Bangkok canals were once filled with clear, clean water teeming with aquatic life.
Khlongs, as canals are called in Thai, were a ubiquitous feature of Bangkok.
No residence was far from a khlong. But that was a long time ago.
Many of the khlongs have since been filled in and made into roads.
The remaining ones are in a sorry state -- having been left to rot, literally, with household sewage and other waste.
Over the years, there have been many attempts to rehabilitate canals, but they never amounted to much.
The current government has now launched a campaign to clean up Bangkok's canals.
Khlong Lat Phrao and Khlong Saen Saep have been targeted in the initial phase of the programme.