Foreign Resident Reports Rooster Noise on Koh Samui

Get used to it. It is part of the environment. Your response in wanting to control what you can't control is what is keeping you awake.

I lived in 7th floor condo in Phra Kanong, maybe couple hundred feet from Mosque. The speakers in minarets were on same height as condo. 5 times a day (and night) loud call to prayer. Took maybe a week or two to adjust.

Give yourself serenity prayer or whatever.

It's their country, their culture, and that includes roosters

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I have two words.

temple bells

Which is why we’re now all filling out TM-30 forms. (IYKYK)

5 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

A foreign resident living in Mae Nam, Koh Samui, in Surat Thani province has filed a formal complaint to Koh Samui Municipality over persistent noise

I'm going with French.

For many years, I stayed on vacation for 2 months each year at a small hotel in central Pattaya. One year I arrived for my annual vacation to find that the wife of the owner had installed a rooster on the premises! (!) This hotel was between Beach Road and the Second Road between Pattaya Tai and Pattaya Klang.

The rooster was kept in a large, semi-spherical cage made of rattan.

When I went for a talk with the owner who, although he was afraid of his wife, didn't want to lose me as a frequent customer. We reached an accommodation. The solution was that the cage was kept covered until about 10:00 in the morning. If I needed a nap during the day, then in went the earplugs.

Samui now, is a huge construction site, no longer a peaceful tropical island. We have the same problem just after a construction camp for the Burmese employees was build. They "made" a Burmese village in the middle of villas' neighborhood. Unfortunately there is no law against it...

2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

Could also offer him money to get rid of birds.

Yes but then they will get rid of those birds and get other ones. Speaking from experience!

4 hours ago, smedly said:

scooters with no effective muffler

those little bastards are driving me crazy recently! every small dick tough guy seems to have one nowadays.

My first thought when I read the OP’s post was that it was a joke.  Once I read through all of the other comments about the OP’s post, I had a few thoughts:

First of all, we all, as expats living in Thailand, need to understand that we are GUESTS in this lovely country, regardless of how long we stay here, what particular Thai visa we have, or how many years we have lived here -- unless, of course, we apply for and are granted Thai citizenship.  So that is the first fact I would remind the OP about.

Second, we all need to recognize that the local Thai culture, ways of life, lifestyles, local community residents, etc., etc., dictate the local customs and also address, most often through the local poo-yai ban, or village chief, any conflicts that arise between residents through local village mediation.  The OP stated that he had tried to reason with the rooster-owning neighbor to no avail – but did he go through the poo-yai ban and ask him/her to mediate between the residents for an equitable resolution?  Apparently not, although from the OP’s post I cannot tell for sure.

Third, Thailand is VERY different from other countries, particularly when it comes to local zoning laws, regulations, customs, mediation processes, etc., etc.  I have not lived in Koh Samui, but I believe our village life way out here in what I call “whistlestop nowhere” in northeast Thailand (Isaan) is very similar to that found in Koh Samui.  My opinion based on my experience from the nearly 17 years I have lived in Isaan is that what we in the USA call local zoning laws are either pretty much non-existent here, or are at least far less restrictive than those I have experienced in the USA.

With that as my premise, may I also opine that the OP should consider himself VERY lucky that rooster crowing noise is all that disturbs him very early in the morning.  He COULD just as well have had a chicken farm move in next door with hundreds of birds that not only create a far greater noise issue, but also the stench of chicken feces is overpowering anywhere close to that farm.  The same would be the case of a neighbor raising pigs – and the local zoning laws/ordnances do little too prevent that since land use is generally up to the owner of that land – and land ownership in Thailand is NOT something that is extended to expats – at least not yet…

MY solution would be to work at insulating the outer walls, windows, and ceiling of your home more so the noise does not penetrate.  Sure, there is some expense involved with that, but the result would be a better night’s sleep for long-term peaceful living.

^ Stop fixating on the situation. It will only get worse. Take a deep breath and relax. Eventually you will not even notice me.

10 minutes ago, Uncle John said:

My first thought when I read the OP’s post was that it was a joke.  Once I read through all of the other comments about the OP’s post, I had a few thoughts:

First of all, we all, as expats living in Thailand, need to understand that we are GUESTS in this lovely country, regardless of how long we stay here, what particular Thai visa we have, or how many years we have lived here -- unless, of course, we apply for and are granted Thai citizenship.  So that is the first fact I would remind the OP about.

Second, we all need to recognize that the local Thai culture, ways of life, lifestyles, local community residents, etc., etc., dictate the local customs and also address, most often through the local poo-yai ban, or village chief, any conflicts that arise between residents through local village mediation.  The OP stated that he had tried to reason with the rooster-owning neighbor to no avail – but did he go through the poo-yai ban and ask him/her to mediate between the residents for an equitable resolution?  Apparently not, although from the OP’s post I cannot tell for sure.

Third, Thailand is VERY different from other countries, particularly when it comes to local zoning laws, regulations, customs, mediation processes, etc., etc.  I have not lived in Koh Samui, but I believe our village life way out here in what I call “whistlestop nowhere” in northeast Thailand (Isaan) is very similar to that found in Koh Samui.  My opinion based on my experience from the nearly 17 years I have lived in Isaan is that what we in the USA call local zoning laws are either pretty much non-existent here, or are at least far less restrictive than those I have experienced in the USA.

With that as my premise, may I also opine that the OP should consider himself VERY lucky that rooster crowing noise is all that disturbs him very early in the morning.  He COULD just as well have had a chicken farm move in next door with hundreds of birds that not only create a far greater noise issue, but also the stench of chicken feces is overpowering anywhere close to that farm.  The same would be the case of a neighbor raising pigs – and the local zoning laws/ordnances do little too prevent that since land use is generally up to the owner of that land – and land ownership in Thailand is NOT something that is extended to expats – at least not yet…

MY solution would be to work at insulating the outer walls, windows, and ceiling of your home more so the noise does not penetrate.  Sure, there is some expense involved with that, but the result would be a better night’s sleep for long-term peaceful living.

You seem rather confused about the OP, this is the news section and the article is taken from Thai media, Daily News.

I wrote the article, but it is not about me.

3 hours ago, lapamita said:

..until you have a neigbour in condo and not live in a monkeybox w 500 boxes

-who walks all night in high heels -cleaning moving chairs 6 am

-come home 3am and start.... - until 8 am they make tilework - until a old thailady makes at 6 am pokpok on the tile floore - until morning sex at 5 am - until a baby cries all night...and so on

take me 4 condos i bought ..until i find the right on e 8 years ago

I would love to find out what these people are doing......they do it even in 'good' hotels.

Why is anyone moving furniture around at 1am, why do they continualy slam doors, why are they constantly walking around an apartment the size of a shoe box.......drives me mad......never, ever buy in Thailand

I've been living permanently in Mae Nam for the last 21 years. Yes, there are roosters — several — and that kind of being follows nature. In time you learn to live with that noise — if not: Just find another place to stay where there is no roosters.

My neighbour to my first cheap bungalow in that place had a monkey — a single male — which screamed for a female all the time. In the beginning quite annoying — but I'm a guest, so I either accept or move — when the monkey one day disappeared, probably died, I missed the sound...😢

Barking dogs, shrill crickets and frogs that makes deep jungle-songs all night after rain are also part of the free entertainment.

And I can assure you that by time you not only learn to live with nature's symphony — you begin to love it — and you'll miss it, when it's not there...😉

3 hours ago, aseanexpat said:

You clearly have not much experience with Thai roosters, they go on all night and day sometimes here. Same many in Samui are also fighting ones. Not sure what this clown from the news tries to achieve however, there worse noise pollutions all over the islands from bad live music places to other things.

I lived near a place that terrorizes 200 people with live music even they only have 4-6 customers a night, and are 5 minutes from the district office, zero is doe about it. Only during those big raids, everyone closed for a few nights, which says enough.

Same with this so called raids on the islands, 9/10 opened again the next day and kept their properties. Meanwhile we are at a all time low with tourism (both last high season and until to date), and the 60 day visa is still alive too.

Which gives you an idea, how much worse it will get, due to all these actions, that is not even factored in yet. To have a rooster would be a blessing for me, at least on rural areas in Samui we still have full nature, animals, birds, eagles, buffalos.

I can hear one moaning while we speak.

I clearly have over 8 years experience with Thai roosters as I actually live in the country where they're seen, and heard every day. Like the predecessors, assuming doesn't work. Like I said, I have no problems with them as I rise early anyway, but I can see where many will lose sleep because of it, so need to adapt somehow. Roosters making noise all day only hurts those who work night shifts and who go to bed too late, trying to get the 8 hours in which many need.

I quite enjoy hearing roosters in the early AM. Along with those Koels everyone seems to complain about. I'll definitely take hearing the nature around me, instead of silence, or the hum of the roadways.

Research the accommodations you plan on staying at, if noise is even close to an issue, someone will be crying about it in the reviews.

Choose wisely, and that wee bit of extra research, may help.

HINT: Never book to far in advance, or too many nights at one place.

For the cry baby in the OP, oh well .... MOVE

4 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

I came up with this formula which has helped me find a peaceful balance over when loud music can reasonably be complained about. Basically, I weigh the social benefit that people are gaining from the loud music. If it is a large group of people, you have to respect the social benefit that is being derived. On the other hand, if it's some jerk by himself cranking up the tunes for himself and maybe a couple of his meth head buddies, then a complaint has more legitimacy. So for me it's strictly off-limits to complain about any event at a temple, or at a funeral, ordination ceremony, or wedding. All you're gonna accomplish is making yourself a social pariah, and possibly getting your butt kicked.

Which is why I'll never complain, as fitting in is better than winning . I live almost a kilo from the village, so the noise doesn't bother me while I'm sleeping, the AC noise blocking most out. They started this blasting years ago, and since no one really complained much back then, whoever it irritates now isn't going to get too far.It's rude behavior, but like you said, complaining ill fall on deaf ears, those ears coming from some of that loud raucous noise some call music here.

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

From my point of view possessing roosters if you live within 200 M of another human being is a violation that warrants that your roosters be exterminated. We all have our pet peeves and roosters for me are at the very top of my list.

And IMHO, people who haven't bee raised in a rural environment shouldn't retire in a Thai village. Stay in your Sukhumvit condo, or under a London bridge if you cant afford the former.

He should try the soft ear plugs. Very effective. When I lived on Koh Tao there was one demented and possibly sexually excited bird who went full throttle at around 03: 00 each morning probably with the intention of informing the local ladies that he was available. All the other males in the area joined in and then slowly went quiet and back to sleep leaving him to carry on squalking for a little longer. The locals told me that it was a valuable fighting chicken so the noise was acceptable.

Check if the socially unassimilated foreign resident on Samui isn't living in a Thai proxy company-owned property and leave those roosters alone. They're Thai roosters dammit!

Go the F home and rot in hell, you <deleted>!

You won't find any cocks in Blighty!

Move to the Philippines for 6 months. Kill or cure.

On return to Thailand after completing his sentence , he would find the noise from a couple of noisy cocks such a massive improvement

that he would sleep like a baby.

These cockerels are possibly kept for use in a gaming situation. We have 9 of them under individual basket covers out in the open under trees at the back of our condo in Pattaya. Keeping chickens I can understand with a cockerel, but this appears to me to be a different scenario. I think they are meant for gambling which is illegal in Thailand. 2 or three you might have to live with, but 9 are obviously meat for gambling looks like a job for the tourist police.

9 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

filed a formal complaint to ........... over persistent noise from crowing roosters,

No problem for me during my 20 years living in rural Isaan and Lanna.

Being a country bumpkin born in the Cotswolds area of the UK, I was used to such noises.

The complainer must be a townie!!!

Roosters are Satan's children.

They need to be deep fried.

This guy is kidding himself... nothing will come of his complaint and should move back to a large city.

A bit like someone moving to live near an airport and then complain about aircraft noise, or near a Motorway and complain about vehicles.

After a while one gets used to it and ignore it. Close your windows, get ear plugs.

As for the soi dogs......shoot 'em.

9 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

A foreign resident living in Mae Nam, Koh Samui, in Surat Thani province has filed a formal complaint to Koh Samui Municipality over persistent noise from crowing roosters, which he says has disrupted his sleep for around seven months. The complaint, dated 24 June, has attracted attention from local residents and social media users.

Around the time I started licing in Thailand, there was a large tree right outside my apartment, and at night chickens sat in there to sleep. Wehenever somebody walked past, they would start crowing and it was astonishingly devastating for my sleep.

I hated those chicken with a vengeance. To this day, in Isaan, they are my pet peeve.

But, Thailand is a noisy country, and you either get in a mental frame to ignore it (as the early morning loudspeaker annoucements who donated 20 Baht to the temple, or the incessant traffic noise, market sales, temple fairs, loudspeaker trucks, barking dogs, etc), or you will not be able to live here happily, ever.

And, for a foreigner moving into a semi-rural area in Koh Samui, then complaining about chicken, is very rich and will lead nowhere (besides really alienating him to his neighbors, not a good state to be in).

4 hours ago, Uncle John said:

With that as my premise, may I also opine that the OP should consider himself VERY lucky that rooster crowing noise is all that disturbs him very early in the morning.  He COULD just as well have had a chicken farm move in next door with hundreds of birds that not only create a far greater noise issue, but also the stench of chicken feces is overpowering anywhere close to that farm.

Nightmare situation: having a (police-owned) karoke bar, or a car mechanic moving in next door. Both happened to me in the past.

In Isaan, we have bought the neighboring plots to the family house as much as possible, so that we can have quietitude from such a mishap, but there is still never a guarantee: there is a new market on a plot hundreds of meters away, and you can hear the loudspeakers as if standing right next to them -- good luck has it, it is only once a week (as of yet).

As a few posters have mentioned, disposable, soft earplugs are the persons solution.

I am a light sleeper who works the night shift, staying in hotels which are very noisy during the day and the use of soft earplugs twisted and inserted with a little saliva to get them in properly work wonders.

I even sleep though the fire alarm checks that UK hotels have to test on a weekly basis.

Complaining will definitely make the persons life more difficult.

1 hour ago, wil iam not said:

After a while one gets used to it and ignore it.

And yet I have known Aussies complaining of the marvellous song of the horny Magpie at dawn.