Life in the Bangkok slums: Children play on rail tracks in poverty-stricken settlements home to criminals, prostitutes and some of Thailand’s poorest people.
Incredible photos show what life is like in the slums of Bangkok, with children seen playing on railway tracks in poverty-stricken settlements which are home to some of Thailand’s poorest people.
The pictures were taken by photographer Sam Gregg, 30, in the Klong Toey slums in the country’s capital which are home to around 100,000 people.
In one photo, a toddler sits in a chair on a makeshift platform which has been fitted to railway tracks, a sign that children have to make do with the play spaces available.
In others, prostitutes are seen posing for the photographer as he takes close-up pictures.
Criminals are also seen, with one tattoo-covered man pictured lying down. He spent 20 years in prison for dealing drugs to support his family and his inkings are a memento of his time spent inside.
Mr Gregg, from London, said: ‘Living near the local slum population, I began to immerse myself in their community, often spending my Sundays watching cockfights through a thick haze of cigarette smoke and moonshine.
‘I would begin my day by meandering through the local red light district to an opening that hid the beginning of the Klong Toey railway tracks.
‘One thing that immediately struck me was the incredible paradox of the slums. There was an uncomfortable balance between the humour and charm of the residents and the matter of fated crime and violence that surrounded their daily lives.’
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