The last of their kind: Bangkok crafts and spaces you need to see before you can’t

At Jiam Sangsajja in Ban Bu, khan long hin are hammered by hand from an alloy of 80% copper and 20% tin, then stone-polished to a silver-like shine. The craft traces its roots to Ayutthaya, and its survival depends on a team of specialists: making a bowl involves six or seven stages, with a large one taking two to three days. Older accounts describe more than 200 bowl-making families in the neighbourhood; today, Jiam Sangsajja is widely reported as Thailand’s last workshop practising the craft. The family business has adapted with plates, salad bowls, fruit bowls and trays alongside traditional bowls. In a May 2025 report, Dr Jariya Sangsajja explained why successors are hard to find: furnace heat, physical labour and years of practice make this a demanding inheritance. Visit for the small showroom and a chance to see the work behind that gleam.

Find it

• Address: 133 Charan Sanitwong Soi 32, Siriraj, Bangkok Noi 10700
• See: A small showroom and artisans at work
• Hours: Weekdays 10am-4pm. Free entry. These hours come from an undated Bangkok Post feature, so call 081 615 7840 before visiting
• Prices: B800-20,000, according to one blog; check current prices at the workshop
• Nearby: Wat Suwannaram, 33 Charan Sanitwong Soi 32 (daily 8am-5pm), and Bangkok Noi Museum, about 300m into the same soi

Ban Bat, near Wat Saket, is the surviving community of three alms-bowl villages traditionally associated with Rama I’s founding of Bangkok. The village is now a narrow lane, where artisans build bowls from separate pieces of steel rather than stamping them from a single sheet. The familiar eight-piece construction is associated with Buddhism’s Noble Eightfold Path; shaping, joining, firing and hammering give each bowl its form before finishing with lacquer or polishing. Handmade bowls still find buyers among monks and people donating to temples, while visitors provide another source of income. You can see work outside homes and buy directly from makers – including miniature bowls if a full-size one is a bit much for the journey home.

Find it

• Address: Soi Ban Bat, off Bamrung Mueang Road, near Wat Saket. House numbers vary between listings
• See: Bowls being hammered and soldered outside homes
• Hours: Time Out lists Monday-Friday 10am-8pm; other sources give 8am-5pm. Call ahead to check
• Book ahead: To arrange a demonstration, try 086 104 9639 or 099 224 7864, as listed by a tourism guide
• Prices: Around B1,900 per bowl, according to an older source; check current prices with the makers

At Kuang Fah Printing House, also listed as Kwong Fah Press, Thongdee Chengsaksri inherited a business his father began after arriving from China around a century ago. His father taught himself printing, building a shop that once employed dozens of people and owned more than 10 German platen presses. A 2022 Creative Economy Agency profile recorded two remaining presses, with Thai, Chinese and English metal type still stored in the shop. Business cards, receipts and product labels were keeping the machinery busy. It’s the sort of everyday printing that rarely gets a second glance – until you see the work behind it. An April 2024 account describes Thongdee working alone and reluctant to pass the business to his children; a current visit needs arranging rather than assuming the presses will be running.

Find it

• Address: 161 Phat Sai Road, Samphanthawong 10100
• See: Letterpress printing in action
• Hours: Monday-Saturday 8am-5pm. Call  02-221-7475 to confirm opening and ask whether you can watch printing in progress.

Some stories here are about holding on. Sala Chaloem Thani, or Nang Loeng Cinema, is about a comeback. The wooden theatre opened in 1918, served the neighbourhood for 75 years and closed in 1993. On April 26 2025, it welcomed audiences back for its 107th-anniversary event. Further Thai Film Archive programmes followed, including classic Thai films in July 2026 and an Elvis programme in August. The cinema also has a fresh connection to a disappearing trade: an August 16 2026 event unveiled newly hand-painted film billboards and brought veteran painters together to discuss their work. Piak Poster, the celebrated film-poster artist and director, died on September 24 2026 aged 93, but that recent gathering shows this craft still has practitioners. A trip here can put both the cinema and the art once hung outside it back in view.

Find it

• Address: Inside Nang Loeng Market, Pom Prap Sattru Phai 
• See: Classic films in a wooden theatre
• Tip: There’s no parking, so use public transport. Screenings are occasional – check the Thai Film Archive's page before heading over