Added noise problems from Wat Hoy Plakang

[boomerangutang]

For years, the same few songs have been broadcast loud from the wat on the hill in the village of Hoy Plakang.  It's the wat with the giant white female buddha statue, nw of downtown, about 5 Km.   The same songs are still being broadcast, but now there's added noise pollution:

 

Starting about 2 months ago, they got some new ideas for added noise pollution:

 

They're now broadcasting a tape-loop asking for money donations.  The loop lasts 18 seconds (200 times per hour).  They blast it every afternoon, full blast in front of their 9-story shrine, until 6 pm.  The four 12" speakers are facing my house.  Though I'm a Km away, I can hear it (I guess I have sensitive hearing.  Plus, I'm a musician, so am more tuned into sound than the average Somchai).   

 

I would rather hear birds chirping or wind through the trees, or just plain silence, but..... not possible.  I will move away, but it's a bit of a process.  If someone bought my property, it would facilitate the process of me leaving.

 

There's also a 3-note, 8 second tape loop of a chant.  Sometimes both tape loops are playing at the same time!  I went up there to try and speak to the old man who sits next to the speakers, taking money.  We had to shout loudly at each other, because the noise was so loud.  No surprise, he didn't attempt to turn down the 200 watt hi-fi (which was cranked to 10) or to turn the bank of speakers to face another direction, other than toward my house.   I've spoken with cops, village headman, other villagers.   All roll their eyes and grin, as if to say, "ha ha ha, there's nothing anyone can do about it, chuckle, this is Thailand." 

 

When up there at 'Wat Loud Noise' my gaze was caught by a pretty lady sitting cross legged on the slope by the noise.  She was trying to meditate.  I felt sorry for her having to try to meditate with a sales pitch (for money donations) blasting like a rock concert, just meters away.   If Thais want to meditate, why make it so uncomfortable?   Thai Buddhism has strayed so far from the Buddha's teachings as to be a sick mockery of itself.   It's like an Italian chef leading a pizza-making class while throwing all the raw ingredients against a brick wall.    

 

 

 

[jak2002003]

Get used to it.  It can be a lot worse... come to my house and your ears will actually hurt when the temple is playing its old Thai pop music for hours at a time in a loop, before the monk starts shouting out orders for money and food and telling everyone how evil they are.

 

We have to leave the house at 5.15 am as its torture to stay in. No ear plugs, loud TV or other attempts can make the noise reduce.. even the walls are vibrating.  then it all starts up again for a couple hours in the afternoon.  At night the place is not lit up like a fairground with bright powerful lights shining into our windows.  

 

No one will complain about a temple.  They are immune, and seem to be outside the law. We now have out house up for sale........

 

 

[ClutchClark]

8 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Get used to it.  It can be a lot worse... come to my house and your ears will actually hurt when the temple is playing its old Thai pop music for hours at a time in a loop, before the monk starts shouting out orders for money and food and telling everyone how evil they are.

 

We have to leave the house at 5.15 am as its torture to stay in. No ear plugs, loud TV or other attempts can make the noise reduce.. even the walls are vibrating.  then it all starts up again for a couple hours in the afternoon.  At night the place is not lit up like a fairground with bright powerful lights shining into our windows.  

 

No one will complain about a temple.  They are immune, and seem to be outside the law. We now have out house up for sale........

 

 

 

You really have a limited window of time to show your house to interested buyers, eh?

[boomerangutang]

9 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

Get used to it.  It can be a lot worse... come to my house and your ears will actually hurt when the temple is playing its old Thai pop music for hours at a time in a loop, before the monk starts shouting out orders for money and food and telling everyone how evil they are.

 

We have to leave the house at 5.15 am as its torture to stay in. No ear plugs, loud TV or other attempts can make the noise reduce.. even the walls are vibrating.  then it all starts up again for a couple hours in the afternoon.  At night the place is not lit up like a fairground with bright powerful lights shining into our windows.  

 

No one will complain about a temple.  They are immune, and seem to be outside the law. We now have out house up for sale........

 

 

 

Wow.  I don't envy your scenario.  It sounds awful.

 

In my situation, the noise from the wat isn't loud, but it's repetitive, always pre-recorded.  There's probably a torture manual somewhere which mentions how to get people talking by using such methods.  When the US invaded Panama and was trying to get Manuel Noriega out of a building, they stationed a massive P.A. system and directed punk rock music at the building.  It worked.  He surrendered awhile later.  I'm about to surrender also, and move to another property, a bit further removed from noise pollution.

 

There's also the pu yai ban announcements (village headman).  It's almost like a tag team between him and the temple.  When it's village announcements, there's a several second lag time between each of the half dozen horn blowers.   So it sounds like a giant echo.   One of the horn blowers is at the Hoy Plakan market.   It forces anyone there, who wants to speak to someone else, to shout back and forth.  If I smile and gain contact and put my finders in my ears, they smile back at me and roll their eyes.   It's impossible for a Thai person to complain about noise pollution - particularly if it comes from an important entity like a village headman or religious group.

 

Today the village shouting sounded like an auction.   I'm not fluent in Thai, but the man shouting from the horn blowers kept mentioning baht amounts (with the multi-second delay of the other speakers).  No fun for me, who wants to hear birds and relishes silence.  

[sceadugenga]

Apart from religious holiday occasions when we get a bit of live chanting I rarely notice our temple.

They have a 6am/6pm bell and apart from that the phuyaibaan gives a short loud-speakered pep talk a couple of times a day.

 

[villagefarang]

Unless I am outside I can’t hear the announcements in our village.  My dogs don’t like funeral noises but then again they don’t care much for thunder either.  No use telling Mother Nature to modify her behavior, or the villagers, so we wait for the noise to subside before attempting a walk to the end of the soi and back.  It is a minor inconvenience, all things considered.

[boomerangutang]

22 minutes ago, sceadugenga said:

Apart from religious holiday occasions when we get a bit of live chanting I rarely notice our temple. They have a 6am/6pm bell and apart from that the phuyaibaan gives a short loud-speakered pep talk a couple of times a day. 

 

Sounds like you have less rude watizens then I do.  I hope you also don't have mega-annoying other type of noise pollution that I and my neighbors have:  A nest of tiny dogs (half dozen, for breeding/selling?) which my neighbor chose to house directly on our property line.  He's got 1.5 rai, but chose to put it right there.  I'm not sure which is more annoying:  The temple noise,  the echo-chamber super loud pu-yai-ban shouting, or the tiny dog breeding kennel on my property line.  

 

Note:  whenever I meet farang who are considering renting/buying a residence in Thailand, I suggest they spend some extended time hours at the specific site - before making a decision.   I also know a rich Thai who bought and developed expensive property near the Wat Doi Kwai lake.  He built a large beautiful stone house with a fireplace, all landscaped.  A short while later, a karaoke bar opened up near his front gate.   A month later, the rich man put a for sale sign on his property.   So it's not just farang residents who are being driven crazy by noise pollution here. 

 

Note:  another issue about the Hoy Plakang temple, specifically the giant white buddha statue:  I heard earlier that two workers had died on the site (fallen to their deaths).  More recently, a local hill triber said he thinks between 10 and 20 workers have died on that site from falling.  He also said the temple compensates Bt.50k for each death.

[boomerangutang]

11 hours ago, villagefarang said:

Unless I am outside I can’t hear the announcements in our village.  My dogs don’t like funeral noises but then again they don’t care much for thunder either.  No use telling Mother Nature to modify her behavior, or the villagers, so we wait for the noise to subside before attempting a walk to the end of the soi and back.  It is a minor inconvenience, all things considered.

 

Well good for you and your dog.  I'm glad it's not a big issue for you and your dog.  

 

I suffer from hay fever twice each year here in northern Thailand.  Most people don't.  Lucky for them.

Similarly, I get bad affects from MSG, although most people have no adverse reactions to MSG.  Again, good for them.  

 

On the other side of the coin, nearly all farang in northern Thailand have problems with foul air quality in March and April.  I don't mind it so much.  Indeed, I do burn piles.   What constitutes a big deal for one person, is not necessarily a big deal for the next person.