How to get a local wat to not play a loud single song every day?

[boomerangutang]

We all know about the pervasive loudness of Thailand. Add to that; a wat (Buddhist temple) in my rural village which blasts music twice a day. They do it for about 15 minutes before the national anthem in the morning, and same in the evening. For several years, they played one song (we'll call it song #1). They played it on a 'tape loop' which means it goes over and over and over. Now they've been playing song #2 for about a year, and anyone within several Km of the temple is forced to hear it, unless folks take evasive action, like earplugs, or leave the vicinity.

I know Buddhist temples are sacrosanct in Thailand. I also know we have eyelids which block out most of things we don't want to see - but we don't have earflaps. If I make loud sounds on my property, my neighbors will hear it. If a large wat on a hill blasts out a song, everyone within several Km radius is forced to hear it. Not surprisingly, they use horn blowers (the most powerful type of speakers) set up on high poles.

What can a farang do about it, except move somewhere else? For the record, I moved to this village 12 years before the offending wat did.

A Russian cosmonaut once said: "If you want to see any two people hate each other - put them together in a tiny capsule for two weeks." Similarly, even if you took your favorite song - and play it day and evening on a tape loop, you would probably turn off to it.

Edited February 5, 2014 by boomerangutang

[wym]

move

[speedtripler]

sound doesnt travel for 12km so there must be a speaker close to your house

sever the power cable or short it out with a pin (that will take so long to fix they probably wont since they wont know

why its not working )

make sure nobody sees you doing this

[tingtong]

what the locals say/do?

is it bothering them too?

only asking, as it is ultimately up to them if and what any action to be taken.

[Big Bird Flippa]

now you know why you can afford to live there. no one else wants it for that reason

[CharlieH]

Go make a donation and request an alternate tune.

[ttthailand]

I have had even worse noise than a wat around the place I use to live up country. Thai bar went in right next door and blasted music until 2 in the morning and sometimes later. tried everything to get them to drop the volume or shut the place down but no one cared... terrible country when it comes to noise. i ended up breaking up with my long time gf and moved. Breakup was not from noise however Another good reason to never own.... When you rent you can always move. You fight a loosing battle.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[WitawatWatawit]

sound doesnt travel for 12km so there must be a speaker close to your house

sever the power cable or short it out with a pin (that will take so long to fix they probably wont since they wont know

why its not working )

make sure nobody sees you doing this

Sound only travels as far as how big the wave length is and other mitigating conditions, such as which sales girl has the microphone in the Big C food section, or which karaoke drunk loves Frank Sinatra. But I like your idea about the pin, which I presume you mean the pin from a hand grenade - the best muffler I can think of right now (I'm also plagued by a noisy wat at the moment).

[speedtripler]

sound doesnt travel for 12km so there must be a speaker close to your house

sever the power cable or short it out with a pin (that will take so long to fix they probably wont since they wont know

why its not working )

make sure nobody sees you doing this

Sound only travels as far as how big the wave length is and other mitigating conditions, such as which sales girl has the microphone in the Big C food section, or which karaoke drunk loves Frank Sinatra. But I like your idea about the pin, which I presume you mean the pin from a hand grenade - the best muffler I can think of right now (I'm also plagued by a noisy wat at the moment).

i was thinking more along the lines of a sewing needle sized pin and a pair of pliers and push it through until it shorts the circuit

(it will be near impossible to diagnose for the average somchai who will probably replace the speaker and when that doesnt work hel

give up and go for a beer )

[boomerangutang]

move

are you referring to bowels or to steps on the dance floor?

Someone took issue with sound travelling '12 Km.' I used the phrase 'several Km' ....twice. Not 12 Km.

the needle idea sounds interesting. We could coin a new phrase, applicable particularly to Thailand: "needling the speaker cable"

[JesseFrank]

I feel for you mate. Three months ago someone in my area died and they held a funeral. ( party ). I was not aware that it was a funeral in fact, as at the entrance of my soi there is also a place that hosts a black witches meeting every so many days, so I thought it was a similar event.

The house where the funeral was ongoing is 700 meters from my house as the crow flies. I went on for a week or so, and I'm sure you understand what the sound level was.

Then last weekend it started again. The sound was so loud that inside my house with insulated windows and insulated cavity walls it was unbearable.

I drove up to the place and they had a speaker truck with maybe 15 speakers on it and communication had to happen with sign language as you couldn't hear your own voice. So i asked them to slow down the music as I am no part of their party. They agreed.

When I returned home I noticed they had increased the volume a bit. Luckily it was for the 100 day celebration and it lasted only for 1 day, but I could have easily given them a reason for some more funerals.

[speedtripler]

I feel for you mate. Three months ago someone in my area died and they held a funeral. ( party ). I was not aware that it was a funeral in fact, as at the entrance of my soi there is also a place that hosts a black witches meeting every so many days, so I thought it was a similar event.

The house where the funeral was ongoing is 700 meters from my house as the crow flies. I went on for a week or so, and I'm sure you understand what the sound level was.

Then last weekend it started again. The sound was so loud that inside my house with insulated windows and insulated cavity walls it was unbearable.

I drove up to the place and they had a speaker truck with maybe 15 speakers on it and communication had to happen with sign language as you couldn't hear your own voice. So i asked them to slow down the music as I am no part of their party. They agreed.

When I returned home I noticed they had increased the volume a bit. Luckily it was for the 100 day celebration and it lasted only for 1 day, but I could have easily given them a reason for some more funerals.

a speaker truck is a bigger challlenge than a needle lol

balaclava + whisky bottle + petrol + sugar + rag should do the trick

[David48]

Go make a donation and request an alternate tune.

Now there's a thought ...

Any particular suggestions take your fancy?

[speedtripler]

wanna have sex on the beach .....come on everybody ......

blasted non stop for the entire village a few times a day ....

[wym]

at the entrance of my soi there is also a place that hosts a black witches meeting every so many days

Something like this?:

[HooHaa]

now you know why you can afford to live there. no one else wants it for that reason

congratulations on not reading the OP, he was there 12 years before the wat.

he is buggered though, only the locals could effect change, and i suspect they simply cant be bothered

[Big Bird Flippa]

Go make a donation and request an alternate tune.

hmm monks into extortion now, just part of the mix i guess.

[thailandbeachisland]

Pay them ! We know that some are greedy now...

[jackr]

Yep, give them money to turn it down or change the tune. They'll take the money as they're not real Buddhists, playing music in such a fashion is all about desire.

[abhaya]

Earplugs!

[belg]

it is around 8 am... lucky you...

lucky you dont have a muslim mosque, as you would get it several times a day, start at 4 or maybe 5 AM

[mervyn yap]

Just take few of your favorite songs, put them on CD and tell them to play that instead.

[mmh8]

I have indeed given this a lot of thought, sound travels better over water you know, so I had plenty of time to plan the demise.

there is a book known as the cookbook. It may anarchist cookbook. It provides you with instructions on the boombox, you set that up next to the temples sound equipment then run.

I like the pin in the wiring though, I read about that before in a number of novels and think it would work. Just careful you don't shock yourself.

[Pete Beale]

There's a mosque near my GF's brothers house that disturbs our visits there with that call to prayer thing. On the drive back home I've stopped outside it and played The Sex Pistols, anarchy in the UK and another time Metallica, enter the sandman at full blast on the cars cd player. Had no effect, they're still doing it.

[JesseFrank]

There's a mosque near my GF's brothers house that disturbs our visits there with that call to prayer thing. On the drive back home I've stopped outside it and played The Sex Pistols, anarchy in the UK and another time Metallica, enter the sandman at full blast on the cars cd player. Had no effect, they're still doing it.

In Pattaya they have recently build sound shields on the highway near the mosque . Not to shield the local resident from the sound abuse of the mosque, but to shield the Muslims from the noise of the highway.

[sam sen]

you said it yourself; move somewhere else!

[rotorbreeze]

it is around 8 am... lucky you...

lucky you dont have a muslim mosque, as you would get it several times a day, start at 4 or maybe 5 AM

Yes while working in UAE while working for helicopter company..the compound was near a mosque and 4am I was awakened by a Whaling sound..Hi pitch..<deleted>..well got use to it..also the stores personal where gone during the afternoon prayer..traffic down town stopped for 6pm prayer. Signs in washroom "Do not wash your feet in toilet"...nice egh...

Now back in Thailand..women full visible no black clothing worn...dogs bark at night..usually wanting attention..ok no problem throw them a bone...I live in a secluded apartment complex..very cheap and have fixed up the insides to European standards...the yaba sales are finished and thou the apartment is now owned by Thai..is slowly getting run down..I keep up cleaning the walkway and installed hose outside for the watering of plants in compound...I think of my time in UAE and glad I left and enjoy the Thai ways...different but have adjusted easy.

[wprime]

Just mention it nicely while making lots of merit.

[edwinchester]

Here in the village we got a new head monk a while ago and he started broadcasting at a ridiculous volume every morning at 4.30am until 7am. I was pissed, wifey was pissed and 99% of the village were pissed. Alot of them asked my wife, known for her tact and also her ability to argue her point, to have a word with the head monk. This talk also coincided with alot of the villagers suddenly finding themselves elsewhere when the monks were on their usual alms walk.

The volume very soon got turned down.

An alternative option took place in a friends village in Chaiyaphum. It is a rubber tapping community and as it involves alot of night work the people like their sleep.

The local wat got a new speaker system that had the volume cranked way up. It was only a couple of days before it was explained the speakers may get damaged if the volume wasn't turned down to acceprable levels.

Peace was restored:-)

Edited February 6, 2014 by edwinchester

[elgordo38]

Yes I know the feeling. Had the same experience in a village in Phitsanulok province. The speakers were right across from where we lived. Besides the music there were also public announcements periodically. Behind us lived a drunk who placed his big box speakers on the front porch before cranking em up. The village headman who owned a business lived just down the street. Every year he would bring in a speak trailer and bombard us for a couple days. It was a party for his workers. Thai's do no seem to mind noise much like Mexicans with their religious rocket holidays and their sleep all day bark all night roof top dogs. Cars in Mexico also seemed loaded with speakers and you can hear em coming a mile a way. When it comes to noise I prefer Thailand hands down.