Noise Levels

[superal]

Yesterday there was an event / party in a nearby warehouse about 250 meters from my  place . Music started at noon and loud . Then volume down to half for 2 hours but at 5 00 pm turned up to high volume , so much so that I had to turn up my TV to hear it and I have all the windows shut . There are houses within 50 meters of the music so it must have been hell for them , not only the noise but the house was vibrating caused by the deep base from the speakers . Carried on and finished at 12 30 am .

          That level of noise must cause ear damage for the party goers . Once again there is no consideration for neighbors or the effects on others from their actions . Told my Thai partner that in the western world it would not be tolerated , she said no problem in Thailand , I said I am trying to watch the <deleted> football and my volume from the telly was full blast to drown out the party music , no problem she said as she went to the bedroom to watch the Thai soap TV .  

   LOS =  Land of Selfish   imo 

 

[FritsSikkink]

So there was a party 1 time, you never had a loud party before in your lifetime?

[Lite Beer]

We have a funeral just down the road.

Started on Thursday and due to finish 25th or 26th.

Ear splitting distorted music and waffle.

So that is my Christmas screwed.

 

Do these people not realise how selfish they are?

There is no way it has to be that loud.

If people want to attend they will.

No need to deafen the whole village.

 

Probably the reason why Thai's shout all the time.

They are all deaf.

[worgeordie]

Thai's seem to love loud noises,from motor bikes with altered

exhaust pipes,on the main road at night can hear souped up cars

racing each other,or just driving up and down revving the engines.

Then Temple fairs or other fairs,Shopping Malls, the sound of the

battling  sound systems,each playing different music much too

loud,I have Tinnitus,so other noises actually give a bit of relief

from the constant ringing.but for other that want a bit of peace 

and quiet it must be hell, as its everywhere.

regards Worgeordie      Happy Christmas all

[Lite Beer]

Yes. They do seem to like noise. 

If not distorted sound systems or banging things with hammers it is usually those noisy tile grinders. 

My father used to be a builder and laid tiles. 

Never made a sound cutting them. 

[Gecko123]

The event the OP describes sounds like a community event. Such events, marking weddings, funerals and monk ordinations, etc. are part of life in Thailand, and you are asking for trouble to expect people to conform to your social norms of what constitutes excessive noise. You especially need to be tolerant around New Years and Songkran which are the two holidays where many Thais have enough time off from work to return home.

 

With that said, neighbors cranking up their their home and car sound systems whenever they please on a day-in day-out basis is an entirely different matter. I have had friction with my neighbors in the past by complaining about loud bass music. The thing I have absolutely learned from these confrontations is to never confront people directly when the music is playing, especially at night, when people are very likely inebriated. Using a third party intermediary is advisable, as these disputes can often be seen as a farang vs Thai cultural conflict. Guess who's going to win? I have also on occasion had success just by standing outside the offending house until someone notices me and quickly realizes why I am there. Creepy as hell, you betcha, but surprisingly effective, and it avoids in-your-face verbal confrontation. 

 

I have also had success blasting my speakers in the direction of the offending house, but before doing this I really try to find out if they're having a large party (which I'm more tolerant of) or just a few teenage kids who have decided some loud music is just what the doctor ordered to go with the lao khao or yaa baa they've just consumed. People seem to get the message. As a last resort, you can go to the police, but because of the ill-will this will generate, I don't recommend it unless you are really at your wits end. Taking a walk or drive to escape the noise is another coping technique. I also have talked to almost all my neighbors to sound out their feelings, and it turns out that many of them don't like the loud music any more than me, but don't say anything out of a spirit of greng jai. But I have the feeling that by talking to the neighbors about how much this bothers me, at least somewhat gets filtered back to the offending parties, which helps. After I explained that I do a lot of reading and writing, and that I can't think with that bass music blasting (something I sensed that many people never even considered), I really noticed that my neighbors showed a lot more consideration after they understood why it bothered me. I also leave town around Songkran, in large part to avoid the loud music.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited December 24, 2017 by Gecko123

[JLCrab]

General Purpose Thai attitude toward farangs who complain about noise levels:

 

Get a Life.

[superal]

4 hours ago, Lite Beer said:

We have a funeral just down the road.

Started on Thursday and due to finish 25th or 26th.

Ear splitting distorted music and waffle.

So that is my Christmas screwed.

 

Do these people not realise how selfish they are?

There is no way it has to be that loud.

If people want to attend they will.

No need to deafen the whole village.

 

Probably the reason why Thai's shout all the time.

They are all deaf.

Funerals are a regular occurrence and the music noise  of the base even half a mile away is very annoying and can start in the very early hours of the morning and if the event is near to your house the base makes any loose fixings vibrate . I am told that noise does not unduly effect Thais as they can sleep at the drop of a hat in any situation .

[superal]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Thai's seem to love loud noises,from motor bikes with altered

exhaust pipes,on the main road at night can hear souped up cars

racing each other,or just driving up and down revving the engines.

Then Temple fairs or other fairs,Shopping Malls, the sound of the

battling  sound systems,each playing different music much too

loud,I have Tinnitus,so other noises actually give a bit of relief

from the constant ringing.but for other that want a bit of peace 

and quiet it must be hell, as its everywhere.

regards Worgeordie      Happy Christmas all

Where I live near Surin there are sugar cane and charcoal lorries and all have not got silencers , just straight through exhausts and the drivers are on and off the gas pedal trying to make as much noise as is possible , can be heard half mile away or more , a bit like the Thai guys who use a strimmer / brush cutter , on and off with the throttle for what reason I cannot guess .   However if I hear the sound of a Triumph Bonnie or Harley etc , that is  a bit different . 

[grollies]

I have rigged up my stereo and, starting at 0600 local time shall be blasting out a selection of Christmas greats, hymns, choral and popular music so that all (7 within a 1km radius) my neighbours may also enjoy the festive experience.

 

Merry Christmas one and all!!

[Lite Beer]

My Wife has instructions to blast out Pink Floyd for 5 days when I kick the bucket.

That'll teach 'em.

[grollies]

1 hour ago, Lite Beer said:

My Wife has instructions to blast out Pink Floyd for 5 days when I kick the bucket.

That'll teach 'em.

Why not do it while you're still alive? Great tunes.

[Lite Beer]

11 minutes ago, grollies said:

Why not do it while you're still alive? Great tunes.

Great idea. 

We can have a rehearsal. 

[torrzent]

1 hour ago, Lite Beer said:

My Wife has instructions to blast out Pink Floyd for 5 days when I kick the bucket.

That'll teach 'em.

why not ACDC?

[jerojero]

Different culture my friend. Accept and invest in some good headphones and earplugs. Good luck

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[topt]

The OP should count himself fortunate that it finished at 12.30.

 

Concert here in Pattaya on 3rd Rd. at the moment on some empty land surrounded by residential accommodation that will finish 2, 2.30 am if lucky.........

 

Fact of life here and I do not seeing it changing in my lifetime so accept it and sometimes even embrace it..................

[jak2002003]

It's part of the culture here.

 

You have to accept it is part of living in Thailand.

 

You are luck it was a one off.  It's common to have this level of noise several time a week in some places, and even every day if a bar or entertainment place opens up near you.

 

 

[MJCM]

My Wife has instructions to blast out Pink Floyd for 5 days when I kick the bucket.
That'll teach 'em.

I think some Opera mixed in with Vivaldi and some Mozart would be a better choice, they might like Pink Floyd

[MJCM]

Talking about Noise Levels.

In the next village (which is around 2-3km away) there is a party going on and the music stopped at around 12:30am but it started again at 4:45am. The Bass are set at such a high level that even my wife (who seldom complains about this) was awoken by it.

[Crossy]

We hit paydirt (at least on the noise front) with our place.

 

Although we are right next door to a temple noisy events are rare, maybe half a dozen a year and even then the temple buildings are between us and the karaoke cat-strangling.

 

The nearest space for open-air events is about 1km away as the crow flies, yes we hear them but again they're pretty rare and not really annoying.

 

Puyai baan only comes on the speakers when there is actually something to say, as a result people listen and take notice.

 

The road is too small and bendy for the boy-racers, the odd one who strays into the village invariably ends up wrapped around the bus stop which is right on a 90^o bend, no warning signs, oops. The old wooden bus stop has recently been replaced by a nice, solid steel and concrete affair which would resist a nuclear attack from NK.

 

We DO get noisy jet-skis from the resort just up river and the occasional loud long-tail.

 

When all else fails, I have noise-cancelling headphones

 

[stevenl]

2 hours ago, MJCM said:

 

I think some Opera mixed in with Vivaldi and some Mozart would be a better choice, they might like Pink Floyd

 

Agreed, Mozart's requiem for me. 

[Lite Beer]

14 minutes ago, Crossy said:

When all else fails, I have noise-cancelling headphones

 

I also have some of those. Bose.

Although they are pretty good they do not stop a full on onslaught. 

Or stop the walls vibrating and windows rattling.

[MJCM]

I also have some of those. Bose.
Although they are pretty good they do not stop a full on onslaught. 
Or stop the walls vibrating and windows rattling.

+1

I have earplugs that are custom made and they even don’t help when the bass is at Full level, so when we know there will be a party, we normally just flee and stay a couple of days in Hotel.


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[Briggsy]

@Gecko123 Very well-written and nuanced post. The only thing I would add is the purchase of some hearing protectors, available at your local industrial hardware store from around 100 Baht.

[canopy]

A short FAQ:

 

Is this cultural? No. It's not like people are unearthing 1000 year old speaker systems in archaeological digs. This loud speaker phenomenon is brand new in our generation. Let's call it what it is. It's not culture, it's ignorant people who don't care about others.

 

Why is the volume so loud that no one can talk? Because there is nothing to talk about. This hides the uncomfortable reality.

 

How do noisy people that irritate hundreds of people around them on a regular basis react if one complains? They become angry and blame you for the problem because until you barged in everything was going fine. They will never, ever admit anything they are doing is wrong or a problem to anyone else and insist you are a bad person for complaining.

 

Is it getting better or worse? Worse. As the country gradually develops, more and more ignorant people gain access to speaker systems. No one taught these people how to drive or raise a child and we see what happens. They aren't taught basic courtesy to others. In fact, the opposite is the case as schools are where the indoctrination into noise begins. If you are ever close to a school the horrendously loud noise blasted out their loud speakers that goes on hours every day is frightening. This is how the next generation is being taught--make lots of excessive noise, bother others.

 

[BuaBS]

You can escape a bit with headphones or going away ( which costs you money) , but your animals/pets stay behind and have to endure .

( yes I know you can take the dogs with you).

[moonseeker]

Can't change it. No way. Given up hope. Go along or go away is my motto now. MS>

[lucjoker]

THAI people are what they are , big children .

So i let them do , i do not intervene .

Yesterday we had a quiet gathering, close to a bend in the road .

There was a lorry who spilled gas on the road ......

Suddenly .....crash-noises ...sparks....dust ....a motorcycle , who came full speed ,crashed  into the barriers . We stood up for a look .

3 drunk on the floor ,motorcycle in pieces .....we did not intervene .

2 minutes later .... the next crash.......1 handed lady on the phone ,,tried full speed turning

but the fuel spill was stronger than her Buddha luck.... we did not intervene , just looked how things happen here in their country ....

Then some motorcycle with blue and red flashing lights crashed , it was a "first help " guy,

he threw some sand on the road .......1 min later another slides away on the sand .......

we did learn nothing new and did not intervene .....as expected of a good farang .....it is not our business .

 

 

[soalbundy]

Noise is just a modulation of silence, it's still there in the background.

[MJCM]

Noise is just a modulation of silence, it's still there in the background.

55555.

But unfortunately the silence can’t be heard because of the noise