Drunk Neighbour Playing Bo-Lan Music Throughout The Entire Day

[Joe Mamma]

I heard of phase cancelling headphones, that process the offending soundwaves and somehow cancel the noise.

[vijer]

Covert operations would be my choice

[KuhnPaen]

This isn't restricted to Thailand. It's something that happens in all cities--all over the world. While i was living in San Francisco, a hippie used to set up empty plastic buckets and 'play' the drums on them. It was for hours on end and he really seemed to be having a great time. After losing my mind for a few weeks, I finally wrote him a note that simply read "You have absolutely no talent. Please kill yourself." Then I walked by and placed it in his tip jar.

I never saw or heard from him again. I hope he didn't jump off the Golden Gate bridge or anything but it was psychic torture he was doing to me, and I lashed out.

Perhaps you can write him a thoughtful letter and put it on his door.

Edited June 11, 2013 by KuhnPaen

[slipperylobster]

I had a similar problem in the Philippines, with those accursed karaoke loving crowds coming in to party at my neighbor's beach house. (He rented little huts with power and charged damn little for gigantic karaoke machines). When I complained, they would send the police to my house and threatened to put me in jail! My revenge was purchasing one of those gadgets that work as a remote control for almost any TV/DVD player. I had a ball with it. Perhaps you can increase the range (mind you...his music player must be capable of Infared Remote Control. If this does not work, then consider rigging your computer, or buying a device that measures the decibels of noise. Place a remote microphone nearest to the sound source and use software to trigger a "retaliation" (such an Air horn used on a large diesel truck). Place this horn on a large metal pole and point it in his direction. When his decibels exceed a certain limit, your horn will blast a sounding retort. This will dismay him, as well as your neighbors, and you will need to just shrug and say that your device is an Early Warning Tsunami/Earthquake detector and that his loud music is making it go off on its own. An alternative is to have it trigger your automobile alarm (use a spare battery and alarm system in the trunk of your car...not the real one.) Make everyone miserable, but blame him. Lock your doors and stand by for some good fun.....

[oyster]

but seriously, would a white noise machine work? I understand that they work if in a closed environment, directed at yourself, to block outside noises disturbing you, but our house isn't a closed environment, and it's HIM we want to block out.

To prevent us from shrivelling up, we have only mosquito nets between us and the front & back of our houses, as do most of our neighbours, it's ok for listening out for kanom jeep or roti passing by in the street, but not so good with the drunk monk out the back

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, before the shotgun option becomes a reasonable one...

Just remove one of the wires from his supply meter - noise stopped, if he tries to replace it when he's pissed.......psssst !!!!

[retell]

but seriously, would a white noise machine work? I understand that they work if in a closed environment, directed at yourself, to block outside noises disturbing you, but our house isn't a closed environment, and it's HIM we want to block out.

To prevent us from shrivelling up, we have only mosquito nets between us and the front & back of our houses, as do most of our neighbours, it's ok for listening out for kanom jeep or roti passing by in the street, but not so good with the drunk monk out the back

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, before the shotgun option becomes a reasonable one...

Just remove one of the wires from his supply meter - noise stopped, if he tries to replace it when he's pissed.......psssst !!!!

be sure to leave a un-insulated screwdriver at the meter

[slipperylobster]

I heard of phase cancelling headphones, that process the offending soundwaves and somehow cancel the noise.

Yes, I do have a pair, and they work very well with engine noises (trains and airplanes) as well as background noises in crowded areas. They are designed to let in the frequencies used by voices...and you might still hear the singing...but not the drum/bass range. I have used them for sleeping, but your ears get awful sweaty and uncomfortable as they are designed to completely cover the ears. An inexpensive brand that works very well is "AblePlanet". You can google the reviews for the 50 USD Model....they are very good. I use mine in My girlfriend's furniture store at Big C. They eliminate almost all background noises and much of their shoddy music blaring over the speaker system.

[MrWorldwide]

I've endured all manner of dickheads over the years - even lived with a few of them - but by far the worst are the people who will try to tell you to your face that '*My* dogs don't bark !'. This from the same people who could be heard shouting at their dogs to 'shut the freak up !' at 6am when it impacted THEIR sleep - morons.

Highrise living has its own set of challenges, but it lessens the likelihood of having 3 bored and cranky German Shepherds directly outside your bedroom window at 3am .....

[robertson468]

Being the only foreigner in the village, I don't feel very comfortable speaking about him to the Pu Yai Baan, I think it'll be known to him already, and as I said earlier, he's not actually breaking the law, he's just being a nuisance, and we know how difficult it is to sort one of them out!

And therein lies one of the main problems with westerners living in isolated spots in Thailand.

Sorry about your problem. Likely there is no solution. Why? Because these topics have been posted for eons and I've never seen a report back that the problem has been solved.

Anyone disagree? Happy to be proven wrong.

I am happy to disagree. A restaurant opened nearing my Wife's Letting Houses and they started blasting out live music at night in an area previously know to be quiet and respectful. My Wife and a couple of others who rent houses went and saw the

Being the only foreigner in the village, I don't feel very comfortable speaking about him to the Pu Yai Baan, I think it'll be known to him already, and as I said earlier, he's not actually breaking the law, he's just being a nuisance, and we know how difficult it is to sort one of them out!

And therein lies one of the main problems with westerners living in isolated spots in Thailand.

Sorry about your problem. Likely there is no solution. Why? Because these topics have been posted for eons and I've never seen a report back that the problem has been solved.

Anyone disagree? Happy to be proven wrong.

We went and complained to the Poo Yai Baan about a new and rowdy resteraunt who thought they could play live rock music in a previously quiet area, ruining the rental potential of a couple of people in the area. Poo Yai Baan went and had a friendly work and WALLA, no more booming music. Have a go, the worst event is nothing will happen. Failing that you and your neighbours take it in turns letting off chinese firecrackers outside his bedroom at the crack of dawn. If he complains point out, he likes loud music, you guys love fireworks

[Cluey]

Never buy, only rent.

[Donnie Brasco]

Never buy, only rent.

Aside from losing your mobility and risking bad neighbors there's the economics.

Calculate a 5% opportunity cost on the price of your Bangkok house or condo.

Divide that by 12 and you have your rent.

At 10 million, take 500,000 over 12.

You can get rather spiffy diggs for that 45,000 +- and no fees.

[Donnie Brasco]

I heard of phase cancelling headphones, that process the offending soundwaves and somehow cancel the noise.

Yes, I do have a pair, and they work very well with engine noises (trains and airplanes) as well as background noises in crowded areas. They are designed to let in the frequencies used by voices...and you might still hear the singing...but not the drum/bass range. I have used them for sleeping, but your ears get awful sweaty and uncomfortable as they are designed to completely cover the ears. An inexpensive brand that works very well is "AblePlanet". You can google the reviews for the 50 USD Model....they are very good. I use mine in My girlfriend's furniture store at Big C. They eliminate almost all background noises and much of their shoddy music blaring over the speaker system.

Download the "Simply Noise" app onto your phone.

That'll do it for the noise, however if you let them continue with this assault, they will conclude that their behavior is ok.

Yeah, don't buy, rent.

[landtrout]

Maybe you could try banging a gong and/or getting it on?

Genius!

Clearly, you've got the teeth of the Hydra upon you (not to mention.... a hubcap diamond star halo!).

Meanwhile..........I'm still thinkin'.

[jackr]

• Water pistol on an outside socket to knock the house out (wearing rubber gauntlets, stood on a rubber mat). Don't shoot the meter or you'll take the street out.
• Project an image of a phii onto his wall (he's religious, right?).
• Club together and pay some brute neighbours to 'talk' to him, no need for violence.

Man, just move, but if you can't at least go on 'holiday' for a few months while nature takes its course.

If he's a drunk, and obvious nut, having one next door neighbour (and a whitey at that) confront him, however polite, will do nowt but make him lose face.

And buying him booze to turn it down will also do nothing as he'll forget where it came from by noon.

One plus: think yourself lucky it's not 8pm to 8am.

Edited June 11, 2013 by jackr

[ozyjon]

Had the same problem in my village, music on full blast at 5 am, went till noon, then again at 5pm until midnight, the thing is the speakers were

about 2 meters tall, from a rock band setup and in the house that had about 3 families were little children anbout 3 years to about 5 years,

don't they understand about ear damage, obviously not,, what, what did you say, waaaaaaat?

[louse1953]

ha ha!! - I have thought abt hte enormous sound system on several occasions - we do not have a regular problem, but a party can go on all night and the sound can carry... and I agree abt your lack of involvement - but the only answer I could have for you since it is a daily problem, is have your wife do something to intervene... let her get together w/the neighbors. Figure something out - you are correct, it really is not your place.

Don't you have a visa to stay here,so it is your place,grow some balls.

[jacko45k]

8am to 8pm..... you are lucky, the monks start here at 5am!

But it is a problem, I had it from neighbour's dogs where I last lived and fortunately, as I rented, I moved on.

Perhaps you should investigate helping him get over his alcoholism.........

[retell]

8am to 8pm..... you are lucky, the monks start here at 5am!

But it is a problem, I had it from neighbour's dogs where I last lived and fortunately, as I rented, I moved on.

Perhaps you should investigate helping him get over his alcoholism.........

in europe there is a kind of mushroom when consumed will make you very sick the moment you drink some alcohol this will work just for a day or 2 , wonder if there is any like this in thailand , so make a nice little dish for him to try and have a nice day or 2 and than again till he's over the taste for alcohol ,

[8OA8]

A white noise machine won't be any good as they need an acoustic arena (closed environment) to function, and the noise levels you're describing are way beyond what they are designed for anyway.

I had a similar noisy neighbour in farangland once. They got the message after I parked the rotary lawnmower outside their bedroom window on full revs, 3 mornings in a row at 6am after they'd partied till 3am each day. Mind you, I had to remove the silencer on the last day. Never had a problem after that.

Small cement mixer with a few large stones will have a similar effect, better still if its the electric motor type, then you can set a timer for it to start just at the time he's awakening with his hangover..

[jpinx]

Retaliation is a poor remedy. Better to fix the problem. If your wife can not persuade the rest of the locals to get together and sort it with the head man and/or police, then you are stuck with it.

[Cluey]

Retaliation is a poor remedy. Better to fix the problem. If your wife can not persuade the rest of the locals to get together and sort it with the head man and/or police, then you are stuck with it.

-

Or just move, if you rent easy peasy, if not then more difficult and expensive, som nam na.

But some people prefer conflict scenarios, gives them stimulation otherwise missing in their lives.

[sunshine51]

8am to 8pm..... you are lucky, the monks start here at 5am!

But it is a problem, I had it from neighbour's dogs where I last lived and fortunately, as I rented, I moved on.

Perhaps you should investigate helping him get over his alcoholism.........

in europe there is a kind of mushroom when consumed will make you very sick the moment you drink some alcohol this will work just for a day or 2 , wonder if there is any like this in thailand , so make a nice little dish for him to try and have a nice day or 2 and than again till he's over the taste for alcohol ,

There be magic mushrooms here in LOS.....just FYI.

[Johnniey]

Don't be a wimp. Go have a word and demand he turn it off.

[Cluey]

Direct confrontation by an outsider is pretty much guaranteed to not be helpful, more likely to compound the problem.

Not a question of courage, more of how to try to solve the problem effectively.

[jpinx]

Don't be a wimp. Go have a word and demand he turn it off.

Don't be a jerk and get someone else into trouble

[samran]

don't live in the vicinity of some slightly cashed up hill-billies.

[Neeranam]

don't live in the vicinity of some slightly cashed up hill-billies.

Exactly - move and buy a lot of land surrounding your house, just in case.

[Neeranam]

Direct confrontation by an outsider is pretty much guaranteed to not be helpful, more likely to compound the problem.

Not a question of courage, more of how to try to solve the problem effectively.

He's not an outsider, he's a neighbour. However, if he choose not to do anything, he'll be thought of as the guy who can be pushed around.

Talk with the guy and ask him nicely to turn it down and if he refuses go to the police. Too many here don't make any effort to integrate and be an EQUAL member of the community.

[Cluey]

He's not an outsider, he's a neighbour. However, if he choose not to do anything, he'll be thought of as the guy who can be pushed around.

Talk with the guy and ask him nicely to turn it down and if he refuses go to the police. Too many here don't make any effort to integrate and be an EQUAL member of the community.

-

A farang can live in the village for a hundred years and he'll always be an outsider.

Going to the police is just silly, do you think you're in farangland? talk about causing unnecessary problems, swatting a fly on my computer monitor with a sledgehammer makes more sense.

Let the neighbors sort it out with help if needed from local informal senior elders, the puyai baan, local abbot or whatever.

Other options include just learning to live with it, or failing that moving.

[mr.buffalo]

Small cement mixer with a few large stones will have a similar effect, better still if its the electric motor type, then you can set a timer for it to start just at the time he's awakening with his hangover..

Drunks don't get hangovers.