Insufferable Neighbour

[BOOKEMDANO]

Hi,

Anybody here had to put up with any annoying neighbours? If so, how have you dealt with them or even better how would you deal with this situation?

I'll give you the lowdown on whats been happening. Our rear garden backs on to a typical working-class family moo-baan (if you call them that) with a large 7ft concrete wall separating us. About 6 months ago - whilst in my garden - A projectile came looming from the heavens in the direction of their property falling to the lawn: it was a large, empty, shell. My tgf called out immediately afterwards as to why they had just thrown this deceased shell; no reply.

Since then, we have found rusty old nails, lumps of dried glue, and various other objects. I have never seen or had any contact with these people - who I believe to be Thai - and no exchange of words has ever taken place as to enter their village if you like, involves a maze of soi's in which to negotiate.

Today, the tgf comes home at lunch time to find a dozen or so hacked branches from my beautiful trees sitting at the rear of my garden. Now, we all know tree's grow, so of course the odd branch would encroach their side once in a while and one day when I was inspecting the very end of my garden I noticed that they have previously trimmed parts of the tree that invaded their side. Today however, a dozen branches have been hacked off and thrown back in my garden.

Now, i'm sure some of you might even agree with what this chap has done, but, because i'm not in CM at the moment and my tgf is staying alone who told me of this little episode she is really scared. If I were there I would have marched straight over to their door and banged on it demanding and apology or a couple of right handers would be flying simply because they put the frightners on my g/f.

As it happens I told her to go over there tomorrow explaining to them that they simply didn't need to act the way they did and throw my beautifully hacked tree back over on my lawn. Simply offer them the opportunity to approach us next time and I will pay for someone - maybe better I do it myself - to trim back the part of the tree that over hangs their property.

I will know more tomorrow after the g/f has spoken with them. But f@*k them for making her scared. I just hope they play fair otherwise for all I know some rat posion could be the next thing that lands on my property which could be eaten up by the dogs: who seldom bark by the way!

[whiterussian]

Haha, I have the same, almost... The neighbours behind sent word that my three trees at the rear blocked the light into their kitchen... no windows mind you, just some slats in a breeze blocks above head height.

I told my wife in short: "so what! - I dont want to see their house!"

I compromised and trimmed about 3 foot off the back of the trees, so no leaves could fall onto their land.

And so I had a lovely set of trees that covered the back of the neghbouring house. (remember - no windows - just breeze blocks! - its one of those annex kitchens - about 5 foot wide with just a sink)

The wife hired some Burmese when I wasnt looking and had the trees hacked in half.. now I have lollipop shaped trees and a view of breeze blocks.. and a crack in our garden wall from the earthquake 3 years ago.

Grrr...

So tell your tgf that it happens everywhere!

Edited April 28, 2010 by whiterussian

[wolf5370]

The branches I say fair play, but the debris would have gone straight back over the wall.

[jackdawson]

note to self: continue to NEVER live next to a Thai

[BigWheelMan]

The OP and his girlfriend seem to be hyper and the OP needs to lose his Western aggression.

There are many reasons why this could be happening; maybe the neighbours have some boisterous children and don`t realise the kids are annoying other people, sometimes objects can be blown elsewhere by high winds or they simply just don`t like the OP because he has attitude, that doesn`t go down well in the LOS.

Also it`s easy to become paranoid, every time debries turn up in the garden, the OP is going to blame his neighbours.

As for the lobbing off of tree branches that overhang other properties, I have often cut down some neighbour’s branches and vice versa, without causing damage to the main tree, no problem as I have always made the effort to have a mutual understanding with my neighbours. It`s a house holders duty to ensure that branches are trimmed before they begin over hanging the boundries.

I have dogs, they bark, my neighbours dogs bark but none around here is bothered and we enjoy our home without getting stressed.

We get invited to many weddings in the area, social events, I always make the effort to attend and well known and liked here.

Last year my neighbour began making charcoal only a few metres away from my house. We were breathing in toxic fumes for 3 days. I realised that it`s just ignorance on the part of my neighbour, but my family and I intend to stay here for the rest of our lives and have good relationships with the locals. So what’s the point of going in with all guns blazing?

So my wife and I went and discussed the situation with the neighbour, all very friendly with a few laughs over a couple of beers. Problem solved, my neighbour moved his burners to another piece of land he owns.

I am very glad and happy that I don`t have any Farang living near me, people that would complain about my dogs, complain that my rose bush is protruding 2 inches over their property and that my fence is the wrong colour.

The common sense way for the OP and his scared girlfriend to deal with this situation is to have a friendly chat with the neighbours, keep in with them, let them believe that you are nice people, remember that this is Thailand, not to be confused with the ways back home.

If this is not possible, than Thailand’s not for you.

I wonder if the hard nut avatar is his true charactor?

Edited April 28, 2010 by BigWheelMan

[BlackArtemis]

The OP and his girlfriend seem to be hyper and the OP needs to lose his Western aggression.

There are many reasons why this could be happening; maybe the neighbours have some boisterous children and don`t realise the kids are annoying other people, sometimes objects can be blown elsewhere by high winds or they simply just don`t like the OP because he has attitude, that doesn`t go down well in the LOS.

Also it`s easy to become paranoid, every time debries turn up in the garden, the OP is going to blame his neighbours.

As for the lobbing off of tree branches that overhang other properties, I have often cut down some neighbour’s branches and vice versa, without causing damage to the main tree, no problem as I have always made the effort to have a mutual understanding with my neighbours. It`s a house holders duty to ensure that branches are trimmed before they begin over hanging the boundries.

I have dogs, they bark, my neighbours dogs bark but none around here is bothered and we enjoy our home without getting stressed.

We get invited to many weddings in the area, social events, I always make the effort to attend and well known and liked here.

Last year my neighbour began making charcoal only a few metres away from my house. We were breathing in toxic fumes for 3 days. I realised that it`s just ignorance on the part of my neighbour, but my family and I intend to stay here for the rest of our lives and have good relationships with the locals. So what’s the point of going in with all guns blazing?

So my wife and I went and discussed the situation with the neighbour, all very friendly with a few laughs over a couple of beers. Problem solved, my neighbour moved his burners to another piece of land he owns.

I am very glad and happy that I don`t have any Farang living near me, people that would complain about my dogs, complain that my rose bush is protruding 2 inches over their property and that my fence is the wrong colour.

The common sense way for the OP and his scared girlfriend to deal with this situation is to have a friendly chat with the neighbours, keep in with them, let them believe that you are nice people, remember that this is Thailand, not to be confused with the ways back home.

If this is not possible, than Thailand’s not for you.

I wonder if the hard nut avatar is his true charactor?

I have a big can of rusty nails to get rid of, mind if I dump them on your property? Just get tetanus shots for your family and pets. Mai pen rai! right?

The OP isn't just talking about branches and organic matter here. He did not reference dogs. He is complaining about people dumping things on his property, dumping would be considered a multi hundred dollar fine in my countries mind you. He has neighbors who don't respect him, his family, or his property and that is the problem.

To the OP: I would collect what comes over that wall in a box and bring it to them and say in a kindly manner "I think you lost these".

[maccaroni man]

Haha, I have the same, almost... The neighbours behind sent word that my three trees at the rear blocked the light into their kitchen... no windows mind you, just some slats in a breeze blocks above head height.

I told my wife in short: "so what! - I dont want to see their house!"

I compromised and trimmed about 3 foot off the back of the trees, so no leaves could fall onto their land.

And so I had a lovely set of trees that covered the back of the neghbouring house. (remember - no windows - just breeze blocks! - its one of those annex kitchens - about 5 foot wide with just a sink)

The wife hired some Burmese when I wasnt looking and had the trees hacked in half.. now I have lollipop shaped trees and a view of breeze blocks.. and a crack in our garden wall from the earthquake 3 years ago.

Grrr...

So tell your tgf that it happens everywhere!

my neighbor asked me to cut my privacy trees for his ubc dish, i kindly replied, move the dish.

[whiterussian]

my neighbor asked me to cut my privacy trees for his ubc dish, i kindly replied, move the dish.

"Privacy trees", I like it. Must look that word up in Thai and try and explain the concept to the wife... although she probably likes the view of another house looming over our back yard.. reminds her of how far she has come from the wood and bamboo house she grew up in... and maybe she associates it with the hi-so life she sees on TV.

That reminds me of the insanity of the blocks with 200 sat tv dishes on the outside like bright red fungi.. you would have thought by now they would have a way to share one big one on the top of a block!

Edited April 28, 2010 by whiterussian

[mallyrd]

The OP and his girlfriend seem to be hyper and the OP needs to lose his Western aggression.

There are many reasons why this could be happening; maybe the neighbours have some boisterous children and don`t realise the kids are annoying other people, sometimes objects can be blown elsewhere by high winds or they simply just don`t like the OP because he has attitude, that doesn`t go down well in the LOS.

Also it`s easy to become paranoid, every time debries turn up in the garden, the OP is going to blame his neighbours.

As for the lobbing off of tree branches that overhang other properties, I have often cut down some neighbour's branches and vice versa, without causing damage to the main tree, no problem as I have always made the effort to have a mutual understanding with my neighbours. It`s a house holders duty to ensure that branches are trimmed before they begin over hanging the boundries.

I have dogs, they bark, my neighbours dogs bark but none around here is bothered and we enjoy our home without getting stressed.

We get invited to many weddings in the area, social events, I always make the effort to attend and well known and liked here.

Last year my neighbour began making charcoal only a few metres away from my house. We were breathing in toxic fumes for 3 days. I realised that it`s just ignorance on the part of my neighbour, but my family and I intend to stay here for the rest of our lives and have good relationships with the locals. So what's the point of going in with all guns blazing?

So my wife and I went and discussed the situation with the neighbour, all very friendly with a few laughs over a couple of beers. Problem solved, my neighbour moved his burners to another piece of land he owns.

I am very glad and happy that I don`t have any Farang living near me, people that would complain about my dogs, complain that my rose bush is protruding 2 inches over their property and that my fence is the wrong colour.

The common sense way for the OP and his scared girlfriend to deal with this situation is to have a friendly chat with the neighbours, keep in with them, let them believe that you are nice people, remember that this is Thailand, not to be confused with the ways back home.

If this is not possible, than Thailand's not for you.

I wonder if the hard nut avatar is his true charactor?

I have a big can of rusty nails to get rid of, mind if I dump them on your property? Just get tetanus shots for your family and pets. Mai pen rai! right?

The OP isn't just talking about branches and organic matter here. He did not reference dogs. He is complaining about people dumping things on his property, dumping would be considered a multi hundred dollar fine in my countries mind you. He has neighbors who don't respect him, his family, or his property and that is the problem.

To the OP: I would collect what comes over that wall in a box and bring it to them and say in a kindly manner "I think you lost these".

If you read the OPs posting more carefully you will see that he does, in fact, make reference to his "hardly ever barks" dogs.

[BOOKEMDANO]

The OP and his girlfriend seem to be hyper and the OP needs to lose his Western aggression.

Also it`s easy to become paranoid, every time debries turn up in the garden, the OP is going to blame his neighbours.

As for the lobbing off of tree branches that overhang other properties, I have often cut down some neighbour's branches and vice versa, without causing damage to the main tree, no problem as I have always made the effort to have a mutual understanding with my neighbours. It`s a house holders duty to ensure that branches are trimmed before they begin over hanging the boundries.

I have dogs, they bark, my neighbours dogs bark but none around here is bothered and we enjoy our home without getting stressed.

We get invited to many weddings in the area, social events, I always make the effort to attend and well known and liked here.

Last year my neighbour began making charcoal only a few metres away from my house. We were breathing in toxic fumes for 3 days. I realised that it`s just ignorance on the part of my neighbour, but my family and I intend to stay here for the rest of our lives and have good relationships with the locals. So what's the point of going in with all guns blazing?

So my wife and I went and discussed the situation with the neighbour, all very friendly with a few laughs over a couple of beers. Problem solved, my neighbour moved his burners to another piece of land he owns.

I am very glad and happy that I don`t have any Farang living near me, people that would complain about my dogs, complain that my rose bush is protruding 2 inches over their property and that my fence is the wrong colour.

The common sense way for the OP and his scared girlfriend to deal with this situation is to have a friendly chat with the neighbours, keep in with them, let them believe that you are nice people, remember that this is Thailand, not to be confused with the ways back home.

If this is not possible, than Thailand's not for you.

I wonder if the hard nut avatar is his true charactor?

Thanks for the voice of reason,

Before I jump on the offensive and remark on your little piece of heaven, maybe a few more facts need to be presented.

Somebody mentioned objects that can fly in the wind; nails do not fly, snails dont have wings, and the last time i checked empty tubs of glue are not pervasively found growing underground. I am not paranoid so let me clear that one up for starters.

This is the house that has been causing my lawn to look like rubbish tip, my g/f has even see the bloke walking along the top of the wall hacking off one of his neighbors banana leaves then swiftly returning again with his prize (dam_n I wish I had one of those black widow catapolts). There was one time when i came home I found him running along my garden wall (He was fishing in the stream that runs along one side of my house).

Oh, and my house burgled some time ago with forced entry to the back door (which is closest to his house) and the majority of its contents 'removed'.

You say that your neighbour was making charcoal for 3 days straight and you were breathing it in without saying anything. How quintessentially British is that reply? Of course there is no need to go charging over to his place stabing forks into his eyes; i'm not phychotic, but please, I wouldn't be able to stand 30 minutes of that without saying something, let alone 3 days!

Everybody is different and deals with situations in their own unique way but I would MUCH prefer to live next to my own kind anyday. This is not a reflection of my ability to stay in this country its just a realist voicing his opinions who hasn't completing retracted from his culture and upbringing; something that cannot be turned on and off at will. That would psychotic.

I really hate people who come on here proclaiming to those who cannot 'do as Thai's do' and 'live akin to their culture' to return to where you came. Boll#*ks!

Regardless of my avatar, any man who crosses the line and causes my g/f to become so upset to to point that she is 'frightened' in her own house does not call for - possibly in your case - an invitation to pop round for a cup of tea and a chat, but for a man to actually be a man and take action.

An Englishman's house is his castle right??

[middlepath]

As my Gf says "your thinking to MUTT" I believe that is what's happening now with these posts.

[BigWheelMan]

The OP and his girlfriend seem to be hyper and the OP needs to lose his Western aggression.

There are many reasons why this could be happening; maybe the neighbours have some boisterous children and don`t realise the kids are annoying other people, sometimes objects can be blown elsewhere by high winds or they simply just don`t like the OP because he has attitude, that doesn`t go down well in the LOS.

Also it`s easy to become paranoid, every time debries turn up in the garden, the OP is going to blame his neighbours.

As for the lobbing off of tree branches that overhang other properties, I have often cut down some neighbour’s branches and vice versa, without causing damage to the main tree, no problem as I have always made the effort to have a mutual understanding with my neighbours. It`s a house holders duty to ensure that branches are trimmed before they begin over hanging the boundries.

I have dogs, they bark, my neighbours dogs bark but none around here is bothered and we enjoy our home without getting stressed.

We get invited to many weddings in the area, social events, I always make the effort to attend and well known and liked here.

Last year my neighbour began making charcoal only a few metres away from my house. We were breathing in toxic fumes for 3 days. I realised that it`s just ignorance on the part of my neighbour, but my family and I intend to stay here for the rest of our lives and have good relationships with the locals. So what’s the point of going in with all guns blazing?

So my wife and I went and discussed the situation with the neighbour, all very friendly with a few laughs over a couple of beers. Problem solved, my neighbour moved his burners to another piece of land he owns.

I am very glad and happy that I don`t have any Farang living near me, people that would complain about my dogs, complain that my rose bush is protruding 2 inches over their property and that my fence is the wrong colour.

The common sense way for the OP and his scared girlfriend to deal with this situation is to have a friendly chat with the neighbours, keep in with them, let them believe that you are nice people, remember that this is Thailand, not to be confused with the ways back home.

If this is not possible, than Thailand’s not for you.

I wonder if the hard nut avatar is his true charactor?

I have a big can of rusty nails to get rid of, mind if I dump them on your property? Just get tetanus shots for your family and pets. Mai pen rai! right?

The OP isn't just talking about branches and organic matter here. He did not reference dogs. He is complaining about people dumping things on his property, dumping would be considered a multi hundred dollar fine in my countries mind you. He has neighbors who don't respect him, his family, or his property and that is the problem.

To the OP: I would collect what comes over that wall in a box and bring it to them and say in a kindly manner "I think you lost these".

Yes, dumping may occur a multi hundred dollar fine in your country, or as in your case, countries. But this is the problem with you people, you just don`t seem to catch on or able adapt to a different way of thinking, different attitudes and different priorities in life.

One poster mentioned; an Englishman’s home is his castle, but as far as I know, there are no castles in Thailand, meaning that if you do not conform to the way of life and general attitudes as the majority of Thai people that surround you, than it is going to be a miserable and stressful existence for you here.

[sarahsbloke]

Chucking rubbish over the wall is a national pastime.

Nothing you say or dowill change that, just chuck it back.

Speaking to them about it is a big no no.

[loong]

Why is your GF frightened by a few branches in the garden? I can understand that she may be annoyed, but really scared??

Concerning the overhanging branches, I think that the neighbours are acting within their rights, but are inconsiderate for not discussing this with your GF first.

I find that throwing stuff over walls is very common in Thailand. I see it all the time. My neighbours bathroom abuts directly to our plot and they often push empty toothpaste tubes and shampoo sachets through the slats in the blocks. These land on our property. These people are nice enough, but they are just thoughtless and probably don't realise what they are doing.

I am astounded when some people have visited and after finishing a drink will simply drop the carton out of the window. This is also common and I've given up letting it bother me.

I hope that you can resolve your problems without it escalating to a feud.

[caf]

The OP and his girlfriend seem to be hyper and the OP needs to lose his Western aggression.

There are many reasons why this could be happening; maybe the neighbours have some boisterous children and don`t realise the kids are annoying other people, sometimes objects can be blown elsewhere by high winds or they simply just don`t like the OP because he has attitude, that doesn`t go down well in the LOS.

Also it`s easy to become paranoid, every time debries turn up in the garden, the OP is going to blame his neighbours.

As for the lobbing off of tree branches that overhang other properties, I have often cut down some neighbour’s branches and vice versa, without causing damage to the main tree, no problem as I have always made the effort to have a mutual understanding with my neighbours. It`s a house holders duty to ensure that branches are trimmed before they begin over hanging the boundries.

I have dogs, they bark, my neighbours dogs bark but none around here is bothered and we enjoy our home without getting stressed.

We get invited to many weddings in the area, social events, I always make the effort to attend and well known and liked here.

Last year my neighbour began making charcoal only a few metres away from my house. We were breathing in toxic fumes for 3 days. I realised that it`s just ignorance on the part of my neighbour, but my family and I intend to stay here for the rest of our lives and have good relationships with the locals. So what’s the point of going in with all guns blazing?

So my wife and I went and discussed the situation with the neighbour, all very friendly with a few laughs over a couple of beers. Problem solved, my neighbour moved his burners to another piece of land he owns.

I am very glad and happy that I don`t have any Farang living near me, people that would complain about my dogs, complain that my rose bush is protruding 2 inches over their property and that my fence is the wrong colour.

The common sense way for the OP and his scared girlfriend to deal with this situation is to have a friendly chat with the neighbours, keep in with them, let them believe that you are nice people, remember that this is Thailand, not to be confused with the ways back home.

If this is not possible, than Thailand’s not for you.

I wonder if the hard nut avatar is his true charactor?

I was going to post my views on this topic but you have already done it for me. I agree completly with you. The op, unfortunately like many farangs here, has an attitude problem.

The op mentioned he had never spoken to his neighbours who he BELIEVED to be Thai and that he would go and sort them out. Attitude. Attitude. Attitude.

The ongoing problem of course is that this is what is giving the rest of us farangs a bad name.

caf

[caf]

The OP and his girlfriend seem to be hyper and the OP needs to lose his Western aggression.

To the OP: I would collect what comes over that wall in a box and bring it to them and say in a kindly manner "I think you lost these".

That sort of attitude from farang to Thai won't work. Read Bigwheelman's post.

caf

[Loaded]

If I were you, I would call the farang volunteer police. However, you may have to wait a long time for them to answer their phone.

[caf]

The OP and his girlfriend seem to be hyper and the OP needs to lose his Western aggression.

Also it`s easy to become paranoid, every time debries turn up in the garden, the OP is going to blame his neighbours.

As for the lobbing off of tree branches that overhang other properties, I have often cut down some neighbour's branches and vice versa, without causing damage to the main tree, no problem as I have always made the effort to have a mutual understanding with my neighbours. It`s a house holders duty to ensure that branches are trimmed before they begin over hanging the boundries.

I have dogs, they bark, my neighbours dogs bark but none around here is bothered and we enjoy our home without getting stressed.

We get invited to many weddings in the area, social events, I always make the effort to attend and well known and liked here.

Last year my neighbour began making charcoal only a few metres away from my house. We were breathing in toxic fumes for 3 days. I realised that it`s just ignorance on the part of my neighbour, but my family and I intend to stay here for the rest of our lives and have good relationships with the locals. So what's the point of going in with all guns blazing?

So my wife and I went and discussed the situation with the neighbour, all very friendly with a few laughs over a couple of beers. Problem solved, my neighbour moved his burners to another piece of land he owns.

I am very glad and happy that I don`t have any Farang living near me, people that would complain about my dogs, complain that my rose bush is protruding 2 inches over their property and that my fence is the wrong colour.

The common sense way for the OP and his scared girlfriend to deal with this situation is to have a friendly chat with the neighbours, keep in with them, let them believe that you are nice people, remember that this is Thailand, not to be confused with the ways back home.

If this is not possible, than Thailand's not for you.

I wonder if the hard nut avatar is his true charactor?

Thanks for the voice of reason,

Before I jump on the offensive and remark on your little piece of heaven, maybe a few more facts need to be presented.

Somebody mentioned objects that can fly in the wind; nails do not fly, snails dont have wings, and the last time i checked empty tubs of glue are not pervasively found growing underground. I am not paranoid so let me clear that one up for starters.

This is the house that has been causing my lawn to look like rubbish tip, my g/f has even see the bloke walking along the top of the wall hacking off one of his neighbors banana leaves then swiftly returning again with his prize (dam_n I wish I had one of those black widow catapolts). There was one time when i came home I found him running along my garden wall (He was fishing in the stream that runs along one side of my house).

Oh, and my house burgled some time ago with forced entry to the back door (which is closest to his house) and the majority of its contents 'removed'.

You say that your neighbour was making charcoal for 3 days straight and you were breathing it in without saying anything. How quintessentially British is that reply? Of course there is no need to go charging over to his place stabing forks into his eyes; i'm not phychotic, but please, I wouldn't be able to stand 30 minutes of that without saying something, let alone 3 days!

Everybody is different and deals with situations in their own unique way but I would MUCH prefer to live next to my own kind anyday. This is not a reflection of my ability to stay in this country its just a realist voicing his opinions who hasn't completing retracted from his culture and upbringing; something that cannot be turned on and off at will. That would psychotic.

I really hate people who come on here proclaiming to those who cannot 'do as Thai's do' and 'live akin to their culture' to return to where you came. Boll#*ks!

Regardless of my avatar, any man who crosses the line and causes my g/f to become so upset to to point that she is 'frightened' in her own house does not call for - possibly in your case - an invitation to pop round for a cup of tea and a chat, but for a man to actually be a man and take action.

An Englishman's house is his castle right??

No one has said - "go home" Try to understand adapt and integrate. Expats in Europe seem to do this better than they do here. ( I don't know why. I'm still baffled by that phenomena ) Out of interest, are you from the States.

caf

[daoyai]

Keep your own trees trimmed, toss the trash back, don't escalate. An Englishmans home is his castle in England.

[caf]

Chucking rubbish over the wall is a national pastime.

Nothing you say or dowill change that, just chuck it back.

Speaking to them about it is a big no no.

That's the problem. No attempt to understand or integrate. It's why farangs have problems and are seen as rich arrogant snobs. And integration does not mean losing all Western attributes.

caf

[MESmith]

Me thinks you're reading too much into the "hacked" branches tossed back over the lawn.  That's how people "prune" trees here, with a machete.  Even "gardeners" do it.  Maybe proper gardeners who work with trees don't, but the majority of folk do.  And why shouldn't they pass the cuttings back to you to deal with.  Keep those trees trimmed in future  .  

And DO NOT ESCALATE this problem 

[Heng]

Yeah, I'd throw it back (not myself personally of course, I don't touch my own garbage, much less neighbor's), and that's from the Thai point of view.

[jackr]

The common sense way for the OP and his scared girlfriend to deal with this situation is to have a friendly chat with the neighbours, keep in with them, let them believe that you are nice people, remember that this is Thailand, not to be confused with the ways back home.

So in other words take it up the bum? That type of behaviour doesn't happen where I live and is certainly not ubiquitous here. I wouldn't put up with it and neither would a lot of the Thai folks around here. Bung it right back over, op, and perhaps upgrade to a better moobaan away from the lower classes.

I am very glad and happy that I don`t have any Farang living near me, people that would complain about my dogs, complain that my rose bush is protruding 2 inches over their property and that my fence is the wrong colour.

I must say the worst neighbour I've had here was an old farang <deleted> who would play his girlie music loud every afternoon without fail. He's gone now.

[stiggy]

When on Samui our neighbours hung washing everywhere over the walls , built there Extension using my external wall as a foundation,used the washing machine that was outside on our property when I was out and had the kids in the small pool we had.

I asked that the kids not be in the pool without supervison, brought them a clothes hanger (300 bht ) and pointed at a sunny spot down the road, the extension I said looked poor and they put a small bamboo panel up.

The next time I came back to the house, broken tiles had been replaced shade for the car had been put up, and our small pool was sparkling and well kept.

The point is neighbours everywhere can encroach on privacy etc its how you handle it that matters. Dont bottle it up simply talk to them I did I have some cool friends from the situation that share our washing machine and pool when im not there big deal , but now maintain the house and generally help us out.

The only problem now is the wife gets upset that im watching muay thai and cheering while drinking whiskey with the boys < instead of sitting in my box complaining about it.

[rfukata]

I keep within my borders of property. nothing really should encroach into neighbors property or vice-versa into yours. The main issue are normally large trees and plants which overhang and leaving dry branches, leaves, sap, fruits, into your property.

I try my best to trim my trees/plants/vegetation away from the neighbors, preventing any arguments or prevailing when such

encroachment of tress occur by neighbors.

If a solution can not be found, seek advice or help from your 'village chief'. The Village chief will be able to negotiate the issue.

[Ulysses G.]

There is an older Thai guy at our health club who comes in every day and just switches the communal tv to a Thai channel when a bunch of foreigners are obviously watching an English program.

If you try to tell him that you are watching something already - in any language - he acts as if he does not hear and just keep changing channels until he finds something really boring to watch and then gets on the running machine right in front of the tv.

Most Thais are quite polite, but the ones that aren't really take the cake.

[loong]

There is an older Thai guy at our health club who comes in every day and just switches the communal tv to a Thai channel when a bunch of foreigners are obviously watching an English program.

If you try to tell him that you are watching something already - in any language - he acts as if he does not hear and just keep changing channels until he finds something really boring to watch and then gets on the running machine right in front of the tv.

Most Thais are quite polite, but the ones that aren't really take the cake.

If the TV is high up and one cannot reach the buttons, hide the remote

[rijb]

The OP and his girlfriend seem to be hyper and the OP needs to lose his Western aggression.

Also it`s easy to become paranoid, every time debries turn up in the garden, the OP is going to blame his neighbours.

As for the lobbing off of tree branches that overhang other properties, I have often cut down some neighbour's branches and vice versa, without causing damage to the main tree, no problem as I have always made the effort to have a mutual understanding with my neighbours. It`s a house holders duty to ensure that branches are trimmed before they begin over hanging the boundries.

I have dogs, they bark, my neighbours dogs bark but none around here is bothered and we enjoy our home without getting stressed.

We get invited to many weddings in the area, social events, I always make the effort to attend and well known and liked here.

Last year my neighbour began making charcoal only a few metres away from my house. We were breathing in toxic fumes for 3 days. I realised that it`s just ignorance on the part of my neighbour, but my family and I intend to stay here for the rest of our lives and have good relationships with the locals. So what's the point of going in with all guns blazing?

So my wife and I went and discussed the situation with the neighbour, all very friendly with a few laughs over a couple of beers. Problem solved, my neighbour moved his burners to another piece of land he owns.

I am very glad and happy that I don`t have any Farang living near me, people that would complain about my dogs, complain that my rose bush is protruding 2 inches over their property and that my fence is the wrong colour.

The common sense way for the OP and his scared girlfriend to deal with this situation is to have a friendly chat with the neighbours, keep in with them, let them believe that you are nice people, remember that this is Thailand, not to be confused with the ways back home.

If this is not possible, than Thailand's not for you.

I wonder if the hard nut avatar is his true charactor?

Thanks for the voice of reason,

Before I jump on the offensive and remark on your little piece of heaven, maybe a few more facts need to be presented.

Somebody mentioned objects that can fly in the wind; nails do not fly, snails dont have wings, and the last time i checked empty tubs of glue are not pervasively found growing underground. I am not paranoid so let me clear that one up for starters.

This is the house that has been causing my lawn to look like rubbish tip, my g/f has even see the bloke walking along the top of the wall hacking off one of his neighbors banana leaves then swiftly returning again with his prize (dam_n I wish I had one of those black widow catapolts). There was one time when i came home I found him running along my garden wall (He was fishing in the stream that runs along one side of my house).

Oh, and my house burgled some time ago with forced entry to the back door (which is closest to his house) and the majority of its contents 'removed'.

You say that your neighbour was making charcoal for 3 days straight and you were breathing it in without saying anything. How quintessentially British is that reply? Of course there is no need to go charging over to his place stabing forks into his eyes; i'm not phychotic, but please, I wouldn't be able to stand 30 minutes of that without saying something, let alone 3 days!

Everybody is different and deals with situations in their own unique way but I would MUCH prefer to live next to my own kind anyday. This is not a reflection of my ability to stay in this country its just a realist voicing his opinions who hasn't completing retracted from his culture and upbringing; something that cannot be turned on and off at will. That would psychotic.

I really hate people who come on here proclaiming to those who cannot 'do as Thai's do' and 'live akin to their culture' to return to where you came. Boll#*ks!

Regardless of my avatar, any man who crosses the line and causes my g/f to become so upset to to point that she is 'frightened' in her own house does not call for - possibly in your case - an invitation to pop round for a cup of tea and a chat, but for a man to actually be a man and take action.

An Englishman's house is his castle right??

No one has said - "go home" Try to understand adapt and integrate. Expats in Europe seem to do this better than they do here. ( I don't know why. I'm still baffled by that phenomena ) Out of interest, are you from the States.

caf

Very clever, I see where you’re going with this. Bookemdano needs to convince his neighbors that he’s European. The trashing is because they think he is from the U.S. And what about the tgf? Do they think she’s an undercover Yank?

[invex]

We live at a condo and were very happy until a farang bought the condo right under us.

It took almost 2 years longer to finish the condo than the period of 3 months he previously stated at the condo-documents to get the condo renovated. He extended every time the 3 months until, at the end, there was no finishing date anymore. He removed some walls (not allowed), broke out the tiles in and outside, changed the windows (not allowed) etc. Some work he did 3 times over in a row as he was not happy with the previous results, f.e. the tiles on the balcony were removed and tiled again 3 times.

We went on vacation 2 times to escape from the daily annoying and loud noise and hoping they would finish coming back. One day my wife had to go to the hospital as she became sick of the product they were using to paint the wooden floor in the living room. It was a very poisoned product. While painting, they closed all their windows, and the smelling sick-making odor filled our condo. We had to flee from the room and could not return for 2 days.

All those period, the building manager was aware what was going on, as we complaint at least twice a week. She, and her staff, told us she could do nothing as he was the chairman of the committee. She was in contact with him about it, she told us, but he never told her to apologize nor to do anything to make our life better. Impossible for us to reach the man by our self as nobody wanted to give his phone-number and he was rarely here. Most of the time he was in Europe and he owns a few other properties in Thailand.

We tough a few times; “yes, finally finished” but then they started again……………..

When he came here to settle down, they had a big inaugural party. Yelling, screaming; you name it. In his place, I would be ashamed towards my new neighbors. Apparently many guests were lady boys.

They had the airco switched on all time and we could not sleep anymore of the noise. The airco’s were attached at their ceiling, against our floor. All day long we suffered from tremendous noise and at night the same thing. We started to get really crazy. Talking to him, I invited them to hear the noise from my room and he promised to do something about it. They fixed the airco’s better and now, we still hear it all time, but we are able to sleep. Airco is on 24h/day.

Since a few weeks now, he bought a special sound system with surround, 3D, sub- and other woofers etc….. While I am working at my PC the wall behind is shaking and I have to listen all time to; boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…. Very very annoying irritating low bass sound. Sometimes it continues until 03 am in the morning. Talking to him more and more angry, he says it is not too loud. From the lift to his room is about 50 meters. One can hear the sound already when coming out of the lift and with his door closed. This sound makes people crazy as it is a very low bass “boom boom” sound.

In all those years, not one time he said or did something to apologize.

We live at this condo for 10 years and the first 8 years, we were very happy as the condo was quiet and pleasant to live in.

Now it became hel_l.

Tell me, what to do. Please useful reactions.

Thanks.

[sarahsbloke]

Tell me, what to do. Please useful reactions.

Water leak!

Will stop air-con and surround sound with a bit of luck.

Or

More violent approach (and maybe against the law), have him beaten or killed (depends on value of your condo).

Edited April 29, 2010 by sarahsbloke