Mobile Megaphone Vending Should Be Banned In Bangkok?

[MRaina]

An edited version of this letter appeared in The Nation, February 10, 2009.

Mobile megaphone vending should be banned.

Thailand is growing, the sound of construction

and hundreds of new buildings going up are

the sound of the new spring of Thailand and Asia.

The contributing residents and businessmen and women,

even in central districts (Sukhumvit) prefer

to work or play in relative peace and quiet

in concentration and a clear mind tuned for work

However, currently, a distractor in the form of mobile vendors with loud megaphones,

can be heard even 30 stories up with booming monotone voices droning about

their goods, echoing between the buildings 2-3 times per day.

This unwelcome and soliciting noise is disrupting, disharmonious,

and takes concentration away from work and critical tasks at hand.

This form of noise pollution, is bad for the health and minds

of the residents and business people.

And as well to the traffic below- where it is unsafe, dangerous, and disrupting

to traffic flow to accommodate the mobile vendors.

These vendors should set up shop in a prime location, in a clean, partitioned way,

rather than on the streets and in the ears of the thousands of residents above.

Thailand has one foot in the new era one in the old

let's compromise and make it peaceful for everyone

in a clean, peaceful, and productive environment,

compatible with the forward progress of the nation.

===========

What do you think? Should mobile megaphone vending be banned, and vendors assigned to set up shop in more established locations?

Edited February 16, 2009 by MRaina

[londonthai]

The contributing residents and businessmen and women,

even in central districts (Sukhumvit) prefer

to work or play in relative peace and quiet

in concentration and a clear mind tuned for work ...

However, currently, a distractor in the form of ...

This unwelcome and soliciting noise is disrupting, disharmonious,

and takes concentration away from work and critical tasks at hand. ...

This form of noise pollution, is bad for the health and minds

of the residents and business people. ...

compatible with the forward progress of the nation.

Flame deleted.

I don't have any problems with vendors advertising their wares coming near my house - they have competitive prices and deliver goods to door.

I see the problem during election times, when they play their drivel.

The worst for me are megaphones on my street waking me up at 6am with some military marches followed by some nationalistic songs

Edited February 19, 2009 by Mario2008
Flame deleted

[konfuzed]

Woo they take our booze over songkran so we ban their mobile annoyances...

I totally agree with banning the election vehicles nothing but a nuisance!

does anyone switch voting because of those things? i told my wife she wasn't allowed to vote for one party because it woke me up at 7am on a saturday

[phaethon]

While I'm still working on my time machine I ponder whether its first use should be to go back and kill the inventor of the whistle or just the person responsible for exporting it to Asia.

The retarded traffic director outside the Landmark who blew constantly all day until I complained bitterly from the 24th floor, is one example of the consequences of uncontrolled invention/importation of whistles. What we need are whistle -control laws - you should only be allowed to own a whistle if you are severely asthmatic and need it to reassure relatives you are still alive.

[toybits]

Also should be banned in Chiang Rai. You guys in Bangkok are lucky you don't have school parades with marching bands. But then.... wink wink....

[londonthai]

The retarded traffic director outside the Landmark who blew constantly all day

it's the only thing he can do and does - he has to perform a little to earn 6k baht/month