Why Do Thais Wake Up At 5:00Am...

[stoli]

Gsxrnz, on 02 Jun 2013 - 07:50, said:

Tomtomtom69, on 01 Jun 2013 - 11:58, said:

Given that most households in Thailand have air-conditioning these days, "avoiding the heat" is not a valid reason for getting up early. I would never get up at 5am unless I've got an early flight to catch - I'd rather get enough sleep and then there's no need to sleep during the day (indeed, except at my last workplace there wouldn't be any possibility of doing so these days). If I need to be at work at 9am, getting up around 7am is sufficient and I'll be on my feet all day sometimes entertaining my girlfriend and friends at a restaurant in the evening and not going back home until like 10pm or later.

In my opinion most Thais don't actually rise at 5am, it's more like 6am or 6.30am (unlike their Vietnamese counterparts that do indeed rise at 5am). A lot of it has to do with when the sun rises, in Thailand it generally rises not much earlier than 5.45am, but in Vietnam it rises as early as 5am. On the other hand in Vietnam it rarely gets dark later than 6pm, whereas in Thailand this time of year it's almost 7pm.

Those individuals in Thailand that do rise as early as 5am tend to be either 1) village dwellers often working menial jobs; 2) poorer inhabitants of Bangkok that work blue collar jobs; 3) people that work shifts and have to work the early shift starting at say 7am (including factory workers); 4) Bangkok residents that live 45km from their workplace and have kids to send to school (although these people will only rise this early when the kids have school, certainly never on weekends).

From my experience in the region, the Vietnamese rise the earliest, about 5am. The Thais rise around 6am or 6.30am while the Chinese rise the latest, usually not before 7am and often as late as 8am.

Um....I think you'll find that the sunrise is determined by the latitude. As Thailand and Vietnam share much of the same latitude range I think your conclusion is a little strange. Granted, the Vietnamese latitude does extend slightly more north than Thailand's, but not much.

So therefore the sunrise, length of day, and sunset are determined by latitude and season. At any point in Thailand that shares the same latitude as a point in Vietnam, sunrise and sunset will be at identical times.

Umm I think you need to get a map...firstly, Vietnam is further east than Thailand and in the same time zone, so the sun comes up earlier and goes down earlier too. Secondly, Vietnam extends further north than Thailand so that means in summer, days are slightly longer in northern Vietnam than in Thailand while in winter they are slightly shorter. In any case, the sun always goes down earlier in Vietnam than in Thailand due to it's more easterly longitude.

Nonsense. If what you say is true, then how come on the same longitude you get different sunrise times?

Remember, the North Pole is on the same longitude as Thailand and at the moment it has no sunrise or sunset as it daylight 24hours a day.

Incidentally, Vietnam is GMT+8 and Thailand is GMT+7, so they are not in the same time zone either!

Vietnam does indeed extend further north than Thailand and in Hanoi the sun rises earlier and sets later than in Saigon (same country, same longitude, different latitude).

If you want to learn more about longitude, read up on John Harrison.

I just got back from Hanoi. There is not a debate here to be made. Hanoi and Bangkok are the exact same time zone. The sun comes up earlier in Hanoi, and sets earlier, because it is further east. Hopefully, end of this discussion. Just facts.

[GottaGo]

My son is up most nights either on his computer, on his BB, with his girlfriend, or just getting into trouble with his motor bike then from 5 am he sleeps all day!

Sounds like something I wouldn't be bragging about in public, why aren't you being a more responsible father? How old is he? Are you actually subsidizing this behavior or is he supporting himself and living apart from you?

If he's your stepson and his mother isn't willing to back up your taking a strong hand then that's par for the course, but if you're treating him as your own and taking (what I see as) a proper husband/father's role in the household, then you're complicit in letting him grow up to be a loser.

[techboy]

In my area the Monks begin the daily Alms rounds early. In my area we begin our house hold work early to avoid the heat of the day. In our area we work up until 10pm most nights (again to avoid the heat) which means bedtime around 11 or midnight. In my area we do not sit in a bar drinking until 3am, sleeping in until 2 in the afternoon. But these are just some of the reason why normal people get up early, get work done, sleep during the hottest time of the day and then start again.

Sometimes I truly miss my bar hopping days as a tourist.....

I'm sorry but I really don't know which country you are from but in the West,normal people don't get up at 5:00am!

Normal people in Western countries work from 9:00am-5:00pm,they don't get up when it's still dark and fall asleep on their feet for the rest of the day!

Eesat. "Normal people" you say? Certainly that statement does not suggest "the mark of an educated mind." Nevermind the informed mind. Many people in the West get up at 5am. They work many jobs with demanding hours or various time windows. Even "normal" corporate jobs like my brother's has him getting up at 5:30am to accomodate his personal agenda, commute to work and then prepare for what the professional day has to hold. He is not unique in this regimen and definetely not asleep on his feet. You sound positively geriatric in your supposal that getting up early implies needing to go back to bed. What do you do? Get up and have your soft boiled egg with some gooey porridge, putter around a bit and then you need your little nappy? Really, you are being cold, conceited and narrow minded!

[GottaGo]

I think he's just being knee-jerk judgmental about people with different sleep patterns, and the fact that they're Thai makes theirs inferior.

Just like you're doing with the elderly.

Nothing wrong with waking up and/or sleeping whenever you feel like it, whatever fits your personal metabolism and preferences, much healthier than trying to fit in with "one size fits all" imposed by what your culture brainwashes is the only way to do it.

Many studies have shows that catnaps during the day results in higher productivity, and enlightened high-tech firms employing young staff provide nap rooms for their highly-paid engineers and executives.

[techboy]

Given that most households in Thailand have air-conditioning these days, "avoiding the heat" is not a valid reason for getting up early. I would never get up at 5am unless I've got an early flight to catch - I'd rather get enough sleep and then there's no need to sleep during the day (indeed, except at my last workplace there wouldn't be any possibility of doing so these days). If I need to be at work at 9am, getting up around 7am is sufficient and I'll be on my feet all day sometimes entertaining my girlfriend and friends at a restaurant in the evening and not going back home until like 10pm or later.

In my opinion most Thais don't actually rise at 5am, it's more like 6am or 6.30am (unlike their Vietnamese counterparts that do indeed rise at 5am). A lot of it has to do with when the sun rises, in Thailand it generally rises not much earlier than 5.45am, but in Vietnam it rises as early as 5am. On the other hand in Vietnam it rarely gets dark later than 6pm, whereas in Thailand this time of year it's almost 7pm.

Those individuals in Thailand that do rise as early as 5am tend to be either 1) village dwellers often working menial jobs; 2) poorer inhabitants of Bangkok that work blue collar jobs; 3) people that work shifts and have to work the early shift starting at say 7am (including factory workers); 4) Bangkok residents that live 45km from their workplace and have kids to send to school (although these people will only rise this early when the kids have school, certainly never on weekends).

From my experience in the region, the Vietnamese rise the earliest, about 5am. The Thais rise around 6am or 6.30am while the Chinese rise the latest, usually not before 7am and often as late as 8am.

"Given that most households in Thailand have air-conditioning these days, "avoiding the heat" is not a valid reason for getting up early." This is an absolutely moot observation. The work venue is not in generally in their air conditioned homes. Btw- Most have air con at home? Not so sure about that either.

[rene123]

.

Sunrise at the Farm ... a great time of the morning to be awake ...

The air seems clearer, the water still ... life is great!

.

As you well know, photographers are notorious early risers. That is when you get the great lighting.

[BradinAsia]

If you go sit at Chiang Mai Gate at 5.00am and watch the market spring into life, you'll start to appreciate how hard working and industrious many Thais are, and how short sighted and plain stupid many of the comments we read on Thaivisa are.

Out of her bed at 4.00am every day to prepare the breakfast curry.......This Is Thailand.

Elderly vendors with the monks at 5.00am.............This Is Thailand

Working through the night for a living, the honest way..............This Is Thailand

Maybe if some of you would lay off the booze some nights and get out of your bed early you would see the real Thailand.

Excellent post.

Nothing like sobering up, opening your eyes, breathing deeply and seeing the real world in front of your eyes.

In the real world, all humans are human. And all have faults, that's the definition of human.

But no ethnic group has a monopoly on brains, virtue, morals, depravity or any other human quality.

[SinglePot]

Air con has been on full blast all night in all the bedrooms. By 5 am it is so cold they have to go outside to get warm.

[SinglePot]

Good effort by theblether for painting a positive picture of Thailand.

Shame BradinAsia has to find a way to reduce its impact.

We all know Vietnamese get up early too. I've learned more about latitude on this thread than I ever did at school.

[rene123]

Air con has been on full blast all night in all the bedrooms. By 5 am it is so cold they have to go outside to get warm.

You don't mind if I laugh, do you? That is so true with some people. Of course, the every day common Thai doesn't have air con and couldn't afford the electricity cost if they did.

[SinglePot]

Air con has been on full blast all night in all the bedrooms. By 5 am it is so cold they have to go outside to get warm.

You don't mind if I laugh, do you? That is so true with some people. Of course, the every day common Thai doesn't have air con and couldn't afford the electricity cost if they did.

I know. I was being sarcastic about an earlier post suggesting most thai homes have ac. Sorry.

[woelke]

In my village in Indonesia, we are all asleep by 8:00 pm and all awake at 5:00 am. There is something magical about rising so early, watching the mist rise off the rice fields, the red dawn, sipping hot coffee and watching old women selling fresh, hot balo-balo (potato fritters) and pisang goreng (fried bananas). We have our house in the mountain area, so the mornings are quite cool. My word, what a life!

That sounds wonderful.

How is the overall day time heat where you live there? I spent a month in Ubud and to be honest could have just as easily spent the rest of my life there if I had the financial means to do so. Can't remember a time I've felt so relaxed in all of my life.

The heat is reasonable. Daytime average about 30 C. Mind you, reasonable is subjective as I am currently teaching in Saudi Arabia where temperatures reach the high 40's. BUT I go back to Indonesia in three days.

[BradinAsia]

Good effort by theblether for painting a positive picture of Thailand.

Shame BradinAsia has to find a way to reduce its impact.

We all know Vietnamese get up early too. I've learned more about latitude on this thread than I ever did at school.

Theblether's post is indeed a breath of fresh air in the midst of a flood of smelly bias and prejudice.

I only strive to reduce the impact of the smelly rotten rubbish from all the dismal folks on this forum

whose views of the real Thailand are so obscured by deep prejudice.

I certainly try not to miss any opportunity to deplore that flood of rubbish.

Neither do I offer any apology for that.

[SinglePot]

I should have read the OP's OP a little bit more carefully.

[metisdead]

Off topic posts as well as inflammatory post have been removed.

[vijer]

Yes, all to do with the temperature. That's why I have an air conditioner and don't wake up until 9. Then get in my air conditioned vehicle and drive to an air conditioned office.

[SinglePot]

Yes, all to do with the temperature. That's why I have an air conditioner and don't wake up until 9. Then get in my air conditioned vehicle and drive to an air conditioned office.

You ought to get out a bit more.

[Wombat6]

It's because the bloody roosters that they keep wake them up. They don't care about other people and from experience they can start hammering and other noisy pursuits to suit themselves. I often wonder if Thailand has a noise abatement act?? Civilised countries know that is important that people get a good nights sleep and legislate to protect that right ie....no noisy work before 7.30 am and on Sundays not before 8.30

[SinglePot]

I love the sound of a tractor in the morning.

[StreetCowboy]

I love the sound of a tractor in the morning.

You'll grow out of it...

Then you'll be popular in greasy restaurant kitchens everywhere; you'll be an ex-tractor fan.

SC

[SinglePot]

Maybe so. But I'm pretty sure I'll never love the smell of napalm in the morning.

[Birdman]

yoga and listening to early sounds of nature, and then swimming in the wonderful sea for an hour

[Thaddeus]

I love the sound of a tractor in the morning.

You'll grow out of it...

Then you'll be popular in greasy restaurant kitchens everywhere; you'll be an ex-tractor fan.

SC

Groan... with a like.

[StreetCowboy]

I love the sound of a tractor in the morning.

You'll grow out of it...

Then you'll be popular in greasy restaurant kitchens everywhere; you'll be an ex-tractor fan.

SC

Groan... with a like.

Years I've waited to use that one. Years. I couldn't have let the opportunity pass

[muythai2013]

To beat the traffic.

[sunlong]

It's because the bloody roosters that they keep wake them up. They don't care about other people and from experience they can start hammering and other noisy pursuits to suit themselves. I often wonder if Thailand has a noise abatement act?? Civilised countries know that is important that people get a good nights sleep and legislate to protect that right ie....no noisy work before 7.30 am and on Sundays not before 8.30

God forbid Thailand every become so "civilised".

If you want to live in a country like that please go there.

[vijer]

Yes, all to do with the temperature. That's why I have an air conditioner and don't wake up until 9. Then get in my air conditioned vehicle and drive to an air conditioned office.

You ought to get out a bit more.

I do, but then I go to an air conditioned bar, an air conditioned restaurant, an air conditioned mall, an air conditioned massage parlor, etc.

[BradinAsia]

It's because the bloody roosters that they keep wake them up. They don't care about other people and from experience they can start hammering and other noisy pursuits to suit themselves. I often wonder if Thailand has a noise abatement act?? Civilised countries know that is important that people get a good nights sleep and legislate to protect that right ie....no noisy work before 7.30 am and on Sundays not before 8.30

Thais in the villages have gotten along with each other just fine for about the last 1,000 years, thank you very much.

And now a few grumpy, unwashed, beer'guzzling, late-sleeping farangs move into the village and start complaining

that Thais are not civilized because they get up early and make too much noise working.

Uhmm... tell me what's wrong with this picture.

[Birdman]

Yes, all to do with the temperature. That's why I have an air conditioner and don't wake up until 9. Then get in my air conditioned vehicle and drive to an air conditioned office.

You ought to get out a bit more.

I do, but then I go to an air conditioned bar, an air conditioned restaurant, an air conditioned mall, an air conditioned massage parlor, etc.

[isawasnake]

Yes, all to do with the temperature. That's why I have an air conditioner and don't wake up until 9. Then get in my air conditioned vehicle and drive to an air conditioned office.

You ought to get out a bit more.

I do, but then I go to an air conditioned bar, an air conditioned restaurant, an air conditioned mall, an air conditioned massage parlor, etc.

Agree. Gotta get out of the moist armpit that we call Bangkok as much as humanly possible.