Why do Thais like noise so much

[Jose]

they referred to me as farang instead of khun/he

So the issue is that they didn't highly respect you or show you a high level of respect.


Quite possibly because you consider them 'rice monkeys'.




Strange that.


The age old question. Which came first, the thought of 'Rice Monkey' or 'Farang'.

[Jose]

Love the way these people build beautiful urban parks and then, when the best time of day for enjoying them arrives, 5:30pm to 6:30pm, a dozen or so exercisers blast out dance music from a PA completely ruining the tranquility for the hundreds of others in the park.

Really? I think it's great to have such things. Free to the public too, they just put in whatever they feel like or can afford at the end.

Much better than what the West offers.

The parks are big, and easy to avoid the exercise corner. But let's be honest, it's fun to join in and have some fun getting to know, and chatting with the locals.

[Chesty P.]

I didn't follow your point. Are you saying that I called the security guards rice monkeys to their face in the same way they referred to me as farang instead of khun/he?

"Rice monkeys" is obviously a derogatory term. Farang is not.

[Mr Tinkles]

I used to have an Asian house mate that turned the clothes washer on at midnight with the damned thing located right next to my bedroom. No amount of saying please turn it on during the day could convince him to do otherwise - I'm convinced it's an Asian thing. He did it literally a dozen times over 3 years. His noise pollution got so bad I came to Bangkok for a holiday to get some peace and quiet

These are some of the things I tried to do to hide his racket...
- earplugs
- using a fan heater
- turn the computer on and put on a white noise generator
That bastard got some big Karma in the end though cause he's now in jail

[Exexpat]

So the issue is that they didn't highly respect you or show you a high level of respect.


Quite possibly because you consider them 'rice monkeys'.




Strange that.


The age old question. Which came first, the thought of 'Rice Monkey' or 'Farang'.

No. I didn't consider them as anything other than staff doing a job until they kept me awake for a few nights with seemingly no awareness that they might be waking customers in the building that employed them.

[Boon Mee]

To get back on topic, yes I think the love of excessive intrusive noise shown by some there (and the offence they take when you try to protect yourself from it) isn't a trait of intelligent humans.

IMHO you haven't lived here for any prolonged period to get the general "Vibe" of the place and shine it on.

My take on the noise is - they don't hear it. Same as trash. They just don't recognize the unsightliness of it. Bike lanes in Bangkok got immediately filled with food carts etc.

Rudyard Kipling anyone? East is east...

[Exexpat]

^I suppose those that have never lived in the relative peace & tidiness of the west can never miss it.

To them it feels normal to walk into a mall and not be able to talk with the person next to you because some tart with a microphone is rattling on about the latest Mazda at 120dB, forcing you to hear the advertising and having no choice in the matter.

IMHO you haven't lived here for any prolonged period to get the general

Vibe of the place and shine it on.

Four years was my longest incarceration

[Exexpat]

"Rice monkeys" is obviously a derogatory term. Farang is not.

Do you think using a slang word also used for a fruit to refer to someone based on their ethnic appearance is respectful?

I think lots of westerners are in denial, because they really really don't want to feel disrespected in a place they want to stay. It could almost be argued that it's racist to assume that the word farang isn't derogatory, in a "Thais couldn't possibly disrespect me, because I'm a superior, novelty westerner, and they know it & respect me because of it" sense.

[Boon Mee]

^I suppose those that have never lived in the relative peace & tidiness of the west can never miss it.

To them it feels normal to walk into a mall and not be able to talk with the person next to you because some tart with a microphone is rattling on about the latest Mazda at 120dB, forcing you to hear the advertising and having no choice in the matter.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the trash or the noise either but over time have become inured for want of a better term - to the annoyances and do my best to blow it all off. I guess the trash/litter habits of Thais (Lo & Hi So) is the one thing that's most irritating to moi...

There's another particularly Thai habit I'm not a fan of and that's where everyone is talking to each other all at the same time. You see it on television broadcasts - in everyday life all the time. When one grows up in that kind of environment, it's all normal to them.

[Mr Tinkles]

These rice monkeys are more animal than human.

One term that makes me chuckle is Rice Burner

From wiki - Rice burner is a pejorative, used as early as the 1960s, originally describing Japanese motorcycles, then later applied to Japanese cars, and eventually to Asian-made motorcycles and automobiles in general. The term most often refers to vehicles manufactured in East Asia, where rice is a staple food

RiceBurner.jpg

[Chesty P.]

I think lots of westerners are in denial, because they really really don't want to feel disrespected in a place they want to stay. It could almost be argued that it's racist to assume that the word farang isn't derogatory, in a "Thais couldn't possibly disrespect me, because I'm a superior, novelty westerner, and they know it & respect me because of it" sense.

It means "white person" and I just don't think of that as a negative thing, no matter what it means to the person referring to me that way.

[Boon Mee]

It means "white person" and I just don't think of that as a negative thing, no matter what it means to the person referring to me that way.

That's right!

[sabang]

Why just pick on the Thai? Cambo's, Chinese, Filipina's like, or are inured to, noise just as much. It's a part of Asian life- like it or lump it. You certainly won't change it.

My particular hates are those trucks that go around with blaring loudspeakers selling stuff (it's worse around election time, although we've not had to bother about that for a while), or those ridiculously noisy little motorbikes ridden by young idiots, with the bafflers taken out of the exhaust pipe- yet nobody will do anything about it. Actually, in Pattaya several idiot farangs are just as guilty- although they tend to ride bigger bikes.

But as far as village celebrations, mor lam concerts, weddings, funerals etc go- I like it! To this farang, it is certainly a welcome contrast to the sterile suburbs that most westerners choose to call home.

[Chesty P.]

Yeah, I hate those trucks with the loudspeakers too. The other stuff doesn't usually bother me too much.

[Jose]

a derogatory term. Farang is not.

Of course.


It's all about perception.

The people using the term don't consider it as derogatory.

The OP obviously does, and it gets him all bent out of shape.


Obviously all the problems the OP creates are down to himself. He needs to change from within. I personally wish him luck upon his voyage of self discovery.