River city of a thousand canals — Lok Baintan floating market at dawn
Banjarmasin is the capital of South Kalimantan province — nicknamed 'City of a Thousand Rivers' for the network of canals and the Barito and Martapura rivers that weave through it. The pre-dawn floating market at Lok Baintan, where Banjar women in traditional conical hats trade from wooden klotok boats loaded with tropical fruits and spiced snacks, is one of the most atmospheric markets in Southeast Asia and a living remnant of a trading culture that predates any road.
Banjarmasin was the capital of the Banjar Sultanate, a Hindu-then-Islamic kingdom that controlled South Kalimantan from the 14th century. The Dutch signed a trading treaty with the sultanate in 1635 and gradually expanded their influence until the Banjar War (1859–1905) — the longest and most costly colonial conflict in Kalimantan — finally subdued the sultanate. The city's diamond-polishing industry around Martapura, 40km south-east, remains active today and dates to the sultanate era.