I live in a small town in Khon Kaen -- a village, really. Not much going on here. The people are nice and hospitable. Decent school. But, there's something terrible that's been happening here for the past several days. I want to be told that this is not normal for Thailand.

Beginning last Thursday night, my town has been hosting all-night concerts featuring extremely loud bass, drums, and cowbells on a newly built mega stage, along with a carnival. The first night, thousands of people from out of town showed up.  There are about sixteen refrigerator-sized subwoofers, all stacked on top of each other.

I live about 1.5 miles away, and the vibrations from the rhythmic cowbells still shook me. Put earplugs in. Still got shook because it's not the sound that's doing it but the actual vibrations going through my walls. Sleeping proved impossible.

Last night it lasted until 4 am.

I have a day job, so I need to sleep. Sleeping in that village is impossible, so now I'm in a cheap hotel in a nearby city. 

Is this sort of thing normal, or is my town just crazy?

Not normal but also not abnormal. You might enquire how many days or weeks it will last.

Make a note of the date as it will probably recur next year 

3 hours ago, yosib157 said:

Make a note of the date as it will probably recur next year 

I'll happily have left long before this time next year. I don't know what kind of people Thailand's for, but it's not me.

16 minutes ago, Krillin said:

I'll happily have left long before this time next year. I don't know what kind of people Thailand's for, but it's not me.

 

 

You moved there....yes?

10 minutes ago, Krillin said:

I'll happily have left long before this time next year. I don't know what kind of people Thailand's for, but it's not me.

All of Thailand or just knowhere Isaan?  What you are experiencing  is common in rural Isaan and is unavoidable in many cases.  The traveling fairs are the worse but funeral celebrations can last 3-5 days and it is common for even small villages to have at least four people that die and have enough money to throw a huge celebration each year. 

 

I can relate to your misery but luckily I didn't have to work while living in Isaan villages.  How do you feel about the charcoal pitts, morning news blasted from speakers throughout the village at 6am, and the roosters that wake you every morning.

 

Not all bad but you need to bolt.  There are many better options for someone that is working and young.  BTW, why did you decide to live in rural Thailand?

17 minutes ago, atpeace said:

All of Thailand or just knowhere Isaan?  What you are experiencing  is common in rural Isaan and is unavoidable in many cases.  The traveling fairs are the worse but funeral celebrations can last 3-5 days and it is common for even small villages to have at least four people that die and have enough money to throw a huge celebration each year. 

 

I can relate to your misery but luckily I didn't have to work while living in Isaan villages.  How do you feel about the charcoal pitts, morning news blasted from speakers throughout the village at 6am, and the roosters that wake you every morning.

 

Not all bad but you need to bolt.  There are many better options for someone that is working and young.  BTW, why did you decide to live in rural Thailand?

I chose Isaan because, from my perspective, I definitely would not have fit in with the expat communities of larger cities. I could list all of the things I'm not, but in doing so implicitly offend a lot of people. 

 

In my mind, Isaan life meant countryside life, and countryside life meant a quiet life, conservative attitudes, clean air, blue skies, beautiful fields, tight-knit families, hard-working farmers and herders, and a quiet religion. I, uh... Well clearly I was mistaken.

 

Roaming packs of wild, territorial, nocturnal street dogs; temple announcements over giant loudspeakers early in the morning, all-night cowbell and drum concerts utilizing huge subwoofers that can be heard from kilometers away; I hadn't foreseen any of those things. And even if someone had warned me about them, I would probably have responded by saying that they were exaggerating and that no place on Earth could be that over-the-top noisy.

 

How I ended up in the particular town I'm in right now, was actually out of my hands. It's not where I started. 

 

Once I leave Thailand, I intend to never, ever come back. 

i lived at the most quiet soi in pattaya, but that came to an end when a resturant was built on it,

i had to move out sadly

12 minutes ago, Krillin said:

I chose Isaan because, from my perspective, I definitely would not have fit in with the expat communities of larger cities. I could list all of the things I'm not, but in doing so implicitly offend a lot of people. 

 

In my mind, Isaan life meant countryside life, and countryside life meant a quiet life, conservative attitudes, clean air, blue skies, beautiful fields, tight-knit families, hard-working farmers and herders, and a quiet religion. I, uh... Well clearly I was mistaken.

 

Roaming packs of wild, territorial, nocturnal street dogs; temple announcements over giant loudspeakers early in the morning, all-night cowbell and drum concerts utilizing huge subwoofers that can be heard from kilometers away; I hadn't foreseen any of those things. And even if someone had warned me about them, I would probably have responded by saying that they were exaggerating and that no place on Earth could be that over-the-top noisy.

 

How I ended up in the particular town I'm in right now, was actually out of my hands. It's not where I started. 

 

Once I leave Thailand, I intend to never, ever come back. 

Good luck and I get it.  Not all of Isaan is like your village but much of it is hard to deal with if you cherish a serene life.  Been a while for me but the absurdity of some of the things that happened are still in my memory as if they happened yesterday.  I remember trying to pay a lady that was making charcoal for months to stop.  The PM 2.5 numbers were consistently over 200.  I just smiled and made no enemies but will never do that again.

1 hour ago, Krillin said:

I

Once I leave Thailand, I intend to never, ever come back. 

 

 

Is that the only area in TH that you lived at ?

 

Have you tried other areas ?  I'd recommend going South, Chumphon of below, for some quiet countryside living.  If changing mind on leaving TH.

 

Good Luck

Last year in the middle of the  Isaan town where I live on the grounds of the main  government offices, close to the hospital, several hotels and many residential properties, an annual OTOP festival incorporated full on rock concerts from 7:00 p.m. till midnight for 10 CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS! The huge stage was set up about 200 meters from my apartment  and I could see it out of my window! I was forced to take a holiday out of town until it was over! The concept of 'consideration for others' does not exist in Thailand! I was very pleased that this year's event just recently was held inside Marquees with 5 mini concerts from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. After complaining last year and receiving lots of agreeing posts and likes, I posted a 'thank you for listening' on our local community Facebook page. But later l realized it was probably just toned down to show respect for the late Queen mother and probably be full on again next year...😭.

20 hours ago, Krillin said:

 

When I saw the Who at Charlton Athletic those were the monitors not the main speakers.

 

20 hours ago, Krillin said:

I live in a small town in Khon Kaen -- a village, really.

 

20 hours ago, Krillin said:

I have a day job

 

So you moved to small town in KK to work a day job?

 

I call bullsh** people.

I think the OP and others forget that a lot of local people look forward all year to that kind of thing. 

 

Whether it's Songkran, humungous rocket festivals or whatever irritates you.  If there was no demand, they wouldn't happen...

 

It would be like moving to Pamplona, then getting irritated by that thing with the bulls.

On 12/22/2025 at 4:15 AM, Woke to Sounds said:

 

 

 

So you moved to small town in KK to work a day job?

 

I call bullsh** people.

There are a plethora of Englush teachers in and around Khon Kaen.

On 12/21/2025 at 12:46 PM, Krillin said:

I chose Isaan because, from my perspective, I definitely would not have fit in with the expat communities of larger cities. I could list all of the things I'm not, but in doing so implicitly offend a lot of people. 

 

In my mind, Isaan life meant countryside life, and countryside life meant a quiet life, conservative attitudes, clean air, blue skies, beautiful fields, tight-knit families, hard-working farmers and herders, and a quiet religion. I, uh... Well clearly I was mistaken.

 

Roaming packs of wild, territorial, nocturnal street dogs; temple announcements over giant loudspeakers early in the morning, all-night cowbell and drum concerts utilizing huge subwoofers that can be heard from kilometers away; I hadn't foreseen any of those things. And even if someone had warned me about them, I would probably have responded by saying that they were exaggerating and that no place on Earth could be that over-the-top noisy.

 

How I ended up in the particular town I'm in right now, was actually out of my hands. It's not where I started. 

 

Once I leave Thailand, I intend to never, ever come back. 

 

i get that you had your idea of what rural thai life was like, but why didn't you do some thorough research before actually committing? 

i have pretty specific requirements for the place i want to live so did loads of research and checking before moving to where i now reside, which, thanks to my efforts, is a perfect place for me, and i'm extremely happy.

On 12/21/2025 at 7:46 PM, Krillin said:

I chose Isaan because, from my perspective, I definitely would not have fit in with the expat communities of larger cities. I could list all of the things I'm not, but in doing so implicitly offend a lot of people. 

 

In my mind, Isaan life meant countryside life, and countryside life meant a quiet life, conservative attitudes, clean air, blue skies, beautiful fields, tight-knit families, hard-working farmers and herders, and a quiet religion. I, uh... Well clearly I was mistaken.

 

Roaming packs of wild, territorial, nocturnal street dogs; temple announcements over giant loudspeakers early in the morning, all-night cowbell and drum concerts utilizing huge subwoofers that can be heard from kilometers away; I hadn't foreseen any of those things. And even if someone had warned me about them, I would probably have responded by saying that they were exaggerating and that no place on Earth could be that over-the-top noisy.

 

How I ended up in the particular town I'm in right now, was actually out of my hands. It's not where I started. 

 

Once I leave Thailand, I intend to never, ever come back. 

You would not need to fit in with a farang community, just do what you want to do.

The whole world is crazy!

23 hours ago, it is what it is said:

 

i get that you had your idea of what rural thai life was like, but why didn't you do some thorough research before actually committing? 

i have pretty specific requirements for the place i want to live so did loads of research and checking before moving to where i now reside, which, thanks to my efforts, is a perfect place for me, and i'm extremely happy.

You can do all the planning you need but, it only takes one new neighbour to ruin things.

It doesn't sound unusual to me as such, ceetainly not as far as insane noise levels and all-night operations are concerned, it's just that it has been going on for quite many days in a row that is quite unusual - in small towns, it's more often just a one night thing and then the circus moves on to the next town.

These things do happen, as the OP notes, but if someone cannot accept the occasional enjoyment of local people, it may be better to live somewhere more suited to their expectations of peace and quiet.

Small village concerts and community events are common in rural areas. Locals look forward to them, and they bring a welcome lift to what can otherwise be a fairly routine, hardworking life.

They are not frequent or overly disruptive by nature, but occasional events spread across the year.

Yes, there will be some noise and inconvenience, but that is part of village life, just like roads being closed for funerals and other community activities.

Thais up in Isaarn are a noisy bunch even when chatting to each other, but I love living here.

On 12/21/2025 at 7:46 PM, Krillin said:

I chose Isaan because, from my perspective, I definitely would not have fit in with the expat communities of larger cities. I could list all of the things I'm not, but in doing so implicitly offend a lot of people. 

 

In my mind, Isaan life meant countryside life, and countryside life meant a quiet life, conservative attitudes, clean air, blue skies, beautiful fields, tight-knit families, hard-working farmers and herders, and a quiet religion. I, uh... Well clearly I was mistaken.

 

Roaming packs of wild, territorial, nocturnal street dogs; temple announcements over giant loudspeakers early in the morning, all-night cowbell and drum concerts utilizing huge subwoofers that can be heard from kilometers away; I hadn't foreseen any of those things. And even if someone had warned me about them, I would probably have responded by saying that they were exaggerating and that no place on Earth could be that over-the-top noisy.

 

How I ended up in the particular town I'm in right now, was actually out of my hands. It's not where I started. 

 

Once I leave Thailand, I intend to never, ever come back. 

Don't go to Cambodia if you don't like noise, weddings and funerals go on for days.........AND THEY ARE NOISY!

My wife is from Issan, and for a while we were considering the possibility of building a home up there and moving there. Thankfully things did not work out as planned. I think that I may have become suicidal if I ended up moving up there as I too have a huge problem with the dogs, the temples with loudspeakers, the blaring announcements from the school across the street, and so much other noise-related pollution in addition to the ridiculous fires that the farmers start, and the burning of the crops.

Besides that, every foreigner I met up there consumed far too much alcohol for my taste. No thanks.

On 12/21/2025 at 7:04 PM, Krillin said:

I'll happily have left long before this time next year. I don't know what kind of people Thailand's for, but it's not me.

Well, get yourself off and go and get a large supply of ' chill pills ' from the chemist on the way out.

Just now, spidermike007 said:

My wife is from Issan, and for a while we were considering the possibility of building a home up there and moving there. Thankfully things did not work out as planned. I think that I may have become suicidal if I ended up moving up there as I too have a huge problem with the dogs, the temples with loudspeakers, the blaring announcements from the school across the street, and so much other noise-related pollution in addition to the ridiculous fires that the farmers start, and the burning of the crops.

Besides that, every foreigner I met up there consumed far too much alcohol for my taste. No thanks.

Guilty of all the above, except I hardly bother with alcohol and prefer the company of my long-term partner to expats.

14 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

Guilty of all the above, except I hardly bother with alcohol and prefer the company of my long-term partner to expats.

I suppose it depends on where you're meeting these expats, I think if you meeting them in the normal suspect locations like Phuket, Samui, and Pattaya, there's a strong possibility that they're not high quality folks.

I've met a lot of wonderful expats in Thailand, that are highly accomplished, smart, very level-headed, fun to talk to and be around, and I've had the good fortune to establish wonderful and rich friendships with them. There are a lot of high quality expats here, you just have to be fortunate enough to meet them, and smart and discriminating enough to screen out the others.

On 12/21/2025 at 3:06 PM, Krillin said:

I have seen PA systems like this......all wired in parallel and being driven by ONE amplifier, with bass turned up to 11, all VU meters into the red, and a lousy sound, as is the choice of music usually.

It's the beginning of concert season in Isaan, happens around this time every year. Only lasts a couple of weeks at most.

1 hour ago, Scouse123 said:

Guilty of all the above, except I hardly bother with alcohol and prefer the company of my long-term partner to expats.

Ditto, although I've yet to find another interesting farang in my parts. If I do, of course I'd welcome the opportunity.