Noise Pollution In Jomtien: No Longer Tolerable

[somtampet]

Yeah, so many f..in' know it alls who criticize folks who express their feelings. Probably the same crew who swore up and down that: Patts' and Jomtien were not being turned into package destinations, that the jet ski problem on Pattaya Beach was a minor one, that the gang beatings of Farangs are justified, that City Council is doing a fine job, the traffic problem is a minor one, and that folks who are concerned about bus-loads full of tourists are racist. Did any of you critics ever think about trying to alleviate the concerns of others with tact, understanding, and/or useful suggestions? I think not! However, when you need advice on LoS matters, you are all so polite - until you get the help that you need.

Pattaya is a tourist destination ,go to Blackpool and see if any different to the traffic here

I rest my case.

EXACTLY LOL

U cant park anywhere in Blackpool unless u pay a fortune

[tropo]

Would Prattynack Hill work as a quiet but nice residential area? I noticed a lot of nice condominiums going up, but relatively fewer hotels? And it's close to the old hustle and bustle of Pattaya, and the newer hustle and bustle of Jomtien?

Yes, there's plenty of quiet areas.... but... if you move in next to an empty lot don't be surprised if construction of a condo begins the next day (Murphys Law). This is what happened where I live in this area. Not the next day, but they started clearing the lot about 6 months later. I'm so close that every time they did a concrete pour I'd have overspray on my balconies... not to mention concrete sludge being washed past my front entrance... hundreds of workers littering the street... concrete trucks parked outside my door with engines running... copious quantities of dust... late night, after hours construction, etc etc... I've seen concrete pours (illegal??) down the road going on until 5am.

I'm going to put up with it as I was offered a discount in rent... and once it's completed near the end of this year it will be very quiet again... and no other empty lots nearby.

If I ever need to find another rental I'll specifically avoid being anywhere near empty lots. There is a lot of construction going on in the Pratumnak Hill area and there's still a lot of empty lots around. Beware! For the construction of a small 7 or 8 floor condo you're looking at about 18 months of misery. If they happen to build 20 floors or more, you're looking at 2 - 3 years.

[SunsetT]

I dont know where to start on this one as this is a real problem for me now living in Esaan, yes Esaan Thailand for 6 mths of every year, and it seems to be getting worse. Thais dont seem to understand the meaning of 'background' music while u r eating, drinking, or shopping....or that people might want to get away from the noise of the town or city and traffic and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature in certain places,e.g., by the sea, riverside or lakeside etc.,...or at certain times; like enjoying the special tranquil quality of those couple of hours at sunset. Most times it is the sheer volume that is the problem -the speakers and amps are getting bigger and bigger! The ladies used to do their early evening aerobics to ghetto blasters/boom boxes but now they are using an amp and big speakers plugged into the nearest lamp post power supply. There is one lakeside session in Udon where the dance leader uses 2 speakers which are bigger than she is! I used to hear it only as I approached and passed on my walk, but now I can hear it on the far side of the lake! And when I actually pass them the volume is now unbearable! And Im 60 and my hearing is not so good.

I remember once wishing there was somewhere where I could walk or sit at sunset by the river in Bangkok, and then being thrilled to spot a riverside park when passing on a riverboat. When I returned to enjoy sunset there the next day, after strolling for a few minutes, 2 policemen stationed in a hut switched on Thai music at a ridiculous volume blasting from another pair of huge, apparently permanently positioned speakers. I could not believe it!

Back to Udon...There is a newish and very popular night market open eating area named UD town. Although a fan of Thai night market food, I could never eat or drink there as the noise level is horrendous. There r speakers everywhere and a cocophony of different music and advertising assaults your ears from every direction. But this year I found an area beside the road on the very edge of it where it was quieter. Still noisy, but quieter and tolerable for me, where I could enjoy a beer, people watch, or eat with my family. I think they had removed a row of overhead speakers that previously blared out Thai advertising. Now dont get me wrong, I do enjoy music, some Thai music is very good, but I cannot cope with 2 or 3 different tunes playing at the same time. Surely this stops u from enjoying any of it. This 'quiet' area, however, has now been ruined once again as the newly completed shopping mall 'IT Plaza' almost opposite has started blasting out amplified music and advertising at a ridiculous volume from the front. This now competes with the UD Town cocophony.

I think musically Thailand is, for teenagers, a bit like the Sixties was in the West. They r enjoying lots of really great, for them, new pop music. And just as I did, they like it LOUD! Most bars, restaurants, and shops r staffed almost entirely by teenagers so, when they can, they put on their music and they put it on LOUD, and far louder than what most of us, in the West, would consider appropriate, or tolerable as background music. OK turn it up as the evening progresses, but I dont want Karaoke volume while I unwind with a beer at sunset. We recently ate at the most popular and really huge seafood restaurant near the breakwater at the Northern end of Cha-am. On one side of it there was a stage with some very nice live music being played, which was quite appropriate and acceptable. We grabbed a vacant table inside and found that there was a small tinny speaker over our head playing Thai pop music and ruining the live music. I got my missus to ask the staff the obvious question: Why? And they just laughed! They just dont get it. When I later went to the toilet I passed the large kitchen and service area and the offending music was blasting out there where all the teenage waiters and waitresses were scuttling in and out. Take care of the staff. Dont worry about the customers! By the way, dont go there as the service was the worst I have ever experienced in Thailand! No this is not sour grapes! It really was bad.

I love Nakhon Phanom on the Mekong river, and spend a lot of time there. They have, like everywhere else, a lot of 'Festivals', and these r often set up on the riverfront and incorporate bars and eating areas. It used to be very pleasant to sit and eat and drink by the Mekong and enjoy the festival atmosphere, but not any more I am afraid, due to the said ridiculous increased amplified 'noise' levels. U can hear the shadow puppetry, now amplified, behind u, the live show coming from the stage in front of u, and u can hear the children's bouncy castle and rides area blasting out music behind the stage! All at the same time! And It seems to be getting louder and louder every year! They tried to open a new night market area in NP, and I think someone had the bright idea that they should play very loud music and advertising speel to draw attention to themselves or just to be different, for NP anyway. I could only bear to walk thru there once, it was so loud. And I mean 'Loud'. They persisted with this night after night, and I am sure that's why it failed and folded within about a month.

I know a nice simple friendly little family restaurant in Udon that used to attract a lot of Farangs with a good choice of Western food as well as good Thai food. It was/is open onto a quiet soi with a grass roof beach bar kind of feel; not your usual Thai town house fast food shop where the family might be at the rear watching the TV. No! Here they decided to put a TV right in your face right in the middle of the restaurant with the family gathered around the table in front of it. OK, I could live with that as they were a nice friendly family and the food was very good and service friendly and obliging. But the volume on the TV seemed to get louder and louder, and the customers fewer and fewer. I had eventually to keep asking for it to be turned down to a reasonable volume, as we regularly ate there. A couple of times one family member took umbridge and stormed off. But they never seemed to take the hint and learn from this. The other Farang customers have dwindled away to nothing, and the Western food has gone from the menu. Thai eat-in customers have also dwindled and now they have moved the kitchen to the pavement and are struggling to survive on selling mostly take home, and all, I think, because of the ridiculously loud volume of the TV!

Last one, I promise.....Recently I saw 2 of the dreaded advertising pick ups/songtaews crawling along the road together in Udon, They were both blaring out their advertising speel in competition with each other, but guess what? They were both advertising the same thing!

I still love Thailand though, and I'll probably go deaf soon so problem solved!

Do I get a prize for the longest rant ever on Thaivisa.com? Or will u just send out a hit-man?

[DiNiro]

Last night at 4AM I phoned the Pattaya City hotline, #1337 to complain about the all night open air illegal karaoke bar on Theprasit Soi 7.
The nice lady said she would phone the police again.
Then, I asked her how many times she has phoned the police about this bar?
She said over 100 times!

[balo]

I was moving to Soi Watboon , about 800 meters from the beach and far away from bars , to escape the noise,

But that was a mistake, karaoke music and soi dogs barking every night. I sleep maybe 4 hours now and wake up very tired.

[DiNiro]

My Thai neighbor suggests I turn up my TV volume to drown out the other noise.

Dumber than dirt.

[dave2]

re

There is one lakeside session in Udon where the dance leader uses 2 speakers which are bigger than she is!

near here ?

dave2

[canman]

The dark side is where it's at fella's if you want to get away from the noise.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Last night at 4AM I phoned the Pattaya City hotline, #1337 to complain about the all night open air illegal karaoke bar on Theprasit Soi 7.

The nice lady said she would phone the police again.

Then, I asked her how many times she has phoned the police about this bar?

She said over 100 times!

Anyone of average luck will probably spend some 27000 days on this planet before they die. If there was some regular irritation in my life that came from the place I was living in, I would very quickly move somewhere else in order that the remainder of my 27000 days (and nights) might be as enjoyable as possible. Life is too short to do otherwise.

Then, once I had moved, I would continue to combat the nuisance that prompted my move in the first place.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

The dark side is where it's at fella's if you want to get away from the noise.

In my experience it can be just as noisy there, but a different sort of noise. Sometimes even the same sort of noise.

[canman]

The dark side is where it's at fella's if you want to get away from the noise.

In my experience it can be just as noisy there, but a different sort of noise. Sometimes even the same sort of noise.

Location, Location of course. Better odds of a quiet place staying quiet on the DS in my experience.

[TeeKay]

If you feel the need to live in areas that attract the lowest common denominator then why the surprise?

[canman]

The dark side is where it's at fella's if you want to get away from the noise.

Any massage parlors over there? Strictly non-naughties - of course.

Several on SSCC

[canman]

The dark side is where it's at fella's if you want to get away from the noise.

Any massage parlors over there? Strictly non-naughties - of course.

Several on SSCC

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Last night at 4AM I phoned the Pattaya City hotline, #1337 to complain about the all night open air illegal karaoke bar on Theprasit Soi 7.

The nice lady said she would phone the police again.

Then, I asked her how many times she has phoned the police about this bar?

She said over 100 times!

Unfortunately the police are often the hidden (or not so hidden) owners of the offending bars. The cultural stream in Thailand is now polluted by a mindset that believes loud music--beyond anything even Jimmy Hendrix put out--is "fun" and "socially appropriate" and "cool." And the police do not care about noise regulations, if they even exist. I have to admit, in my corner of Jomtien it has gotten a bit quieter just over the past few days. Maybe low season is really here and the bar owners will knock it off for a bit.

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Last night at 4AM I phoned the Pattaya City hotline, #1337 to complain about the all night open air illegal karaoke bar on Theprasit Soi 7.

The nice lady said she would phone the police again.

Then, I asked her how many times she has phoned the police about this bar?

She said over 100 times!

Unfortunately the police are often the hidden (or not so hidden) owners of the offending bars. The cultural stream in Thailand is now polluted by a mindset that believes loud music--beyond anything even Jimmy Hendrix put out--is "fun" and "socially appropriate" and "cool." And the police do not care about noise regulations, if they even exist. I have to admit, in my corner of Jomtien it has gotten a bit quieter just over the past few days. Maybe low season is really here and the bar owners will knock it off for a bit.

Unbelievable, not two minutes after I said "it has gotten a bit quieter" the worst noise polluter started up again. Oh how I hate this place and can't wait to get out of here. If you live between Soi 3 to Soi 9 you know what I mean.

[Tony M]

Last night at 4AM I phoned the Pattaya City hotline, #1337 to complain about the all night open air illegal karaoke bar on Theprasit Soi 7.

The nice lady said she would phone the police again.

Then, I asked her how many times she has phoned the police about this bar?

She said over 100 times!

Unfortunately the police are often the hidden (or not so hidden) owners of the offending bars. The cultural stream in Thailand is now polluted by a mindset that believes loud music--beyond anything even Jimmy Hendrix put out--is "fun" and "socially appropriate" and "cool." And the police do not care about noise regulations, if they even exist. I have to admit, in my corner of Jomtien it has gotten a bit quieter just over the past few days. Maybe low season is really here and the bar owners will knock it off for a bit.

Unbelievable, not two minutes after I said "it has gotten a bit quieter" the worst noise polluter started up again. Oh how I hate this place and can't wait to get out of here. If you live between Soi 3 to Soi 9 you know what I mean.

Where does the noise originate ?

[DiNiro]

Thais and noise. How do they tolerate it?

Recently on a road trip with some Thai friends, they played a home recorded cassette music tape.

There was some problem with the recorder as it played jazz piano on top of a John Denver album.

Yes, both albums playing simultaneously.

Bizzaro sound and very annoying to me but the Thais were not bothered and playing the entire thing.

The lights are on but nobody's home......

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Last night at 4AM I phoned the Pattaya City hotline, #1337 to complain about the all night open air illegal karaoke bar on Theprasit Soi 7.

The nice lady said she would phone the police again.

Then, I asked her how many times she has phoned the police about this bar?

She said over 100 times!

Unfortunately the police are often the hidden (or not so hidden) owners of the offending bars. The cultural stream in Thailand is now polluted by a mindset that believes loud music--beyond anything even Jimmy Hendrix put out--is "fun" and "socially appropriate" and "cool." And the police do not care about noise regulations, if they even exist. I have to admit, in my corner of Jomtien it has gotten a bit quieter just over the past few days. Maybe low season is really here and the bar owners will knock it off for a bit.

Unbelievable, not two minutes after I said "it has gotten a bit quieter" the worst noise polluter started up again. Oh how I hate this place and can't wait to get out of here. If you live between Soi 3 to Soi 9 you know what I mean.

Where does the noise originate ?

In the specific case I mentioned above, the noise comes from a bar owner who thinks that the louder he plays the music, the greater the probability that a customer will finally sit down. No customers? Turn it up. Still no customers....must not be loud enough, so turn it up. Still no customers......etc., etc. It is the same Thai mentality that expresses itself in the real estate and restaurant markets. No buyers......raise the price......still no buyers....raise the price more. Really, the essential problem centers on the rule of law, and how it protects us from our worst behaviors. In my own country you can't blare music day and night unless you have a permit from the City for the purpose of holding some outdoor event. We have "disturbing the peace" laws, which protect citizens from the idiotic, rude behavior of a minority of citizens who want to disregard the rule of law. The police enforce this law. At some point Thais have to understand that civilization and "developed world status" means taking the rule of law seriously. There are simply too many people who feel the need to create noise pollution and who could not care less about how that noise pollution impacts others. The good news is that the offenders will, later in life, suffer from tenitis (a constant buzzing/ringing in the ear, which often makes it impossible to sleep....it, in effect, is a massive DISTURBANCE....a form of revenge for what they are doing now to others)

[fakename]

But other people will also suffer from tinnitus, and other mental problems. I drove down Jomtien beach road yesterday afternoon, and it was just screaming with music. Everyone of course had their own favorite, which they thought everyone else would appreciate. Its amazing that there is no consideration for other people. Then there are the food trucks, with their loud speakers. Apparently noise is no problem to Thai's, unless it happens to be when the farang husband has the TV up loud enough to hear the news.

[SunsetT]

re

There is one lakeside session in Udon where the dance leader uses 2 speakers which are bigger than she is!

near here ?

dave2

Lovely pics but obviously not taken during the early evening Thai exercise 'rush hour'. It looks like Nong Prajak where I rarely go as it is a fair way from where I stay, and from what has now become the centre of Udon. And although it looks idyllic here, it is mostly surrounded by busy roads and heavy traffic -so noisy. No Dave, I was referring to Nong Bua.

[DiNiro]

But other people will also suffer from tinnitus, and other mental problems. I drove down Jomtien beach road yesterday afternoon, and it was just screaming with music. Everyone of course had their own favorite, which they thought everyone else would appreciate. Its amazing that there is no consideration for other people. Then there are the food trucks, with their loud speakers. Apparently noise is no problem to Thai's, unless it happens to be when the farang husband has the TV up loud enough to hear the news.

It's mind over matter.

They don't mind and you don't matter.

[tropo]

Thais and noise. How do they tolerate it?

Recently on a road trip with some Thai friends, they played a home recorded cassette music tape.

There was some problem with the recorder as it played jazz piano on top of a John Denver album.

Yes, both albums playing simultaneously.

Bizzaro sound and very annoying to me but the Thais were not bothered and playing the entire thing.

The lights are on but nobody's home......

Thais would probably be thinking "Farang and their incessant whinging about noise....". I can imagine what they are thinking when a Farang starts complaining about some noise, music or whatever.

I think Farang are probably the odd ones out here. Noise tolerance is not just a Thai thing - it's a general "condition" of most SE Asians and probably Asians in general - people who live in densely populated countries and big cities.

The more angry and intolerant a person becomes about a noise, the more bothersome that noise will become. You'll never be able to sleep through a noise if you're getting angry or upset over it. You'll become fixated on that noise and your stress will escalate.

My wife (Filipino) has absolutely no problems with noise. She'll sleep like a baby through loud (outside) music, construction noise or anything you can "throw" at her.

Here's a tip which I used this year to cope with construction noise next door. I wake up late, but construction starts at 8am, so I would go to sleep with relaxing music played loud enough to drown out the outside construction noise when it starts. I subscribed to SKY.FM, which has many different channels of music to suit everyone's taste. "Dreamscape", "Relaxing Excursions", "Relaxation", "Solo Piano" and "Nature" were my favourites for sleeping. This even got me through 6 weeks of piling... and the building site starts about 10 feet from my wall.

You can get used to noise, but complaining about it achieves nothing. You have to resign yourself to it and not focus on it. In the Philippines I can sleep with a dozen cocks crowing right outside my open bedroom window from about 4am. I've slept well next to a trike stand (motorcycles with sidecar) just outside my window revving up from about 4 am.

You can do it!

[TexasRanger]

The more angry and intolerant a person becomes about a noise, the more bothersome that noise will become. You'll never be able to sleep through a noise if you're getting angry or upset over it. You'll become fixated on that noise and your stress will escalate.

You are right about that, I can tolerate certain types of noise, machinery, air conditioning, planes etc. But music and snoring make me angry. It's not even the volume, just the fact that people are so ignorant as to inflict unnecessary noise on others makes me more angry than the noise itself. Like you say, I just get more and more wound up about it. I would even consider hypnotherapy or something to help my intolerance, the Mrs hears it too but can ignore it. I can't.

[tropo]

But music and snoring make me angry.

It's not even the volume, just the fact that people are so ignorant as to inflict unnecessary noise on others makes me more angry than the noise itself. Like you say, I just get more and more wound up about it. I would even consider hypnotherapy or something to help my intolerance, the Mrs hears it too but can ignore it. I can't.

Does your Mrs hear you snoring?

I was amazed when my wife told me she enjoys hearing my snoring - it makes her sleepy... you've got to love that.

At the end of the day, it's all about attitude.

[TexasRanger]

But music and snoring make me angry.

It's not even the volume, just the fact that people are so ignorant as to inflict unnecessary noise on others makes me more angry than the noise itself. Like you say, I just get more and more wound up about it. I would even consider hypnotherapy or something to help my intolerance, the Mrs hears it too but can ignore it. I can't.

Does your Mrs hear you snoring?

I was amazed when my wife told me she enjoys hearing my snoring - it makes her sleepy... you've got to love that.

At the end of the day, it's all about attitude.

Luckily for her I only snore if drunk or over tired but she can ignore that too. I do have some great earplugs which took me years to find but they are worth their weight in gold.

[Tony M]

In the specific case I mentioned above, the noise comes from a bar owner who thinks that the louder he plays the music, the greater the probability that a customer will finally sit down. No customers? Turn it up. Still no customers....must not be loud enough, so turn it up. Still no customers......etc., etc. It is the same Thai mentality that expresses itself in the real estate and restaurant markets. No buyers......raise the price......still no buyers....raise the price more. Really, the essential problem centers on the rule of law, and how it protects us from our worst behaviors. In my own country you can't blare music day and night unless you have a permit from the City for the purpose of holding some outdoor event. We have "disturbing the peace" laws, which protect citizens from the idiotic, rude behavior of a minority of citizens who want to disregard the rule of law. The police enforce this law. At some point Thais have to understand that civilization and "developed world status" means taking the rule of law seriously. There are simply too many people who feel the need to create noise pollution and who could not care less about how that noise pollution impacts others. The good news is that the offenders will, later in life, suffer from tenitis (a constant buzzing/ringing in the ear, which often makes it impossible to sleep....it, in effect, is a massive DISTURBANCE....a form of revenge for what they are doing now to others)

Sorry, I should have been a bit more specific. Exactly where does the music come from ? Which bar ? I live just past Soi 9 , and I don't hear it.

[simple1]

Sure pays to talk about one's stress. IMHO

I buy pairs of orange foam earplugs for 20B at Fachinos. Wash them in hot water and dish soap, and they will last a few weeks.

If I was to accept the noise, then I could use it as a motivator to travel around LoS, take more exercise, and to find a new place while feeling that I was controlling the situation instead of it stressing me out.

Personally I find foam earplugs ineffective. I bought some custom made earplugs. The company uses a silicon mold and costs about 1,000 baht a set. Will not block all noise, but much better than foam. For those interested contact:

D Med Hearing Center on 038 273 748, just past the Bangkok flyover on Sukhumvit Road, heading towards Pattaya

[CGW]

I have just returned after to Pattaya after a 1,600 kilometrs round trip to look at a house in a "quite" area!

What is happening with the noise vechiles make nowadays, I simply dont get it, four stroke supposadley non polluting motorbikes have the exhausts modified so that they sound like concrete mixers on steroids!

Trucks are so underpowered and slow that they modify the exhausts so that they produce more noise! with less haste!!

Cars buy a cheap stainless can and stick it on there cars so that they can make more noise!

Even taxi's, busses and of course Baht buses modify there exhausts.

Stand in the carpark at Lous on Sukhumvit/Thepasit long enough and you will end up with ear damage such is the horrendous amount of noise produced by the traffic flowing by!

What are the "Police" doing? pulling motorcyclist over for not waering a cheap piece of plastic that is just about worthless! Well done BIB

[bartender100]

Sure pays to talk about one's stress. IMHO

I buy pairs of orange foam earplugs for 20B at Fachinos. Wash them in hot water and dish soap, and they will last a few weeks.

If I was to accept the noise, then I could use it as a motivator to travel around LoS, take more exercise, and to find a new place while feeling that I was controlling the situation instead of it stressing me out.

Personally I find foam earplugs ineffective. I bought some custom made earplugs. The company uses a silicon mold and costs about 1,000 baht a set. Will not block all noise, but much better than foam. For those interested contact:

D Med Hearing Center on 038 273 748, just past the Bangkok flyover on Sukhumvit Road, heading towards Pattaya

Most pharmacy's sell a good wax one for B80 I find them very affective, also comfortable. Once they are warm they mold in perfectly