Chong Khneas is the name of famous floating village at the edge of the lake. It locates at Southern part of Siem Reap town about 15 Km, and takes only 30 minutes by vehicles to the boat dock where there are always boats waiting for visitors. The boat trip through the floating village takes approximately two hours. Be aware, it’s TOTAL RIP OFF!

During rainy season from June to October, Tonle Sap Lake is filled by water flowing from the Mekong with 14 m in depth and expands the surface of 10.000 km2.

In dry season from November to May the size of Tonle Sap lake is 3.000 km2 with two meters in depth and water flows out from the Lake to the Mekong, in and out flowing is the natural phenomenon occurrences.

Chong Khneas was very interesting before, but now region is owned by private firm they increased the prices and the area looks very commercial.

The boat trip usually includes two stops: one at a touristy floating ‘fish and bird exhibition’ with a souvenir and snack shop, and the other at the Gecko Environment Centre, which offers displays and information introducing the ecology and biodiversity of the lake area.

During our first visit to Tonle Sap lake (over ten years ago), the floating village was still a really impressive sight. Today, it’s just a another tourist trap.

Unlike much of the Cambodian job opportunities, the income is also reliable, but life on the water is difficult. Fishermen sometimes travel two days to reach the middle of the lake and spend up to a week at a time out fishing. Large waves, limited food and dangerous conditions take their toll. The life expectancy of a fisherman is 54 years.

Because the water levels of Tonle Sap Lake differ so drastically in dry and rainy season, fishing families who make their living on the lake began living in floating villages which move with the changing water levels.

Tonle Sap Lake is so big, it can easily be mistaken for the ocean.

It’s really interesting to watch the people fishing there. They are so calm and concentrated while waiting for their next catch.

Working in the rice fields near Lake Loktak in Manipur.

This ancient lake Loktak plays an important role in the economy of Manipur. It serves as a source of water for hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water supply.

Lake Loktak is also a source of livelihood for the rural fisherman who live in the surrounding areas and on phumdis, also known as “phumshongs”.

A fishing woman greeted us with a friendly smile.

A local store right next to Lake Loktak offers all you need – fresh water & few snacks.