Saturday, July 9th, 2022 - They Say It's a Slum - Khlong Toei

 Khlong Toei means 'Canal of Pandan', for the pandan plants that grew along side it at one time. The canal itself was built in 1857, along with a major road, now called Rama IV. The district has a long history, going back to the 9th Century.

Alley in Khlong Toei Slum

As these things go, the crush of development marches on and the canal no longer exists due to the expansion of the road. The area referred to as Khlong Toei is now bordered by the Chao Praya River to the south and the BTS Skytrain and Sukhumvit to the north. It includes ports, markets, fancy shopping centers, science museum and convention center,  but it is also known for including the largest slum in Bangkok. The slum is a squatted informal settlement according to Wikipedia and when it was surveyed in 2006, the population was estimated to be between 80,000 and 100,000.

Section of Khlong Toei Slum on Railway Line

As you might imagine, visiting a slum is not usually on the list for tourists to Bangkok. In hope of improving my camera skills, I had searched for a photography experience here with a photography guide. 

My Googling found Tim Russell who did a good job of taking me to places I would not have been able to do on my own and helped me find settings that worked for the variable light conditions we encountered.

You may enjoy some of his images at https://www.timrussellphotography.asia/.

Tim pets the pig we found wandering around the settlement

 

Tim offers several tours here and I nervously accepted the Khlong Toei option. Going into places identified as slums had me anticipate facing evidence of poverty and suffering that I feared would be uncomfortable to witness. 

These three boys greeted us warmly 

When I think of slums in the United States, I imagine colorless urban jungles full of people wary of each other and outsiders. How surprised I was to be greeted by the bright smiles and colorful clothing of these three boys! They were keen to show us around and gleefully flitted ahead of us for a while.

The dogs wanted o join us

There were many dogs. A few were in the alleys, but the greater number were inside. One house had 13 of the same breed - we guessed they were being raised for sale. Of course the dogs had to alert their owners about these intruders going by with their cameras, but at no point did they bother us. If they were inclined to bite, there was a resident nearby who would warn us to avoid petting the animal.

The cats wanted to see what was happening, too.

I had to tussle with Tim to get the cat and dog pics - he petted them affectionately and took many more photos of them than I did. That wasn't a problem as my penchant was laundry. (It's much easier to photograph as it doesn't move!)

Laundry in the alleyways is colorful and plentiful

 For some reason I am really drawn to seeing the many ways people dry their laundry using sunshine and open air. There were no rotary hoists here - there was not enough space. Drying racks were of a great variety, often just hanging on a fence. Nevertheless there was much of it in the alleys on this sunny Saturday.

Shrines/Spirit Houses were also abundant

I was also intrigued to see precious space being kept for religious observances and loved the colors and sense of design that was often used.

Sad to see this written on the wall

While it is reported that there is crime, drug addiction, murders and all the other negativities one associates with areas of poverty, impressions from my brief walk did not lead me to feel wary or afraid. It was certainly helped by being with a person who was familiar to the residents. We were greeted with smiles and most people were happy to be photographed. People had cell phones and we could see large screen TV's in many of the houses. Tim said living here does not necessarily mean a person is poor - it may be where people grew up and they like it here.

This woman ran a little restaurant - directed me on how she wanted her photo taken.

I have had little success photographing people in the past, so this was one of my goals today. With Tim's help and the openness of the residents, there was a great deal of opportunity for me to get 'people' photos without the usual camera shake that has accompanied my previous awkward efforts.

It took a few attempts to get a smile from this gentleman

Even without speaking the language, it was pretty easy to point at my camera to make the request for a photo and the body language in return made the person's preferences clear. Often people appreciated checking out the photo afterwards, to make sure it met their approval.

Even though she was inside, a photo was still OK here.

There were always people around in the narrow alleys - either inside their homes, visiting, or running errands of some sort .

These two went right back to their business after I got their photo - did not want to see it.

Motorcycles were also plentiful and became tough to navigate through the narrow alleys sometimes.

These soldiers had a problem getting their bike around the corner.

The land is owned by the Port Authority of Bangkok and most people here are squatters. The soldiers in the photo above were most likely here to help construct new housing to improve conditions. However, Tim said that they charge rent for the new houses, which upsets the original squatters on that spot and displaces them. If these people can't find another place nearby, they lose their connection to community and proximity to work.

The nature of slums is complicated. This article, gives further background on this particular settlement for any one interested in a deeper dive. 

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/features/khlong-toei-rising-anxiety-and-unity-in-bangkoks-biggest-slum/

One of the new homes built by the army

The new homes are definitely an improvement - small but clean and most likely more leak free. 

One of the worst 'homes' we saw

While most of the older homes still looked quite habitable, there were a few like the one above that definitely did not offer adequate shelter. Tim said people do live in his structure, which saddened me.

Color, color everywhere!

But most everywhere there was color and greenery, and a strong sense of community.

Bath Day

You know I have oodles more photos I would love to share, so I'll indulge myself with a few more before I wrap this up.

This lady found a very efficient way to transport her water

I am always intrigued by the ingenuity of humans, and this lady impressed me. She had a platform on top of two axles, with very small wheels exactly the right size for the railway lines. This allowed her to push this huge load of water to her store.  Fortunately, trains are not frequent, but it would be wise to know the schedule! Tap water is not potable in Bangkok, so bottled water is ubiquitous. The plastic use is enormous. People do collect the bottles, hey have economic value, so there is informal recycling.

When it arrived, there was much busy-ness unloading it!

On the whole people are busy about the business of living. Many work through the night. Even on the more prosperous streets, one sees people sleeping on the street.

Perhaps he came off a night shift

At least this man was in a chair. He had a buddy nearby.....and no, I did not ask his permission to take the photo! I too was ready to stop and get my afternoon nap. It had been a busy morning. Not only had Tim and I visited this 'slum', but we had also spent several hours in the wet market in this area - I had been on my feet for 5 hours, but my brain was more tired than  my body.

I would like to share some of the images from the market in my next blog. It is a wet market, which  means that the foods sold are messy - fish, meat, bugs, live animals, in addition to vegetables and other foodstuffs. Those of you who are vegetarian or squeamish may want to skip it.