Early Morning Broadcasts

[Kicker]

Just returned from a few days in Isaan - Namphong about 35km north of Khon Kaen. I haven't been up there for a while (5 years), and found the whole experience very enjoyable, except for

the <deleted>(king loudspeakers starting right outside the window at 5.45 am at high volume, shattering the peace with first a news bulletin, then some traditional music, then some local <deleted> babbling on and laughing at his own jokes. This continued 'til 0800 when the national anthem played, only then was I able to enjoy the local dogs barking and people driving past on 2 stroke motorbikes with no exhausts.

I wonder if this happens across all villages in the region, and how farangs living there cope with that. I suppose its possible to get used to anything after a while, but by god how awful.

This was the only wart on an otherwise very pretty face.

[nidge]

Doesn't happen for me. I wake up when my baby wakes up which can be anywhere between 5am-7am and i hear nothing outside. The other day i was cutting my grass at 8:30 in the morning and my wife went crazy because i could have disturbed the neighbours!

[Pushit]

Just returned from a few days in Isaan - Namphong about 35km north of Khon Kaen. I haven't been up there for a while (5 years), and found the whole experience very enjoyable, except for

the <deleted>(king loudspeakers starting right outside the window at 5.45 am at high volume, shattering the peace with first a news bulletin, then some traditional music, then some local <deleted> babbling on and laughing at his own jokes. This continued 'til 0800 when the national anthem played, only then was I able to enjoy the local dogs barking and people driving past on 2 stroke motorbikes with no exhausts.

I wonder if this happens across all villages in the region, and how farangs living there cope with that. I suppose its possible to get used to anything after a while, but by god how awful.

This was the only wart on an otherwise very pretty face.

That's the time people wake up in the morning! Not you apparenty.

[Lite Beer]

Just returned from a few days in Isaan - Namphong about 35km north of Khon Kaen. I haven't been up there for a while (5 years), and found the whole experience very enjoyable, except for

the <deleted>(king loudspeakers starting right outside the window at 5.45 am at high volume, shattering the peace with first a news bulletin, then some traditional music, then some local <deleted> babbling on and laughing at his own jokes. This continued 'til 0800 when the national anthem played, only then was I able to enjoy the local dogs barking and people driving past on 2 stroke motorbikes with no exhausts.

I wonder if this happens across all villages in the region, and how farangs living there cope with that. I suppose its possible to get used to anything after a while, but by god how awful.

This was the only wart on an otherwise very pretty face.

You are lucky. My house is in the middle of 2 speaker systems. When one stops the other one starts.

I ask the wife and neighbours what they say and they reply , dont know , dont listen.

[colino]

same here for me when up in the village 5.45 loud speaker groaning on about jack then buffalo whining as the crap all over the road then the chickens and kids screeching, followed by every other noisy sod moaning sitting round there little fires , finally about 9am i can get back to bed or go swing on the hammock

[Pushit]

Just returned from a few days in Isaan - Namphong about 35km north of Khon Kaen. I haven't been up there for a while (5 years), and found the whole experience very enjoyable, except for

the <deleted>(king loudspeakers starting right outside the window at 5.45 am at high volume, shattering the peace with first a news bulletin, then some traditional music, then some local <deleted> babbling on and laughing at his own jokes. This continued 'til 0800 when the national anthem played, only then was I able to enjoy the local dogs barking and people driving past on 2 stroke motorbikes with no exhausts.

I wonder if this happens across all villages in the region, and how farangs living there cope with that. I suppose its possible to get used to anything after a while, but by god how awful.

This was the only wart on an otherwise very pretty face.

You are lucky. My house is in the middle of 2 speaker systems. When one stops the other one starts.

I ask the wife and neighbours what they say and they reply , dont know , dont listen.

Okay..Ladder and wire cutters is your solution, do it before daylight!

[Lite Beer]

Just returned from a few days in Isaan - Namphong about 35km north of Khon Kaen. I haven't been up there for a while (5 years), and found the whole experience very enjoyable, except for

the <deleted>(king loudspeakers starting right outside the window at 5.45 am at high volume, shattering the peace with first a news bulletin, then some traditional music, then some local <deleted> babbling on and laughing at his own jokes. This continued 'til 0800 when the national anthem played, only then was I able to enjoy the local dogs barking and people driving past on 2 stroke motorbikes with no exhausts.

I wonder if this happens across all villages in the region, and how farangs living there cope with that. I suppose its possible to get used to anything after a while, but by god how awful.

This was the only wart on an otherwise very pretty face.

You are lucky. My house is in the middle of 2 speaker systems. When one stops the other one starts.

I ask the wife and neighbours what they say and they reply , dont know , dont listen.

Okay..Ladder and wire cutters is your solution, do it before daylight!

How about Hand Grenades.

Personally I give them a blast of Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin

[PaddyThai]

I stayed in my wifes village some years ago and had this same experience. I am not ' a morning person' and was particularly agrieved by this 5.30am start. My wife explained that it was to wake everyone up and give them the local news. it seems not all use alarm clocks. She told me most villagers hate it but nobody complains. After a few days of disrupted sleep I got up one morning grabbed a musket. went over to the village headman's house with intention of shooting speakers. Wife ran after me. Much talk between her, headman and me. No more early morning noise.

In hindsight, just as well I didn't shoot as I am a foreigner. I just wish locals would exercise some democratic thinking and action.

we now stay on farm when we go upcountry.

[legendarysurfer]

Pretty typical for most Isaan villages, I think. The degree to which the loudspeakers are put to use is probably governed by how active the village headman is. I remember our former headman -- a good friend and great friend of the family -- would throw some pretty good morlam in, after the rhetoric. The current headman does not use the loudspeaker much... You get used to it, as long as you're not TOO close to the speakers.

[Drewcifer]

It could be worse, say at 4:30 AM, that's when it starts by us (Nakon Pathom). I think it's a fairly standard thing in farm country. It's essentially just a wake up call for the field workers.

[MISTERBONK]

That's the time people wake up in the morning! Not you apparenty.

I ask the wife and neighbours what they say and they reply , dont know , dont listen.

Okay..Ladder and wire cutters is your solution, do it before daylight!

To get the day off to a pleasant start it's nice to have a bit of peace and quiet -especially at dawn. Nobody wants to hear government propaganda.

With speakers everywhere in the villages the sound is usually distorted, and most if not all don't listen. They are busy getting ready for work or gettting the kids organised for school

Ladder and wire cutters did the trick for me 6 years ago. Put the one facing my home out of action. Nobody realised, it's never been repaired, and all my section of the village have peace.

[Kicker]

I think it is a bit more sinister than a wake up call for the farmers........I seem to remember reading it started as a central government directive to help stop the people of Isaan having a separate cultural identity from the rest of Thailand especially with regard to language.

Also, the rural people are the most uneducated and gullible and make up the largest percentage of the electorate, therefore the benefits of being able to force feed propaganda on a daily basis are enormous. Also goes towards reinforcing nationalistic attitudes with the traditional songs, they sound similar to the ones I heard in a recent documentary about North Korea. People might say, or even think they don't listen, but subliminally they are absorbing much of it. Try switching BBC World on at full volume and "not listening".

I admire anyone with the cahoneys to climb up and cut the wire, thankfully now I am back in my more peaceful surroundings so no drastic action is necessary.

Edited April 17, 2008 by Kicker

[Gary A]

If you want to live in a village, you'll just have to get used to it. The system in our village broke down and they said they had no money to replace it. And no, I had nothing to do with it.

It was peace and quiet for a month or so but apparently they found some money to replace it. The best advice is to insulate your bedroom. You will save on your electric bill and well as block the sound. I have to listen carefully to even hear it especially with the air conditioner running.

[micksterbs]

We're quite fortunate where we are. It's only about tree times a week and then at the comparatively civilized time of 7.30 by which time we've been up an hour anyway. Starts with some morlam and matey waffles-on for about ten minutes, a bit more music and that's it. I ask TW what he actually says but she says she never listens anyway, so I'm no help there, I'm afraid.

However, if it really pisses you off, don't cut the lead; it's too easy for them to locate and repair, if they can be bothered, that is. Arm yourself with a really slim needle, push it through the speaker cable ensuring that it passes through both cores then cut each end of the needle flush with the outside of the cable. Finish off with a bit of dust/muck to cover your handiwork. It would take them ages to track that down...

[Gary A]

At one time I lived in a townhouse in Bangkok. Across the small lake were apparently religious muslims. They had an excellent sound system with huge speakers. NOTHING could be as bad as those idiots.

[ozzy111]

This happens to me every morning also it's enough to send me around the bend at times, especially if you;ve had a few quite ones the night before.

[Zeid]

Gary your comments and remarks are way off, saying the the Muslim ATHAN is idiotic, did you never hear the bells on Sunday????

Living in the middle east for most of my life, i have enjoyed listening to the ATHAN in the morning, I have enjoyed the bells in Germany as well as in the middle east, and i do enjoy the awful singing in the village early Morning.

I think waking up early morning to do the broadcast, the ATHAN, the bells, shows a high sign of dedication and pride in ones work, and that should be respected in all cultures.

It also feel energizing

[Kicker]

"i do enjoy the awful singing in the village early Morning"

[Drewcifer]

I think it is a bit more sinister than a wake up call for the farmers........I seem to remember reading it started as a central government directive to help stop the people of Isaan having a separate cultural identity from the rest of Thailand especially with regard to language.

Well it happens in Nakorn Pathom and that is not Isaan. Most of the Thais I know don't listen to it (it would be hard to really listen to it because the audio quality is so poor).

[welsh1]

Just returned from a few days in Isaan - Namphong about 35km north of Khon Kaen. I haven't been up there for a while (5 years), and found the whole experience very enjoyable, except for

the <deleted>(king loudspeakers starting right outside the window at 5.45 am at high volume, shattering the peace with first a news bulletin, then some traditional music, then some local <deleted> babbling on and laughing at his own jokes. This continued 'til 0800 when the national anthem played, only then was I able to enjoy the local dogs barking and people driving past on 2 stroke motorbikes with no exhausts.

I wonder if this happens across all villages in the region, and how farangs living there cope with that. I suppose its possible to get used to anything after a while, but by god how awful.

This was the only wart on an otherwise very pretty face.

You are lucky. My house is in the middle of 2 speaker systems. When one stops the other one starts.

I ask the wife and neighbours what they say and they reply , dont know , dont listen.

Okay..Ladder and wire cutters is your solution, do it before daylight!

How about Hand Grenades.

Personally I give them a blast of Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin

same here i put on my david gray or crowded house and who gives a ####

[WISteve]

Gary your comments and remarks are way off, saying the the Muslim ATHAN is idiotic, did you never hear the bells on Sunday????

Living in the middle east for most of my life, i have enjoyed listening to the ATHAN in the morning, I have enjoyed the bells in Germany as well as in the middle east, and i do enjoy the awful singing in the village early Morning.

I think waking up early morning to do the broadcast, the ATHAN, the bells, shows a high sign of dedication and pride in ones work, and that should be respected in all cultures.

It also feel energizing

The church bells where I am from ring at a more respectable hour of 10:00- 11:00 one day per week.

A call to worship that lasts for a minute or less one day a week is tolerable. When they drone on and on for 10-30 minutes multiple times every day I can understand the resentment.

The village headsman in Joy's village isn't too keen on the loudspeaker system thankfully. And he usually doesn't get rolling until 7-ish. He's mostly confined to holidays and voting days it seems like. But the school public address system that is nearly a kilometer away is clearly heard over the phone and starts promptly at 8:30 every weekday morning.

~WISteve

Edited April 18, 2008 by WISteve

[ronthompson]

Gary your comments and remarks are way off, saying the the Muslim ATHAN is idiotic, did you never hear the bells on Sunday????

Living in the middle east for most of my life, i have enjoyed listening to the ATHAN in the morning, I have enjoyed the bells in Germany as well as in the middle east, and i do enjoy the awful singing in the village early Morning.

I think waking up early morning to do the broadcast, the ATHAN, the bells, shows a high sign of dedication and pride in ones work, and that should be respected in all cultures.

It also feel energizing

Actually I agree with Gary, My old condo in Bangkok was in the sound path ways of the muslim call to prayer. Not only was it loud but muslims scare the hel_l out of me for it seems their purpose in life is to kill me.

[Gary A]

I have nothing against worshiping as you see fit, BUT, do it in privacy of your own home. The VERY loud noise several times a day is obnoxious and rude to us hungover heathens.

[Zeid]

I have nothing against worshiping as you see fit, BUT, do it in privacy of your own home. The VERY loud noise several times a day is obnoxious and rude to us hungover heathens.

I agree with this remark Gary as i find it obnoxious as well in some cases when it does not take into consideration the privacy of others or forcing your beliefs on other.

i have to admit as a Muslim myself i was in an argument with the shaikh of the mosque next to and that ended up in a police station.

but would never refer to anything as stupid

[bina]

we hear the mezzuein five times a day (before sunrise etc) as if it is inside my salon because of the way sound travels from the village down below; amazingly enough, i have gotten so used to it that i find it missing if i go to areas that arent near an arab muslim village. as for the thai thing, here the thai workers do the same, at about 4:30 am someone gets up and then u have music blasting full time, its a way to signal to all that the day has started.... and thai seem to sleep thru anything...

[chaiyapoon]

Used to upset me as well until I adjusted to getting up with the dawn.I woke up with the chickens anyway some what earlier.Neighbours all started their hifis for a half hour before they went to work,then the dogs would start barking,didn't have much choice but get up.Somewhere in the middle of this the village speakers started.It was the whole package that decided me that Isaan village life was not a long term option for me.Still stay for short periods but I was not ever going to sleep like the Thais can.

[Pseacraft]

It use to bother me too but it wasn't our village headman. It was the local market about 50 meters away. Since I work in a very noisy environment I can sleep right through it. I get my best sleep with the background noise. :-) But now someone decided to move the main segment of the market across the highway to the otherside of the village. No more morning wake up! Good move for me. I also don't know anyone who listens. What I really hate are the guys driving around with the bloody PA's blaring. I'd like to shoot them but...it's not allowed.

I work in the middle east (UAE) and I have to say I like prayer call. It's my alarm clock now, letting me know I've overslept and need to get my tail up for work!

:-)

[RY12]

One good solution for noise problems is to have a poured concrete house, at least 8inch thick on floor, walls, and ceiling. I'm seriously thinking about doing this more expensive method if I build in Ubon. to me, it's really worth it, after having to go through 4 days of blasting music outside a bangkok apartment last new years. im not sure if they build poured houses in isaan or not.

[khunandy]

To be honest I dont mind our village broadcasts. It drags me kicking and screaming into synch with the people after I have been away and from what I understand it isn't Govt propaganda.

Starts about 6.30 with a bit or morlam then a bit of a news session on what is happening around the local area, If there are a few community projects on the go the Poo Yai Baan reminds the village who is supposed to help and what not. He also reads out donations given to the village and the temple and where they came from.

Another 5 minutes of morlam and then its over....my decision whether to get up or continue to doss.

What would probably tempt me to take up arms are those bloody awfull load speaker promotional pick ups........absolutely terrible sources of noise pollution.

[Jimmy2004]

Just returned from a few days in Isaan - Namphong about 35km north of Khon Kaen. I haven't been up there for a while (5 years), and found the whole experience very enjoyable, except for

the <deleted>(king loudspeakers starting right outside the window at 5.45 am at high volume, shattering the peace with first a news bulletin, then some traditional music, then some local <deleted> babbling on and laughing at his own jokes. This continued 'til 0800 when the national anthem played, only then was I able to enjoy the local dogs barking and people driving past on 2 stroke motorbikes with no exhausts.

I wonder if this happens across all villages in the region, and how farangs living there cope with that. I suppose its possible to get used to anything after a while, but by god how awful.

This was the only wart on an otherwise very pretty face.

You are lucky. My house is in the middle of 2 speaker systems. When one stops the other one starts.

I ask the wife and neighbours what they say and they reply , dont know , dont listen.

Okay..Ladder and wire cutters is your solution, do it before daylight!

I get this at 7am and 5pm - They usually talk about "beware of mosquitos", "Is your dog vaccinated?", "there is (yet another) election", "get your money ready for the bin men" etc.

If I had a gun the speaker would no longer be there. - I phoned up the local village chief (dunno in English - อ.บ.ฅ.) - he said it was his boss speaking - he likes the sound of his own voice apparently.