Any city that’s been hanging around for 228 years is bound to have its fair share of lost treasures and forgotten secrets. Thankfully, Bangkok isn’t developing at the same speed as Beijing, where historical corners of the city are being steamrolled to prepare for condos and shopping malls, so there are still plenty of old corners and secrets to enjoy. My friend Lenka and I found one of these lost treasures one of our city bike rides, where we ride by the phrase ‘ever narrower’ to get lost, explore, and experience the real Bangkok. What we found was Baan Bu, a community in Bangkok Noi that produces exquisite handmade bowls the same way they’ve been doing for centuries.

First of all, the ride. I’ve written about that before, and no, Bangkok isn’t as dangerous to ride a bike in as you think, although I wouldn’t call it ‘safe’. You just need to keep your wits about you, know how traffic works, and ride with style and/or skill and/or luck. I met Lenka at the foot of State Tower on Silom Road, and we wound our way past the Oriental, through Chinatown, past the flower market and Wat Phra Kaew, and through Thammasat University, ending up on Soi Phra Athit for an awesome roti motaba lunch.

Then, in a true act of geekery, I whipped out my iPhone and we managed to find a geocache that was hidden nearby. Score!

We continued across the Rama VIII bridge, through some tiny little sois and snaked through a wacky little mooban (village), past the Royal Barge Museum and then across the Arun Amarin bridge, and this is where we started asking around for Baan Bu, where the prized and beautiful bowls are made. Betwen Lenka’s pretty good Thai and my not-so-good Thai, we managed to get a random dude wearing suspenders and a local shopkeep to point us in the right direction, and we made our way across some train tracks and into the Bangkok Noi village.

The pathways in Bangkok Noi village. Our bikes cooling off after the epic thrashing we gave them.

The pathways in Bangkok Noi village. Our bikes cooling off after the epic thrashing we gave them.

Bangkok Noi (Little Bangkok) is a section of Bangkok that has been designated as a kind of heritage neighborhood, promoting tourism due to its long history and contribution to Bangkok’s development and artistic production. In fact, the little mooban we were on looked really nice and clean – even the Victorian-style lamposts had shrink-wrap on them!

There were no obvious signs or anything, so we simply asked a group of women standing around a food cart if they knew where they made the bowls. One of the women said “Oh, that’s me.” Lucky! Her name was Khun Metha, and she very kindly picked up her plate of khao man gai (oily chicken and rice) and told us to follow her, unlocking a gate and leading us into her factory, named Jiam Sangsajja Bronze Factory.

One of the furnaces in the factory.

One of the furnaces in the factory.

It was nothing huge or palatial – a dirty factory sat off to the side with several unlit furnaces where the bowls are made, and a small showroom held a few shelves that displayed the bowls. They were quite exquisite – roughly hewn on the outside with fine decorative carving, and with a brass/copper lining that was so shiny it almost hypnotized you to look at it.

"Must...look...away..."

“Must…look…away…”

Khun Metha gave us a cup of the cool, fragrant water she kept in a large brass bowl by the door to cool us down and told us how the bowls were made, miming the process for us and showing us examples of the work at different stages. She then gave us a quick tour of the factory, explaining how each of 5 furnace stations did a different job, and how the guy who carves the intricate designs on the outside of the bowl gets no second chances – make a mistake and he must start over.

The raw materials for making a bowl. If you don't use all the copper, you can add another speaker to your stereo to listen to Zeppelin a bit louder.

The raw materials for making a bowl. If you don’t use all the copper, you can add another speaker to your stereo to listen to Zeppelin a bit louder.

It was a very interesting detour, and to be honest we were both a bit surprised we managed to find it, but with the friendliness of the locals and a bit of detective work, we did. A visit to this little community is a great way to support local craftsmen and an opportunity to go on a bit of an adventure outside of the normal tourist trails.

Me lifting one of the hammers that were even heavier than I expected them to be. On the right is one of the factory workers who smelled like a whiskey factory. In his defense, it WAS after noon. Barely.

Me lifting one of the hammers that were even heavier than I expected them to be. On the right is one of the factory workers who smelled like a whiskey factory. In his defense, it WAS after noon. Barely.

Here’s the address if you’re interested: Jiam Sang Sajja Bronze Factory, 133 Charan Santiwong Soi 32, Siriraj, Bangkok Noi, Bangkok 10700. Call Khun Metha on 081-615-7840 if you want to set up an appointment (make sure you’re ready to speak Thai). Also, Eric has a good post about it on his blog here.

Khun Metha talking with Lenka.

Khun Metha talking with Lenka.

A bowl of water to quench our thirst.

A bowl of water to quench our thirst.

And here’s a map: