This is a Noise Rant!

[bedoeine]

Yep, they are born with a hearing disorder :-)

[HeijoshinCool]

OP clearly not invited.

A symptom of not integrating with the community that they live within, a sad situation to be in: An outsider for the last years of your life, the irony being that the same villagers will attend your funeral, but be celebrating your departure and not celebrating your life and it's contribution to theirs.

You should be more involved - your life will be better for it !

Clearly?

To each his own, bud. Try celebrating that.

[Dag Ekeberg]

OP clearly not invited.

A symptom of not integrating with the community that they live within, a sad situation to be in: An outsider for the last years of your life, the irony being that the same villagers will attend your funeral, but be celebrating your departure and not celebrating your life and it's contribution to theirs.

You should be more involved - your life will be better for it !

Some people here act like this is a sacred part of Thai culture. How long have they had loudspeakers in the countryside? Two decades?

The bereaved don’t even decide any of this, they just listen to people that mysteriously appear when somebody dies—people who have chairs, tents and loudspeakers to rent. Like in a nightclub, a couple of hearing-impaired morons set the noise level for everybody.

…and the Thais are too polite to complain, of course.

[bangkokstick]

Buy a condo :-)

[Wat dee]

That is the way Thai's bid farewell to the departed!

I am surprised you were not offered a meal, serving folks at the funeral is also part of Thai customs.

Cheers:

Which often involves spending obscene amounts of money that families more often than not do not have to feed and water people they don't like and barely know, all for face. Better to spend money on the poor buggers when they are alive than use somebody's death to try and impress the neighbours.

Nope. It's a financial transition. One in which they rarely, if ever, lose money.

They give you an envelope, and you put money in it.

But, yes, there is face. You have to put your name on the envelope.

I refuse to go with the GF, except one time accidentally got roped into one walking down the street. The widow was young, with three really cute, well-behaved kids, all under six. I asked for the envelope.

All the ones I have been to have lost money, of course people here rarely tell the truth about such matters, face again, so who really knows

How you know that?? You ask what's the bottom line or...??

[JoeThePoster]

I always use earmuffs. The brown ones are the best.

[4u2mad]

NO the whole nation is afflicted with foriegners who dont and cant understand their culture and their ways and are intolerant of same.

Live and let live, chill out, it doesnt last that long, "mai pen rai". And remember "these people" allow you to enjoy their country.

Thats right, it is Thai culture. You are lucky to be let in.

Please try to understand Thai culture, they have been playing their HiFi's, Moo Baan PA systems at full volume for hundreds of years, if not thousands.

I do wonder how loud these occasions were before loudspeakers, anyone know? We live 100mtr from a block of wasteland, 3, yes 3 music shows in the last 7 days! All ending way after midnite. Soo by 11pm I am rat ar***d, hearing damage? Maybe. Liver damage? Oh my Buddha!

[oops]

Thai people are very understanding....Have gone over just to talk with them about this matter?

[Dag Ekeberg]

Nope. It's a financial transition. One in which they rarely, if ever, lose money.

They give you an envelope, and you put money in it.

But, yes, there is face. You have to put your name on the envelope.

I refuse to go with the GF, except one time accidentally got roped into one walking down the street. The widow was young, with three really cute, well-behaved kids, all under six. I asked for the envelope.

All the ones I have been to have lost money, of course people here rarely tell the truth about such matters, face again, so who really knows

How you know that?? You ask what's the bottom line or...??

Not a money maker. People mortgage their rice fields for this. Or, as usually happens, it’s already mortgaged, in which case they borrow on the black market at five percent interest (per month, that is).

[JSixpack]

Woken up at 4:15am this morning by the ear splitting, ear bleeding music from funeral 'celebration'.

At which time you merely reached for your earplugs always sitting on the nightstand, put them in your ears, rolled over and slept soundly until 8 am.

Edited October 31, 2013 by JSixpack

[thailandist]

What do you mean, "these people"?

Marines firing guns into the air isn't a noise disturbance? What about the trumpets?

[mca]

I've already discussed the matter with my wife and when I pop my clogs I reckon a battery of Stalin Organs doing their thing between 1 and 4 a.m. would be an appropriate and respectful sendoff.

Edited October 31, 2013 by mca

[mmh8]

its great isn't it, and if the family is very rich they will make it a week long party of 4 am wake up till 10 pm or later music with very heavy base. One hopes karma gets em back in the end,

[cbluck58]

NO the whole nation is afflicted with foriegners who dont and cant understand their culture and their ways and are intolerant of same.

Live and let live, chill out, it doesnt last that long, "mai pen rai". And remember "these people" allow you to enjoy their country.

This is bollucks - consideration for others is not a cultural issue , it is a human issue... by the way use a spell checker.

[monkey4u]

NO the whole nation is afflicted with foriegners who dont and cant understand their culture and their ways and are intolerant of same.

Live and let live, chill out, it doesnt last that long, "mai pen rai". And remember "these people" allow you to enjoy their country.

Thats right, it is Thai culture. You are lucky to be let in.

Please try to understand Thai culture, they have been playing their HiFi's, Moo Baan PA systems at full volume for hundreds of years, if not thousands.

Brilliant reply, I was thinking along the same lines.

What did Thai's do 30 years ago or so ?

No doubt it was a more peaceful place

[tuky]

Eh, I was somewhat annoyed by all the noise when I first moved to Thailand...but I got used to it. And you know what I miss most about Thailand now that I've moved back to the US (for work)? The people in the streets at all hours, all of the face-to-face social interaction. Residential streets here, at virtually all hours of the day and night (except for rush hour...and that's just <deleted>' CARS), are deathly quiet and eerily deserted. It feels sad and lonely. I long for the life-affirming human sounds of something like a Thai funeral.

I agree.

Came back to Aust for work and rented an apartment in the very middle of one of Aust's Capital cities thinking it would be a little more lively and easier to pop out to the shop, there would be more people, places to eat and so on.

Nup!!!

Come 6pm the place is deserted. Nowhere to eat, shops are all closed.

Back home there is 24hr action, the Bakso (Indo meatball soup) sellers on their motorbikes, kids playing in the streets, people sitting out on their front lawns talking. The only quiet time where I live is at Maghrib, which to us is sunset and that is because you need to be inside with doors closed cos at Maghrib the ghosts become active. Once the sun has set everyone is out and about again. Miss it like crazy (luckily I don't live near a mosque).

[Keesters]

It is not normally the funeral attendees that require or even like the music to be loud it is the moron in control of the volume switch.

[willyumiii]

I understand the culture and the concept.

In my rural part of Thailand we seem to average two funerals per week.

The first time I went to the funeral of someone I actually knew and liked, my wife had to tell me "Don't act so sad! This is a funeral, enjoy it!"

It is a different and sometimes refreshing culture.

Yes, the music is played very loud.

At times, I can hear the music from a village ,12km away ,very well from my bed, all night long!

I really don't mind loud music.

As a kid, I saw the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead and others all loud enough to make your ears ring for hours after the music stopped and I loved it!.

What I don't like is that Thais must play it so loud that it is very distorted and sounds horrible!

I love Thai music, but enjoy it much more if played at #11 rather than #18!

[Thaddeus]

its great isn't it, and if the family is very rich they will make it a week long party of 4 am wake up till 10 pm or later music with very heavy base. One hopes karma gets em back in the end,

Sadly some of the parties I have had to suffer have been 24 hours a day for three days, no respite.

You do find yourself praying for a lightning bolt to take out the sound system.

Sleep deprivation causes ordinarily normal people to do crazy things, strangling the life out of someone starts to sound like a reasonable course of action.

[Jip99]

its great isn't it, and if the family is very rich they will make it a week long party of 4 am wake up till 10 pm or later music with very heavy base. One hopes karma gets em back in the end,

Sadly some of the parties I have had to suffer have been 24 hours a day for three days, no respite.

You do find yourself praying for a lightning bolt to take out the sound system.

Sleep deprivation causes ordinarily normal people to do crazy things, strangling the life out of someone starts to sound like a reasonable course of action.

I find alcohol to be a great comfort in these circumstances.

It is the only time that I find drinking alone to be acceptable......

[cup-O-coffee]

It's the way it is. Nothing you can do about it. In another hundred days you'll get same. It's simply the way it is, that's all. Try to get some rest.

[Patron]

What's this have do to with Drew?

[Thaddeus]

its great isn't it, and if the family is very rich they will make it a week long party of 4 am wake up till 10 pm or later music with very heavy base. One hopes karma gets em back in the end,

Sadly some of the parties I have had to suffer have been 24 hours a day for three days, no respite.

You do find yourself praying for a lightning bolt to take out the sound system.

Sleep deprivation causes ordinarily normal people to do crazy things, strangling the life out of someone starts to sound like a reasonable course of action.

I find alcohol to be a great comfort in these circumstances.

It is the only time that I find drinking alone to be acceptable......

Yep, some times that is the only way.

I think that the only way some of the locals get through it is that they are not actually asleep, the're unconscious.

[Jip99]

its great isn't it, and if the family is very rich they will make it a week long party of 4 am wake up till 10 pm or later music with very heavy base. One hopes karma gets em back in the end,

Sadly some of the parties I have had to suffer have been 24 hours a day for three days, no respite.

You do find yourself praying for a lightning bolt to take out the sound system.

Sleep deprivation causes ordinarily normal people to do crazy things, strangling the life out of someone starts to sound like a reasonable course of action.

I find alcohol to be a great comfort in these circumstances.

It is the only time that I find drinking alone to be acceptable......

Yep, some times that is the only way.

I think that the only way some of the locals get through it is that they are not actually asleep, the're unconscious.

Would that be:-

1: The Thais

2: The Farangs

3: Both ?

[Thaddeus]

In instances like these, I would say both.

[Jip99]

In instances like these, I would say both.

Yep, that mirrors my observations - at least in Lower Isaan.

[cMe2]

Lost count of how many this month ...but quite a few ...

[salapau]

NO the whole nation is afflicted with foriegners who dont and cant understand their culture and their ways and are intolerant of same.

Live and let live, chill out, it doesnt last that long, "mai pen rai". And remember "these people" allow you to enjoy their country.

What a load of rubbish. Thais don't give a toss about anyone other than themselves. As for " ALLOWING " us to enjoy their country, another load of twaddle, they don't like us nor want us here. If you're so understanding then button your lip with your stupid reprisals.

[cheshiremusicman]

When I die, I am instructing the wife to have a 7 day party. I want there to be enough sound equipment to put out at least 100,000 watts of beautiful baroque and classical music at 200 Db, from noon until 10pm each night. I will put together the sound track with the intent to annoy everyone in a 10 mile radius.

Sounds (If you'll pardon the pun), like a brilliant ploy! If we both snuff it at the same time we could arrange to have quadrophony - that'd really pxxs them off. I will go for Bach Cello music, Sitar rag's and the 'Rites of Spring', followed by the 1812 Overture, that should really do the trick.

[tingtongteesood]

The place right outside my door feels the need to give us an annoying day of noise every year to commerorate someones death too....I don't care if it is 'their culture'. It is downright inconsiderate and they should not do it all day and they should not start so early, or should at least keep the noise down until a reasonable time, yes it is sad that someone they knew died but frankly I don't care and don't need to know and I am sure most Thais feel the same way, they just don't say anything........