If you google Kampot fish market you will find a delightful restaurant. Having eaten there I can vouch for good food and the usual somewhat weak cocktails... which allows me to have two and still get back to the boarding house unassisted.
The real Kampot fish market is a kilometre or so down the street - by the time the restaurant with the same name opens it is well over and done with. You have to be early for this fish market.
So one morning with nothing better to do, I got up at 5 and decided to go and have a look. I'd done a reconnoiter a couple of days earlier - but without the camera. When will I learn you can't record the story if you don't have the camera. The sights and sounds were fascinating so back I came... armed this time.
In Kampot the fishermen are largely from several muslim villages - somewhat unique in a country with a very high Buddhist belief and culture. They take their little boats out early in the morning to fish for all sorts of creatures - from the guy with his squid of all sizes to the crabs, each alive but neatly tied up with string to stop either biting the customer or making a bid for freedom. Then of course there's fish. Oh and don't forget the single woman sitting cross legged on the meat stall.
The men do the fishing and bring the catches back to the wharf where it is largely the woman's job clean the fish and sell it.
Fish is displayed in bowls on the wharf for prospective purchasers to review and make their purchase before haggling over the price in the usual good natured way.
Children are passed from mum to dad so that they can sit and wait on the boat while the business end of things is transacted.
I always love the sound and colour of markets and find that when visiting anywhere a trip to a local market can quickly tell you a lot about the place you are in. For all their vibrance and colour they are not easy to get "good" photos of. Often there is too much going on. What on earth do you concentrate on? How can you tell the story?
In this collection I've concentrated on the characters - from the little tot parked firmly at the front of his fathers boat fresh mango in hand to the little fellow all but engaging in grandma's conversation while she purchases crab.
Then there's the woman with her purse at the ready sorting the money and the woman with the green scarf contemplating. Notice her black finger - these photos were taken a week after the local body elections and the black ink indicates she'd voted.
The guy in the hat who thought I was from the local newspaper......
Just a glimpse of an activity that goes on all over the world - fishermen coming in from the sea with their catch. This story was in Kampot in Cambodia, but it could have easily been in many other places.