Monk Bowl Village (Baan Bat)

During the late 18th century King Rama I established a series of villages responsible for crafting bat, the rounded bowls used by monks to collect alms. Today only one of those villages survives.

You will hear Baan Bat, or "House of Bowls", before you see it; winding down the alleyway the repeated "ding, ding" of hammering fills the air. If it weren't for the noise and the small sign out front it would be easy to think you had stumbled down the wrong street. But here, down a twisting alleyway is one of the only places left where traditional alms bowls are still made by hand.

The art of making alms bowls goes back thousands of years, but today most temples purchase factory-made bowls rather than spending the extra money. While some temples still do order handmade bowls much of this tradition is kept alive by tourism. The bowls themselves are beautiful and you can watch the craftsmen hammer out the metal and fire them in a wood-burning kiln. If you make a purchase the workers, who all seem to live on this alleyway, will take you down the alley to look at their spirit house which features an image of the Buddha making a bowl. In a city driven to modernize, Baan Bat is one of the last examples of a traditional craft persisting in the 21st century.

Bowls can be purchased on site with prices starting around 600 baht and going up to about 2,000 baht. The workers are exceptionally friendly -- and photogenic! This is the spot to pick up a one-of-a-kind souvenir, but it's not necessary to buy something. Baan Bat is proud of its craft, and they seem to appreciate people simply stopping by to see them at work.

After Baan Bat, continue up west on Bamrung Muang Rd, which at this stretch is occupied entirely by shops selling temple supplies, including huge Buddha statues that sit nonchalantly on the footpath. Keep on walking and Bamrung Muang ends right at the Giant Swing.