Bang Pho | Bangkok Photo Walks, Issue 105

At least 42 photographers joined the 129th BPG Photo Walk on Sunday 6th October 2024, meeting at Bang Pho

MRT station. From there, Walk Whisperer Mark first took us west to the ferry terminal on the Chao Phraya River,

then back east to Pracha Rat Sai 1 Road. We soon turned into the small Bang Pho Market and the maze of narrow,

unnamed alleys on both banks of the Bang Pho canal. After that...well, there were a few different routes taken,

but they all ended at the Starbucks near Tao Poon MRT station.

One highlight that most of us managed to find was Sai Mai Road, which is a central hub of the

neighbourhood’s main industry: carpentry. The narrow, tree-lined street has an industrial atmosphere

puctuated with a haze of sawdust and wood glue while stores on surrounding sois showcase intricately carved

furnishings and fixtures.

Carpentry has been the dominant industry in Bang Pho since the neighbourhood was founded in the

late 1700s. The first people here were the Annamese from around what is now Ho Chi Minh City in modern

Vietnam. They originally came to Bangkok with the 15-year-old Nguyễn Ánh, the founder of Vietnam’s last

dynasty, who fled the Tây Sơn revolt in 1777. He subsequently fled Bangkok and, after being tracked down by

relatives from Laos, King Rama I selected Bang Pho as their new home because it was far from the sea, making

further escapes unlikely.

The name of Bang Pho (บางโพ) literally translates to “waterside hamlet of sacred fig trees” and, to this day,

the neighbourhood is still interwoven with waterways, though the orchards on the islands in between have

been replaced with condominiums (one, ironically, called “The Tree”). Some of the lumber was used to build

boats to catch fish and shrimp, establishing the locals as first-class shipwrights. In King Rama III’s reign, they

were building sailing ships for nobles and merchants. By the reign of King Rama V, Annamese sculptors were

among the 10 royal craftsmen of the royal court. Sawmills and skilled carpenters continue to congriate here to

this day, though now with Hainanese and native Thai heritage added to the mix.

Bang Pho has been featured in three very different forms of popular culture. It was first mentioned in the

travelogue Nirat Phu Khao Thong (นิราศภูเขาทอง, “Journey to Golden Mount”) by famed poet Sunthorn Phu

in the reign of King Rama II. More recently, it was the subject of Direk Amatayakul’s 1982 disco song Sao Bang

Pho (สาวบางโพ, “Bang Pho Girl”), the video for which is very disco and very ‘80s! Finally, the works of 34 BPG

photographers are featured in this 105th issue of Bangkok Photo Walks, which we hope that you enjoy.

Have fun,

Mark, Chutima, and Ben.

Magazine Editor

Ben Reeves

Photo Walk Coordinator

Mark A. Hathaway

Administrative Support

Chutima Panjapan

Logo Design

Ubonpayom Ongsara

Front Cover Photo

Narz

Group Photo

Chutima Panjapan

Back Cover Photo

Bernd Leushake

© 2024 Bangkok Photographers Group

All rights reserved.

Bangkok Photo Walks is a not-for-profit

publication created by the members of

the Bangkok Photographers Group. All

photographs herein are copyrighted by

their respective creators and published

only with their permission.

Waterside Hamlet of Sacred Fig Trees

BANGKOK PHOTO WALKSBANGKOK PHOTO WALKS

Issue 105