I just can't stand the noise in this country

[berybert]

I used to live just off Sukhumvit 38 and the only thing that bothered me was the sound of those birds that made a god awful noise.

Was so quiet I am looking to move back into the same place next year.

[Bcgardener]

The earlier post had it right. The higher you move up the Thai social scale that is the more expensive the houses are in the housing estate, the less noise problems you seem to have. It appears to work for us as we have no real noise problems in our housing estate and very considerate neighbours even thought the bulk of the residents are Thai.

[vogie]

Buy earplugs!

I often feel I'm not living in the same Thailand as everyone else, no issues with noise, soi dogs, iffy neighbours etc.

We are in a village within 1 hour of Bangkok CBD (I commute every day) the only noise issue (if you can call it that) is the roosters going off at 5AM (including ours).

OK, we do occasionally get temple noises from weddings and funerals etc, but since we get invited not exactly a problem. Oh, and the dance club over the river is audible when the wind is wrong.

Right now it's 6.50PM on a Sunday, what can I hear? Aircraft flying in to Swampy and DMK, frogs, jinjoks, the wind noise from my fan, stuff all else.

EDIT Just heard a dog bark, it's stopped now.

Earplugs are good, but I found that during the night one or both of them would fall out of my ears. My solution was to buy a John Mcenroe headband to secure them.

[Crazy chef 1]

move to the place I am currently living, the View Talay 5C in Jomtien. It is so quiet on the balconies of the upper floors ( 9 - 22 ) and the only noise you hear are the birds chirping by the mornings.

There are mostly farangs living and no one would dare bother the other tenants with loud music.

I am sorry for you but you need to put some more effort into the search for a more soundproof location

Have to agree with you. Many people disregard condo living in case you get bad neighbours but living in the sky immediately cuts out noise from soi dogs and the 'bar across the road' and windows can be opened without the risk of mozzies if you're high enough up. Great views too

But, I sit at my desk on the PC looking into my garden, the flowers on the trees. I get up for a ciggy, walk into the garden and look at the flowers on the trees, then I look at the lake outside and feel the breeze...Hmmmm, yes, I do tell the odd snake to bugger off...

Are you not tempted to try and teach the snake english? you know, for some company

Noooo, weeell, I do provide English words where they are concerned, first word begins with F, the second with O, so far they do seem to understand my English...

But always take care of YOUR old snake....

[eldragon]

Maybe they see you as being intolerant of their culture? Maybe this leads them to not care about you either.

Thailand is not a quiet place. Noise does not bother them as much as it does many of us. Me included. They do not feel they have the right to tell someone else what to do.

If you cannot afford to live in a place that is quieter, maybe it is time to go home. I think if you live in close proximity w/regular Thai people, you are almost sure to have this issue. If you move into an area with older people, a more expensive place, you are less likely to have this issue.

I also live in a village - parties can get noisy but not often or too bad and anyone is always welcome.

Good luck.

Their culture? While I agree most Thais will not confront others about their behavior, I think the ones that make enough noise to wake the dead are largely inconsiderate and pretty low class, just like the people that do the same thing back home.

[puukao]

I'm surprised he didn't ask for bose headphones for 8000 baht, then sell them immediately....

no sleep = bad life. and you are on permanent vacation!!!! this should be your dream life!!!!

take the loss, try somewhere else

[Cypress Hill]

Their culture? While I agree most Thais will not confront others about their behavior, I think the ones that make enough noise to wake the dead are largely inconsiderate and pretty low class, just like the people that do the same thing back home.

People who like their music loud are "low class"??

By whose measurement of class, pray tell??

I'm surprised he didn't ask for bose headphones for 8000 baht, then sell them immediately....

no sleep = bad life. and you are on permanent vacation!!!! this should be your dream life!!!!

take the loss, try somewhere else

Clearly, he made the mistake of believing that Thailand was a World Health Organization-sanctioned retirement state

[fey]

not the quiet beach scene you imagined is it?

theres a good reason wealthier people isolate in private estates with acres around and no neighbors.

i understand these reasons much better after living in asia several years. latin american countries are even worse as regards to noise.

[oncearugge]

Noise? What noise ?

No noise here.

I do not live in the boonies and if I wish to experience noise I have to travel for 10 minutes!

[daveAustin]

It is a headache but just think that in the west where there are controls on noise, there is also little magic. Just play their game and bang your music on when theirs is off... or just move... again.

Edited November 22, 2015 by daveAustin

[geronimo]

It's called tolerance. Try it, you might like it.

[bwpage3]

Buy a pair of Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones and you won't hear anything.

However, you chose to live in Thailand.

If you think Thai's are going to play fair, you haven't learned anything.

If you retaliate with loud music, you might invite a beat down.

No cannot win and will only invite further trouble.

I amazed people move all the way to Thailand for this.

I will take the soothing sound of the waves here in Florida.

Civilization has never been better.

[Crossy]

..... the only noise issue (if you can call it that) is the roosters going off at 5AM (including ours) ...... we do occasionally get temple noises from weddings and funerals etc ....... and the dance club over the river is audible when the wind is wrong. .... Right now it's 6.50PM on a Sunday, what can I hear? Aircraft flying in to Swampy and DMK,....

You have just described four evil noises of which I would put up with none.

I simply dont know how you can live like that.

I want to hear the wind blowing or the rain falling, and that's it.

Live like what?

It's not exactly the continuous cacophony that some are describing, I feel for them.

Apart from the roo's and aircraft everything else is occasional (maybe once a month), even the village speakers only get turned on rarely when there is something important going on (like free stuff at the office).

[kannot]

It's called tolerance. Try it, you might like it.

yes the same tolerance that leads to " no complaints" which leads to nothing changing and in the end you tolerate anything................. sheer stupidity

Try tolerance within reason.....alas no "reason" in Thailand

[kannot]

Best policy in a country of selfishness is to get a big piece of land, that requires some planning before hand though to realise, many Thais are selfish and not the "happy smiling bs" that they try to feed us

To get the land also requires a " decent Thai Wife/Husband" like hens teeth but can be found.

I ended up with 15 rai and NO neighbours, still get the occasional noise in the far distance and one pratt drives past at 5.50 everyday with boom boom blaring out.............mini bus driver on his way to death

Birds insects all ok by me

It took almost 2 years to find the right place at the right price and that was every weekend hunting for it.

Edited November 23, 2015 by kannot

[eldragon]

Their culture? While I agree most Thais will not confront others about their behavior, I think the ones that make enough noise to wake the dead are largely inconsiderate and pretty low class, just like the people that do the same thing back home.

People who like their music loud are "low class"??

By whose measurement of class, pray tell??

If the music is too loud, and played regularly at times when a majority of the people are trying to sleep, then yes, low class.

[Laughing Gravy]

I have been where you are. To overcome this, think of all the positives of staying here. I use ear plugs at night as I am sensitive to noise. I can hear a mosquito flapping its wings.

As mentioned you can find some places that are quiet. my village everyone is in bed by 8.00pm which suits me.

Getting angry just doesn't work here. By all means vent your anger here, as many of us have been in your situation.

Thai people just don't understand noise pollution. Don't try change them, you can't, I have tried and failed miserably. You have to change ole chap.

[MartinL]

It's not the noise,upcountry for me it's the constant burning of rubbish,plastic and all other garden waste.

It doesn't happen where I live upcountry. The trash truck comes every Wednesday morning around 6 am and takes it all away for only 30 baht a month.

In this smallish town in Khon Kaen province, our binmen come every weekday about 5am. Despite that, my neighbours used to (don't now) burn their rubbish frequently and it pissed me (and my wife) off a lot but we lived with it, partly because Mrs.L didn't want to upset the neighbours even though they didn't seem to mind upsetting us - or, more likely, it never crossed their mind that somebody wouldn't like it.

It came to a head when one of them decided to burn some old tyres when the wind was blowing from his plot towards ours. A few minutes of the stinking black smoke was enough and I quickly doused it using our hose pipe. He said nothing at all. Another neighbour heaped a big pile of rubbish against our perimeter wall & set it alight - again, out came the hose; I didn't want a blackened & damaged wall. Again, no comment or reaction. Both times, my wife reminded them that the bins were very close by & were emptied every weekday. That was the last burning on our soi although we get smoke from more distant houses. Now, every morning I see those neighbours that used to burn taking their rubbish to the bins.

Clearly, my neighbours are more reasonable people & more open to change than some I read about on TV.

I should say that we live on the plot my wife was born on 60 years ago so she knows the locals very well as most of them have also lived in this soi for decades. Maybe that made my actions a bit more acceptable to the neighbours.

Noise - we get dogs, chickens, parties, screaming kids etc. I don't mind at all. We have an open invitation to any celebrations, although we very, very rarely take it up, and I like to hear my neighbours enjoying themselves. They work hard for little reward. The dogs - including my 4 - warn of passing strangers at night so serve a useful purpose. The screaming of the kids is usually because they're having fun & enjoying themselves - who wouldn't like to hear happy little kids? I like my neighbours and the only issue I've ever had with them is the burning of rubbish.

EDIT - my immediate neighbours are all just ordinary Thais, no foreigners anywhere near that I know of (but I don't put any effort into finding them if they are around). They cook street food, drive ambulances, work in shops, look after the family etc. They don't have big incomes, swanky houses, big cars or drape themselves in gold. Does that make them low class? Not for me - they're all TOP CLASS people because they're nice & friendly. Offer me a Moo Baan full of well-to-do Thais & foreigners and I think I'd run a mile or ten.

Edited November 23, 2015 by MartinL

[chrisinth]

I have been where you are. To overcome this, think of all the positives of staying here. I use ear plugs at night as I am sensitive to noise. I can hear a mosquito flapping its wings.

As mentioned you can find some places that are quiet. my village everyone is in bed by 8.00pm which suits me.

Getting angry just doesn't work here. By all means vent your anger here, as many of us have been in your situation.

Thai people just don't understand noise pollution. Don't try change them, you can't, I have tried and failed miserably. You have to change ole chap.

You are meant to hear a mosquito flapping it's wings.

Gives you a chance to get it before it gets you.........................

[dageurreotype]

Buy earplugs!

I often feel I'm not living in the same Thailand as everyone else, no issues with noise, soi dogs, iffy neighbours etc.

We are in a village within 1 hour of Bangkok CBD (I commute every day) the only noise issue (if you can call it that) is the roosters going off at 5AM (including ours).

OK, we do occasionally get temple noises from weddings and funerals etc, but since we get invited not exactly a problem. Oh, and the dance club over the river is audible when the wind is wrong.

Right now it's 6.50PM on a Sunday, what can I hear? Aircraft flying in to Swampy and DMK, frogs, jinjoks, the wind noise from my fan, stuff all else.

EDIT Just heard a dog bark, it's stopped now.

It's all very well saying 'buy earplugs' (I do happen to wear them whilst sleeping) but don't want to have to walk around my house ALL day/evening wearing them. What next? Self perforation?

This place can bring out the very worst in people the same as it attracts so many criminals. They do it because they can.

AND BTW, 'find somewhere quiet'. well what if you've found somewhere quiet and some selfish bastard sets up shop/builds right next to you once you've already moved in. Rather alike 'Oh this condo's nice and quiet' only to have the 'quiet neighbours' move out and some party animal move in?

Edited November 23, 2015 by dageurreotype

[uli65]

I would like to know what is your problem with well-to-do people??? What is bad about these people.

apparently you want be the one-eyed among the blind.

[VillageIdiot]

Thailand is a noisy country.

Thais seem to be able to tolerate a high level of noise without complaining. I've always found that to be peculiar.

Presumably the reason is that they were raised with it, whereas most of us weren't.

This topic is a regular on ThaiVisa - especially the Chiang Mai forum.

Familiar remedies are proposed time and time again, replete with personal accounts. Retaliate with loudspeakers of your own; throw firecrackers into your neighbours yard; poison their dogs or livestock, etc., etc., etc.

These are the fantasies of macho blowhards... don't believe a word of it... they are pussies at heart.

Like Casper Milquetoast they dream of a virile response and sweet revenge.

Your only realistic option is to move into a gated community or a condo with fellow farangs and leun mai Thais.

Disabuse yourself of the notion that you can integrate or assimilate to any meaningful degree in Thailand. Most farangs have come here too late in life. They are set in their ways and unable to change in any fundamental sense. Too old to master the language, or start a family and be anything other than a cash cow for some mercenary woman and her scheming relatives.

That's the reality of the situation.

Yes, there are those of us who have been here for a long time, "gone native" to one extent or another; but that cultural change very often brings unintended consequences such as the loss of our sanity.

Much better to live here as a complaining misfit, bitching about barking dogs and loud music... TIT.

[Cypress Hill]

Best policy in a country of selfishness is to get a big piece of land, that requires some planning before hand though to realise, many Thais are selfish and not the "happy smiling bs" that they try to feed us

To get the land also requires a " decent Thai Wife/Husband" like hens teeth but can be found.

I ended up with 15 rai and NO neighbours, still get the occasional noise in the far distance and one pratt drives past at 5.50 everyday with boom boom blaring out.............mini bus driver on his way to death

Birds insects all ok by me

It took almost 2 years to find the right place at the right price and that was every weekend hunting for it.

"Best policy"????!!!!

Honestly, you just CAN'T make this shit up

[01322521959]

Yes, there are ways of dealing with noisy neighbours. I had some irritation the other day. Next door have a squeeking door and will insist on moving large pieces of furniture around making an awful noise on the tiles. I bought and gave them some 3 M felt and some oil, which has stopped the noise. Formyself, I only ever listen on headphones. My JVC infra red 1999 vintage are still going strong.

I think I'm over sensitive, something to do with the noise I guess when teaching in a thai classroom with 40 M2 students ,,,,,

[simple1]

Where do you buy these magical ear plugs that cut out loud noise, I find them fairly useless.

[geronimo]

It's called tolerance. Try it, you might like it.

yes the same tolerance that leads to " no complaints" which leads to nothing changing and in the end you tolerate anything................. sheer stupidity

Try tolerance within reason.....alas no "reason" in Thailand

My point is, if one cannot change things, go with them.

[kannot]

Best policy in a country of selfishness is to get a big piece of land, that requires some planning before hand though to realise, many Thais are selfish and not the "happy smiling bs" that they try to feed us

To get the land also requires a " decent Thai Wife/Husband" like hens teeth but can be found.

I ended up with 15 rai and NO neighbours, still get the occasional noise in the far distance and one pratt drives past at 5.50 everyday with boom boom blaring out.............mini bus driver on his way to death

Birds insects all ok by me

It took almost 2 years to find the right place at the right price and that was every weekend hunting for it.

"Best policy"????!!!!

Honestly, you just CAN'T make this shit up

I can all day, wots yer problem?

[dutchisaan]

Yes, there are ways of dealing with noisy neighbours. I had some irritation the other day. Next door have a squeeking door and will insist on moving large pieces of furniture around making an awful noise on the tiles. I bought and gave them some 3 M felt and some oil, which has stopped the noise. Formyself, I only ever listen on headphones. My JVC infra red 1999 vintage are still going strong.

I think I'm over sensitive, something to do with the noise I guess when teaching in a thai classroom with 40 M2 students ,,,,,

Man, get a life! A squeeking door!!!

[Craig krup]

Neighbour noise is hell, and really bad for your health. People who think that ear plugs are a solution probably haven't experienced bad neighbour noise. Ear plus won't eliminate low frequency base noise in particular.

But....

Temples at daybreak are horrific, but that isn't as annoying as the neighbours because you don't think they are being inconsiderate or ill-intentioned. So there's a lesson there. What you think about what they're doing matters.

Most Thai condo blocks seem to have poured concrete floors and solid walls, so the problem is much less bad than it would be in many other countries. Get a room at the top and i) you've dramatically reduced all sorts of problems, including upstairs, and ii) concrete won't bend under a sound wave but it will under a strike/impact, so noise below from a stereo has to be bad.

Not all cultural practices are equally good, and it isn't all just a question of preference. Quiet societies give those who like quiet options the noisy places don't offer, and there's little loss to those who want to wear headphones or soundproof a room and make a racket. Some ways of being are just better, and multiplied a thousand times they produce wealthy societies. What kind of homework do kids in noisy countries produce? What habits of mind do they learn?

[01322521959]

I also stood on the floor above me trying to find out which room was moving heavy items around. My sensitivity has started to clear up since I started frequenting soi cowboy after a 10 year absence to " have a meaningful relationship."