Tours marveled at this slanting Bangkok home. Now that it sank, they’re raising funds to help.

For many years, the tour groups that pass through the canals of Thonburi got an up-close look at a stilt house on the verge of sinking. It belonged to an older man known colloquially by locals and tourists as Khun Loong Baan Eiang, Uncle Slanted House.

After years of being a passing curiosity, the man’s home has finally fallen into the water, and he’s now left homeless, sleeping outside a KFC at a gas station on nearby Charansanitwong Road.

After years of steering attention toward his plight, one tour group is organizing a fundraiser tomorrow to get him into temporary housing.

“We are all a part of the reason why these houses are falling down in the canal,” organizer Veerarat “Ohm” Chansuwan told Coconuts. Ohm blamed all the boats constantly passing through the canals for weakening the foundations of the shanty homes.

“About no later than three weeks ago, this uncle’s house sank into the water,” he said. “In the past, during our tours, a lot of my customers would take photos of his slanted house. His home was interesting for the tourists. We felt bad about that, and we feel it’s our responsibility to do something for him.”

Ohm, who runs Hidden Bangkok Tours, said the man, whose actual name he did not know, lost his wife and older sister to COVID and had been living alone when his home slipped into the canal.

While he heard that the government would help fix the man’s house, the process could take up to six months and came with no guarantee they would restore his home.

“My plan is … to find a room to rent for him for a few weeks around 2,000 to 3,000 baht a night,” he said.

Today the tour put out the call for help from its 6,000 followers on Instagram.

“We need to help Uncle! His house has fallen into the canal and we’re having a subscriber meet up fundraiser to help him get some temporary accommodation,” they wrote.

The fundraising cruise, which begins tomorrow, will depart at 4:30pm from the Baan Ploen Dee restaurant.

Those who cannot make the trip tomorrow can send a DM to Hidden Bangkok Tours via Instagram.