Thai Village Noise, Finally Had Enough.

[soalbundy]

Every foreigner that I know of who lives in a Thai village, lives there because they are in a relationship with a Thai person. They are there at the invitation of that Thai person.

What do you mean by the word "village." You mean some out-in-the-sticks enclave, far from the main city, where a big night out is going to the 7-Eleven and then setting frog traps in the rice paddy?

I don't think this is what people are talking about. Isn't the discussion about in the CM environs? I was not invited to live in my mooban/baan jat san. And I didn't know anyone beforehand.

I believe the film at the wat continues to be shown even after the humans are asleep because the film is for the spirits/ancestors. Shutting off the film before time could very well anger the spirits and this could be what upset your Thai woman. The spirits might be angry and want to exact revenge....

Funnily enough i think that is what turned her ballistic, i remarked,''what's going to happen, are the angry ghosts out to get me now'' and laughed, they don't like it when you take the mickey out of their medieval beliefs.

[loong]

You decided that the messy soi did not meet your standards. You forced your standards on the Thais by cleaning it up.

Are you being facetious?

"The locals have a habit of defecating along the sidewalks; I worked to change this attitude."

-- You FORCED your standards on the them!

"The locals were drinking tainted water downstream from the tannery; I worked to change this situation."

-- You FORCED your standards on the them!

I don't think creating a more hygienic environment is "forcing your standards on the Thais."

Yes, I was being facetious. I thought that would be obvious.

My point was that he had effectively made the comment that the soi was too messy for him. Unspoken, but still a comment. If someone visited your home and started cleaning, would you think "what a nice person" and not think that it is an unspoken comment that your home is not clean enough?

Lack of hygiene can cause health problems, so can being subjected to extremely loud noise for prolonged periods

[KMartinHandyman]

And I do not find white noise to be bad ... quite soothing actually

I enjoy white noise also but I'm concerned this may be not be politically correct in the U.S. any longer.

[soalbundy]

Every foreigner that I know of who lives in a Thai village, lives there because they are in a relationship with a Thai person. They are there at the invitation of that Thai person.

What do you mean by the word "village." You mean some out-in-the-sticks enclave, far from the main city, where a big night out is going to the 7-Eleven and then setting frog traps in the rice paddy?

I don't think this is what people are talking about. Isn't the discussion about in the CM environs? I was not invited to live in my mooban/baan jat san. And I didn't know anyone beforehand.

I believe the film at the wat continues to be shown even after the humans are asleep because the film is for the spirits/ancestors. Shutting off the film before time could very well anger the spirits and this could be what upset your Thai woman. The spirits might be angry and want to exact revenge....

Funnily enough i think that is what turned her ballistic, i remarked,''what's going to happen, are the angry ghosts out to get me now'' and laughed, they don't like it when you take the mickey out of their medieval beliefs.

This should be interesting, the missus has just jumped on her bike to''sort things out at the temple'' No one has been round to complain so i have obviously broken a tabu which she will sort out with the head monk, sack cloth and ashes on my head no doubt.

[PostmanPat]

I didn't get any sleep last night. The temple did an open air cinema withe a huge screen,disco lights and,yes you guessed it, huge speakers. I expected it to stop at 2300 hours but instead it went on and on and on the film appeared to end and then start again, at 4 in the morning i had had enough i walked to the temple, disco lights flashing a stupid old Chinese film running, sound pulsing and nobody there. I woke up the teenager who was supposed to be guarding everything, yes he was fast asleep, i told him to switch it of, he mumbled something about not knowing where the switch was, cables and control boards everywhere, he told me that the owner was 'over there' sleeping, at that moment a motorbike started 'over there' and an angry looking man sped off. I followed the cables to a post with a switch and turned it off then walked back home. 20 minuets later it started again until 5;30. When i told the wife what i had done she went ballistic, how dare i interfere with someones work etc. I'll never understand.

The two people at the sight were sleeping. But you couldn't sleep. So they should do what you want. Did I get that right?

Yes, i object to 100 decibels at night in my bedroom, my 8 year old son couldn't sleep and has to go to school and my wife admits to not sleeping, in fact her words were, nobody in the village can sleep, with the exception of the two idiots who were more than likely deaf through years of work with this hell machine. The point is the noise was for nothing, nobody was watching so why not turn it off, because they are Thai probably.

You moved to Thailand because presumably you liked Thai culture

Now that you're here, you want to change Thai culture. You want it to be more like where you came from.

Obviously Thais want it to remain the same. Perhaps not all Thais, but enough so that it's still an ingrained part of Thai culture.

You have choices you can make. None of them involve changing Thai culture.

Choose...

Yes, Folkguitar, we all moved to Thailand because we like Thai Culture, but where in the guide books or anywhere else is "Thai Culture" described as insufferable volumes of music that make your ears bleed? Sure, we know about the charm, the supposed friendliness, the food, the buddhist culture, but is drunk driving, thoughtlessness, selfishness, impossibly loud music also sold as part of the charm of living here. No, of course its not. Stop being obtuse Mr Folkguitar !!!

[Trujillo]

..., they don't like it when you take the mickey out of their medieval beliefs.

This is why I steer clear of more than temporary relationships with local women. Suffering ignorance is not my strong suit.

You could be letting yourself in for more than just noise. You have to be extra careful when dealing with superstitious ignoramuses who may not look kindly on the rich, holier-than-thou farang that takes issue with the business of a temple's doings. And they are quite good at holding grudges. Hope you haven't poked the wasps' nest....

[ttthailand]

It was kind of the police to announce who it was who filed the complaint so that the villagers could thank you. I was never aware that the police gave out that sort of information to the public, so as to avoid having the crazy culprit visit you in the middle of the night, kill your wife and children, and burn your house down in retaliation...

I guess it's all about 'guts...' Most of us wouldn't have the guts to make up a story like this, to say nothing of posting it publicly.

Many of us wouldn't have survived long enough to post the story.

If it were true.

I can assure you it is true, i announced the fact that i was going to the police at the village shop before i left which was near his house, i was one of the few that actually went to his house to tell him to stop, more than once and yes apparently the police said to him that they had a complaint from the farang, about half the village watched the altercation between him and the police. It only stopped him for two weeks, when he started up again i went to the headman and asked him to speak with him and tell him if he didn't stop i was going to the police again and would insist on a prosecution. He advised me instead to go to the council office (we are a tetsabaan) the mayor promised to speak with him and tell him that if he didn't desist he would get a court order to take his stereo (about 30,000 bahts worth,a lotto win) That worked,silent ever since.

That's all great unless the guy making the noise is the village head or someone with money. I tried the same thing and after 3 months got nowhere, music still blasting from the newly opened bar until 2,3 or 4 in the morning.

Others in here saying you have to stand up to them to get their respect don't have a clue. You ever hear the saying " talking to the wall" ? That's what it is like. They just don't care and the village power and police are all connected.

[soalbundy]

It was kind of the police to announce who it was who filed the complaint so that the villagers could thank you. I was never aware that the police gave out that sort of information to the public, so as to avoid having the crazy culprit visit you in the middle of the night, kill your wife and children, and burn your house down in retaliation...

I guess it's all about 'guts...' Most of us wouldn't have the guts to make up a story like this, to say nothing of posting it publicly.

Many of us wouldn't have survived long enough to post the story.

If it were true.

I can assure you it is true, i announced the fact that i was going to the police at the village shop before i left which was near his house, i was one of the few that actually went to his house to tell him to stop, more than once and yes apparently the police said to him that they had a complaint from the farang, about half the village watched the altercation between him and the police. It only stopped him for two weeks, when he started up again i went to the headman and asked him to speak with him and tell him if he didn't stop i was going to the police again and would insist on a prosecution. He advised me instead to go to the council office (we are a tetsabaan) the mayor promised to speak with him and tell him that if he didn't desist he would get a court order to take his stereo (about 30,000 bahts worth,a lotto win) That worked,silent ever since.

That's all great unless the guy making the noise is the village head or someone with money. I tried the same thing and after 3 months got nowhere, music still blasting from the newly opened bar until 2,3 or 4 in the morning.

Others in here saying you have to stand up to them to get their respect don't have a clue. You ever hear the saying " talking to the wall" ? That's what it is like. They just don't care and the village power and police are all connected.

True, in my case the guy was a nobody,in fact he had a bad reputation, beating his mother etc. No i wouldn't have gone against anyone with power, even if you won a court case they would just carry on as before.

[FolkGuitar]

You moved to Thailand because presumably you liked Thai culture

Now that you're here, you want to change Thai culture. You want it to be more like where you came from.

Obviously Thais want it to remain the same. Perhaps not all Thais, but enough so that it's still an ingrained part of Thai culture.

You have choices you can make. None of them involve changing Thai culture.

Choose...

Yes, Folkguitar, we all moved to Thailand because we like Thai Culture, but where in the guide books or anywhere else is "Thai Culture" described as insufferable volumes of music that make your ears bleed? Sure, we know about the charm, the supposed friendliness, the food, the buddhist culture, but is drunk driving, thoughtlessness, selfishness, impossibly loud music also sold as part of the charm of living here. No, of course its not. Stop being obtuse Mr Folkguitar !!!

The Guide Books were great, weren't they? The gave us an introduction to a people and culture that we knew nothing about. But after a week or two in-country we knew that the guide books left a lot out.

We learned the realities quickly. Quickly enough so that we could adjust our lives accordingly.

Or just bitch and moan about them incessantly...

That certainly makes more sense than doing something about it.

I'm sorry that you are having such problems. I'm sorry that you are not happy with your life here. But most of all, I'm sorry that you are unwilling to take the necessary steps to improve your life. That must suck.

[PostmanPat]

You moved to Thailand because presumably you liked Thai culture

Now that you're here, you want to change Thai culture. You want it to be more like where you came from.

Obviously Thais want it to remain the same. Perhaps not all Thais, but enough so that it's still an ingrained part of Thai culture.

You have choices you can make. None of them involve changing Thai culture.

Choose...

Yes, Folkguitar, we all moved to Thailand because we like Thai Culture, but where in the guide books or anywhere else is "Thai Culture" described as insufferable volumes of music that make your ears bleed? Sure, we know about the charm, the supposed friendliness, the food, the buddhist culture, but is drunk driving, thoughtlessness, selfishness, impossibly loud music also sold as part of the charm of living here. No, of course its not. Stop being obtuse Mr Folkguitar !!!

The Guide Books were great, weren't they? The gave us an introduction to a people and culture that we knew nothing about. But after a week or two in-country we knew that the guide books left a lot out.

We learned the realities quickly. Quickly enough so that we could adjust our lives accordingly.

Or just bitch and moan about them incessantly...

That certainly makes more sense than doing something about it.

I'm sorry that you are having such problems. I'm sorry that you are not happy with your life here. But most of all, I'm sorry that you are unwilling to take the necessary steps to improve your life. That must suck.

Just to be clear, you have assumed wrongly another myth. Where in any of this thread did I say that I am unhappy with my life here? Thats your assumption and is wrong! Most of the time here I love living in Thailand, and I am certainly not in the "if you dont like it go back to your country" bracket! What a few on here are guilty of is making this assumption that a person when living here simply has to accept anything and everything. When I am here I have problems with stupidity, thoughtlessness, drunk driving and extremes of loud music. If I still lived in my own country I would have problems with stupidity, thoughtlessness, drunk driving and extremes of loud music. OK now, get it now??!!

[FolkGuitar]

You moved to Thailand because presumably you liked Thai culture

Now that you're here, you want to change Thai culture. You want it to be more like where you came from.

Obviously Thais want it to remain the same. Perhaps not all Thais, but enough so that it's still an ingrained part of Thai culture.

You have choices you can make. None of them involve changing Thai culture.

Choose...

Yes, Folkguitar, we all moved to Thailand because we like Thai Culture, but where in the guide books or anywhere else is "Thai Culture" described as insufferable volumes of music that make your ears bleed? Sure, we know about the charm, the supposed friendliness, the food, the buddhist culture, but is drunk driving, thoughtlessness, selfishness, impossibly loud music also sold as part of the charm of living here. No, of course its not. Stop being obtuse Mr Folkguitar !!!

The Guide Books were great, weren't they? The gave us an introduction to a people and culture that we knew nothing about. But after a week or two in-country we knew that the guide books left a lot out.

We learned the realities quickly. Quickly enough so that we could adjust our lives accordingly.

Or just bitch and moan about them incessantly...

That certainly makes more sense than doing something about it.

I'm sorry that you are having such problems. I'm sorry that you are not happy with your life here. But most of all, I'm sorry that you are unwilling to take the necessary steps to improve your life. That must suck.

Just to be clear, you have assumed wrongly another myth. Where in any of this thread did I say that I am unhappy with my life here? Thats your assumption and is wrong! Most of the time here I love living in Thailand, and I am certainly not in the "if you dont like it go back to your country" bracket! What a few on here are guilty of is making this assumption that a person when living here simply has to accept anything and everything. When I am here I have problems with stupidity, thoughtlessness, drunk driving and extremes of loud music. If I still lived in my own country I would have problems with stupidity, thoughtlessness, drunk driving and extremes of loud music. OK now, get it now??!!

I get it. You complain because you are happy, and prefer to bitch and moan because that makes you feel better than rectifying the problems in your life. Pretty simple, now that you've explained it. Thanks.

Edited February 15, 2016 by FolkGuitar

[Trujillo]

Insensitivity.

That's the bottom line. We from the West are inculcated in social awareness. You don't litter (and certainly not in front of your neighbors' houses). You don't have a personal block party throughout the night with 747-powered sound systems.

...I mean we even hold the door for people coming in and out of shops! Even that most basic level of human thoughtfulness is missing.

I can only think of three "solutions": Move, suffer it, or get your own, more powerful system and blast the fracking hell out of them yourself.

Talking will most likely get you nowhere and whatever the result, you now have a target on your back.

By the way, I didn't give a flying one about "Thai culture," whatever that is, before I came to live here. I judged the place on its merits and pitfalls.

[soalbundy]

You moved to Thailand because presumably you liked Thai culture

Now that you're here, you want to change Thai culture. You want it to be more like where you came from.

Obviously Thais want it to remain the same. Perhaps not all Thais, but enough so that it's still an ingrained part of Thai culture.

You have choices you can make. None of them involve changing Thai culture.

Choose...

Yes, Folkguitar, we all moved to Thailand because we like Thai Culture, but where in the guide books or anywhere else is "Thai Culture" described as insufferable volumes of music that make your ears bleed? Sure, we know about the charm, the supposed friendliness, the food, the buddhist culture, but is drunk driving, thoughtlessness, selfishness, impossibly loud music also sold as part of the charm of living here. No, of course its not. Stop being obtuse Mr Folkguitar !!!

The Guide Books were great, weren't they? The gave us an introduction to a people and culture that we knew nothing about. But after a week or two in-country we knew that the guide books left a lot out.

We learned the realities quickly. Quickly enough so that we could adjust our lives accordingly.

Or just bitch and moan about them incessantly...

That certainly makes more sense than doing something about it.

I'm sorry that you are having such problems. I'm sorry that you are not happy with your life here. But most of all, I'm sorry that you are unwilling to take the necessary steps to improve your life. That must suck.

Just to be clear, you have assumed wrongly another myth. Where in any of this thread did I say that I am unhappy with my life here? Thats your assumption and is wrong! Most of the time here I love living in Thailand, and I am certainly not in the "if you dont like it go back to your country" bracket! What a few on here are guilty of is making this assumption that a person when living here simply has to accept anything and everything. When I am here I have problems with stupidity, thoughtlessness, drunk driving and extremes of loud music. If I still lived in my own country I would have problems with stupidity, thoughtlessness, drunk driving and extremes of loud music. OK now, get it now??!!

I get it. You complain because you are happy, and prefer to bitch and moan because that makes you feel better than rectifying the problems in your life. Pretty simple, now that you've explained it. Thanks.

you do therapy in your spare time do you ? you come across as a wise know all,and boring at that.

[PostmanPat]

Thanks, Soalbundy for pointing out exactly what I was going to say but you said it first. So, there are at least "Three Wise Men" in Chiang Mai namely northernjohn, uptheos and folkguitar who spend all their days in peace and harmony, completely ignoring all the stuff that goes on around them, perhaps doing transcendental meditation together, but who reserve all their vitriol and anger for anyone else who has the audacity to get a bit annoyed about the kind of thing that would get any normal person annoyed, such as noise at "747" levels ( good analogy, thanks!)

"If you dont like it, go back to your country...." being their mantra, perhaps thats what they all chant together as they meditate with their equivalent of the maharishi !!

Its priceless !!!!!

[pgrahmm]

I live at Nong Khwai and it doesn't bother me at all.

You must be deaf,

No - I said it didn't bother me, which is something altogether different.

Also live in Nong Khwai close to Canal Rd.....Can hear it & sometimes louder than others and no real pattern of evenings.....Have been tempted to drive around and see where the noise is coming from.....

It's a crap shoot here and could end up with worse.....

When I lived further out some government guy put in speakers in stands 8 to each side.....We were 300 meters and it vibrated the slab of my house....Finally went to 2 villages with a petition and got people to sign - some told me to burn him out which I thought about.....No one local could get anything done/would do anything due to his status.....They even sent out sound equipment truck to inspect and measure and talk with him after a few days he'd crank up louder......One holiday we had a party outside and he got on the mike singing American go home American go home over and over through the evening.....I had the big expensive fireworks and we aimed one in his direction - went off about 35-50 feet right above his house ----> he shut it down and went silent immediately that night.....I'd already visited him & his 2 goons (the smug 24 hour sunglasses types) a couple of times trying to reason with him before & it got less than friendly the second time - I'm sure he didn't want about a dozen of us visiting.....

Finally a friend with connections took my letter and petitions and mailed them to every level of government and political circles - forgot whether any Royal connections or not.....

They confiscated his stuff and reassigned him to an area somewhere far away.....He packed up and left within a week.....

It can be done but it takes a lot of work and you have to be willing to put yourself in the line of fire/center of the storm.....

Edited February 15, 2016 by pgrahmm

[Trujillo]

They even sent out sound equipment truck to inspect and measure and talk with him after a few days he'd crank up louder...

This is why talking often does not solve the problem, it makes it worse.

Those individuals who have such a low sense of community and fellowship to do this in the first place are those among the least mature. It's that perfect infantile example of, "Oh, so you don't like that? Well, I'll just do it MORE!"

You could try this:

http://www.liquidass.com/

It's a dopey website, but if you read comments about this and watch some of the pranks with it on YouTube (the elevator ones are classic), you'll see that this must be very potent stuff.

Figure out a way to inundate his house in such a way(s) that he will not guess it's your doing. And like Pavlov's Thai villager, when he stops, stop the stink bombs; when he cranks it up, dose him.

Worth a try.

[soalbundy]

Every foreigner that I know of who lives in a Thai village, lives there because they are in a relationship with a Thai person. They are there at the invitation of that Thai person.

What do you mean by the word "village." You mean some out-in-the-sticks enclave, far from the main city, where a big night out is going to the 7-Eleven and then setting frog traps in the rice paddy?

I don't think this is what people are talking about. Isn't the discussion about in the CM environs? I was not invited to live in my mooban/baan jat san. And I didn't know anyone beforehand.

I believe the film at the wat continues to be shown even after the humans are asleep because the film is for the spirits/ancestors. Shutting off the film before time could very well anger the spirits and this could be what upset your Thai woman. The spirits might be angry and want to exact revenge....

Funnily enough i think that is what turned her ballistic, i remarked,''what's going to happen, are the angry ghosts out to get me now'' and laughed, they don't like it when you take the mickey out of their medieval beliefs.

This should be interesting, the missus has just jumped on her bike to''sort things out at the temple'' No one has been round to complain so i have obviously broken a tabu which she will sort out with the head monk, sack cloth and ashes on my head no doubt.

It appears i have broken or disrespected a custom of Isaan, comparable to pissing on the alter. The missus was so worried that she made me do the 90 day report 2 days earlier in case things come to a head. We both explained our sides of the argument,she was still ballistic, to the immigration officers, one went so far as to say that if the owner of the open air cinema was to get really aggressive about it even my visa could be in danger, but another grinned a little when i told him i wasn't even aware i was doing anything wrong, ''Yes well farang think different to Thai'' too damn right they do. Seems if i killed a few people at a bus stop with a Mercedes it wouldn't be quite so bad. Muppets

[Trujillo]

Why are you living there in the first place? Time to stop hanging around with farmers. There are more intelligent Thais around, including women.

[jacky54]

where? they are all as daft as a brush from what I have seen

[LannaGuy]

It appears i have broken or disrespected a custom of Isaan, comparable to pissing on the alter. The missus was so worried that she made me do the 90 day report 2 days earlier in case things come to a head. We both explained our sides of the argument,she was still ballistic, to the immigration officers, one went so far as to say that if the owner of the open air cinema was to get really aggressive about it even my visa could be in danger, but another grinned a little when i told him i wasn't even aware i was doing anything wrong, ''Yes well farang think different to Thai'' too damn right they do. Seems if i killed a few people at a bus stop with a Mercedes it wouldn't be quite so bad. Muppets

treat them all like adolescent teens as it makes things easier

[soalbundy]

Why are you living there in the first place? Time to stop hanging around with farmers. There are more intelligent Thais around, including women.

because i built a house there and have bonded with her two daughters, i've been there almost 11 years and have an 8 year old son with her. Actually apart from the inherent belief in ghosts and the like she isn't too bad on the intelligent side, the oldest daughter goes to university the younger daughter will probably follow her and my son has been tested as having a very high IQ, that definitely didn't come from me.

[Trujillo]

Then this BS about your visa in peril was, as you suspected, well...BS.

Off topic, but I would not have my son educated in the Land of Sly Smiles. Look around you, this is no place to get an education that will prepare a person for realizing their potential.

I have to say, I am always amazed at people who will wantonly do something to annoy and disrupt others' lives and they clearly have no compunction about this whatsoever. This is psychopathy.

And then you have the others...cowering inside themselves so as not to create discourse by complaining.

Eleven years? It might be time for a change of scenery. Sell the house and try somewhere else. It might just be a good tonic for a variety of things.

[soalbundy]

Then this BS about your visa in peril was, as you suspected, well...BS.

Off topic, but I would not have my son educated in the Land of Sly Smiles. Look around you, this is no place to get an education that will prepare a person for realizing their potential.

I have to say, I am always amazed at people who will wantonly do something to annoy and disrupt others' lives and they clearly have no compunction about this whatsoever. This is psychopathy.

And then you have the others...cowering inside themselves so as not to create discourse by complaining.

Eleven years? It might be time for a change of scenery. Sell the house and try somewhere else. It might just be a good tonic for a variety of things.

I don't own it oh wise one, in fact i don't own anything, it belongs to my son like the 200 odd rai of farmland that he has plus a bungalow in Chiang Mai, i think money wise he is better of here and if his step sister to whom he is very close can manage university from a village school i'm sure he can i have the funds for that put away for him. I am only 67 now, i don't think i am ready yet for a new start. My daughter in Germany wants me to come and see my granddaughter but i have waited so long for a grandchild i decided to make my own. No i will stay in Kwailand

[Paul944]

> i have waited so long for a grandchild i decided to make my own.

[jobin]

Check the tune:

[Rimmer]

Some off topic bickering and flaming have been removed

[mesquite]

Anyone who has lived here for a time understands Thais have no considerations for anyone because they are "Thai" so whether it be parking, driving or music we are stuffed. Just choose, as best you can, a quiet location. San Sai is very quiet (for example).

A little TOO quiet as they used to say in the westerns. Check out the recent news item where a massage shop owner was cut up into six pieces and put into a plastic bag. Body found on Valentine's Day.

[FolkGuitar]

Anyone who has lived here for a time understands Thais have no considerations for anyone because they are "Thai" so whether it be parking, driving or music we are stuffed. Just choose, as best you can, a quiet location. San Sai is very quiet (for example).

A little TOO quiet as they used to say in the westerns. Check out the recent news item where a massage shop owner was cut up into six pieces and put into a plastic bag. Body found on Valentine's Day.

But it was done quietly. I knew there was something I liked about Sansai.

[Rimmer]

I am closing this topic for mod review

//CLOSED//