Brass and Pottery Tour: Leben und Werk von Handwerkern in Bangladesch

Awesome experience. Very unique and well planned. Highly recommended. Tour guide is very helpful and amazing person. One of the netter experiences during my recent trip to Bangladesh.

I am so pleased to write the first review for this tour offered by Global International BD Tours & Travels. This tour was one of the highlights of my trip, and was so exotic and out of this world that I would be doing a disservice not to review it. As always, Hasan and his company did an amazing job with planning, scheduling and handling transport, meals and ticketing. -The day started with hotel pickup and driving to a spot of the Dhaleshwari river to catch a private motor boat. The captain was so kind and it was nice having the boat to ourselves. The journey up the river to the remote pottery village was so scenic in itself. Upon arriving at the small, remote village we disembarked to see what looked like the set of a movie: small old houses and alleyways populated by the families of artisans who handcraft clay into beautiful pottery used in Dhaka. It was so nice to meet the villagers, many of whom are Hindu artisans, and learn about the process of making pottery. We saw from start to finish the process of warming clay, molding the clay, and shaping the pottery to dry. We even got to try to make pottery ourselves!! The best part was seeing the village children and distributing candy to them, they were so happy and their kindness has made such an impression on me, especially when compared to the dismal depression of city life in the US. The villagers even prepared sweets for us, picked guava from their trees. I had such a beautiful time I am at a loss for words on how special it was. -After departing the village by boat, we were picked up by car and transported to Dhamrai, a village which produces stunning brass items for purchase using an ancient technique of wax casting. Not only was this a great place to purchase unique souvenirs not found in Dhaka, but the owner of the store was so generous he took us to his home where we were able to witness his mother crafting the casings for the sculptures. Basically, wax is cast into molds of figurines, then encased in clay, which is wrapped in metal wire, then brass is poured into the wax mold and takes its shape after drying. It was amazing to witness this old artform, which is thankfully preserved here. -After this amazing tour, we were treated to a delicious Bengali lunch, which was followed by a tour of the National Martyrs’ Memorial. The grounds of this memorial are pristine, and it was heartening to see the pride of the Bengali people in visiting this memorial to the country's tumultuous past. So unique!