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As part of an article in the Bangkok Post, Oraya Sutabutr wrote a list of the noisiest places in Bangkok.

1. Skytrain

For many of us who ride the skytrain or BTS, the most favourite moment is when the sound system is out of order. It's the only time we can enjoy a degree of peace and quiet, free from the noise of televisions inside the carriages and on the stations. But this does not happen very often as BTS has already been paid by the advertisers. What they do not realise is that passengers often feel trapped in a limited space with a lot of people, all of them talking, while being forced to listen to loud, endless commercials. We also feel forced to shout most the time in order to hear one another.

When outside the train, the noise continues with televisions all around the stations just waiting to harass us. Some people even resort to listening to loud music on their MP3 players with earphones to drown out the ads instead, which means an even higher risk of hearing loss. The situation is worse when these noises are joined by the events and concerts held outside Siam Paragon. Many passengers would be grateful if BTS could turn down the volume or leave parts of the trains and the stations free from deafening noises so that we can have some refuge from the constant bombardment on our ears.

2. Cinemas

The latest fad for lobby areas at many cinemas, except Apex and House Cinemas, is to have promotional stands fitted with TV monitors showing the preview of each movie about to be released. The problem is when all of the many stands play the previews with the volume turned up high, all at the same time. You can't even tell which sound is coming from which movie preview, and so Quiet Bangkok wonders if all that is helping any movie at all. What they have successfully created is a noisy, chaotic atmosphere that is an overture to even louder noises inside the auditoriums where the previews are played, again. The thunderous sounds of explosions and other side effects are so penetrating that you feel like you might suddenly have a heart attack. Parents who do not wish their children to become deaf should not take them to cinemas. No wonder many people prefer to watch the movie on DVD at home.

3. Department stores

This category clearly has many top contenders as most store owners believe that the louder the noise, the more people will buy. But from our conversations with devoted shoppers, even they run away from noisy department stores and go to quieter ones, even when they have to pay more.

These loud noises range from ambient music to special events and announcements, all of them broadcasted at the same time at such a high volume; even the toilets and lifts are not safe. It's as if they assume that most shoppers have partially lost their hearing. Quiet Bangkok thinks that the department stores will benefit from creating quieter environments that make people feel relaxed, want to stay longer, and take the time to shop. Among the top noise makers are Big C, Siam Centre, outdoor areas of numerous department stores, including Siam Paragon, CentralWorld as well as the food centre zone of Chamchuri Square (even though many students go there to study).

On one occasion Quiet Bangkok was on the food centre floor of Siam Paragon to buy concert tickets and found the music there to be too loud so we went over to customer relations to complain. Even the staff agreed that we had a hard time hearing one another, and the music was too loud, but complaints have fallen on "deaf ears". If you ever wonder why you feel so tired after shopping, well rest assure, those loud noises are actually one of the culprits.


4. Exercise venues

Everyone knows that all public parks have set up an area for aerobics every evening, and it is probably good exercise for most parts of your body, except your ears.

This is because the mighty speakers are turned up really loud and facing the dancers and away from the instructor, who, therefore, cannot hear the music very well. That's why the volume has to be really high. Meanwhile, all the dancers and the rest of the park-goers are gradually becoming deaf. It would be nice if the sound technicians would try not to assume that all park-goers enjoy loud music. Evenings are the most popular time to go to parks and other people may want to exercise quietly by cycling, walking, yoga, etc. It's fine to have aerobics as long as the music is not too loud.

The other type of exercise venue known for its loud noises is California Wow, where members exercise to upbeat and thunderous music. California Wow should do a survey on their members' preferred noise levels. If most people prefer to keep it that way, then those who do not should avoid these places and, in doing so, avoid the stress and the risk of going deaf at the same time.

5. Outdoor speakers in public areas

Traffic noises alone are already making pedestrians' lives a nightmare. But that is not all. There are CD vendors and some other building owners who have installed outdoor speakers right outside their buildings or on the pavement, so that street noises become even more deafening. Not to mention the enormous outdoor TV equipped with a sound system, like the one outside CentralWorld and many of the Hello Bangkok mobile TV screens that have moved from major intersections to abandoned lots around the city.

Quiet Bangkok hardly thinks that any pedestrian or driver can make sense of what the TVs are telling us, and it would be dangerously distracting if they were to pay too much attention to the TVs as opposed to where they were walking or driving. We have found that some of the CD vendors have admitted to loss of hearing by listening to their own loudspeakers day in and day out. Then why should we keep up these activities that make Bangkok a miserable place?

6. Whistles

At Winbookclub.com, Win Leowarin wrote an article (in Thai) titled The Beauty of Silence, saying: "If you walk along Silom Road from beginning to end during rush hour, you will pass 207 security guards. One third of these people, armed with this invention called 'whistles', are supposed to direct cars entering and leaving office buildings along the street. The whistles are capable of producing sounds at 120-decibel, which shriek right into your ears, high-pitched enough to make your heart skip a beat, dangerously rattling your eardrums. No wonder this street has many ear [neck and throat] clinics spread out along its entire length!"

Quiet Bangkok truly agrees with Win because the addiction to whistles is really quite rampant, a nuisance and not very useful. Most of the time, you do not understand what the different whistle sounds actually mean, and you end up looking at the guards' arms and hands as the more useful signals. There are places where the flashing batons are used and they seem to work very well, that is, at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital. There does not seem to be any traffic problem around this area so it must mean that the whistles can immediately be replaced by signal batons. The hospital should be congratulated for not disturbing residents in the surrounding area with non-stop whistling, like say at BNH Hospital.

If any establishment is able to switch from whistles to flashing signal batons, they will have got themselves an excellent CSR programme. They can protect not only the hearing of passers-by but also the whistling security guards, most of whom must be nearly deaf by now.

7. Temples

Many people may wonder why temples are included in this list of noisy places. Quiet Bangkok cites two reasons for this seemingly unusually decision. First, some temples allow CD vendors to operate within their premises while playing CDs all the time. Second, some temple fairs and announcements can be very loud. An expat friend living in a quiet Thon Buri area says that the area is quiet except when Thais party at home and when the nearby temple holds special events at night.

Temple fairs are wonderful occasions for people in a community to get together, and announcements can be useful, but they should not be too loud. In this way, temples can continue to be the spiritual centre for communities, providing them peaceful environments in which mindfulness, a badly needed quality among Thais at the moment, can be nurtured.

8. Construction noise

It is true that constructions always come with noises, as well as other pollutions such as waste water and dust. All the gigantic construction equipment creates a tremendous amount of noise, and this kind of pollution is the hardest one to avoid. Constructions going on near your homes can drive you crazy unless residents and contractors agree to mutually acceptable work schedules.

The least that contractors could do is to avoid working and creating noises late at night and early in the morning. This is another form of CSR. If any contractor can avoid working before 8am and can stop working by 10pm - reducing their hours even more on the weekends - the company will certainly become a model contractor for the entire country and will be able to maintain a healthy relationship with the existing communities around their construction sites. In Quiet Bangkok's experience, we have more or less been able to come to an agreement on the hours during which the contractors on Soi Mahadlek Luang can work.

9. Sound systems on public transport

One of the latest trends that come with the addiction to television is the presence of a TV everywhere you go. This addiction is quite contagious since it has also infected all public transport, and not just the BTS any more. Poor Bangkokians must put up with television commercials, music videos, etc. on some bus services, long-distance buses, as well as on Chao Phraya Express boats and their piers.

Quiet Bangkok has noticed that most people who are going from one place to another on the public transport already have something to do - whether reading, talking to their friends, on their mobile phones or listening to music using their earphones. It seems TVs or music on the public transport is really for the drivers. If this is the case then the volume can certainly be turned down, just enough for the drivers to hear. In this way, the driver can still enjoy the music while passengers can do their own thing without having to shout at one another or at their mobile phone that can be irritating if we all do it at the same time.

10. Neighbours

Apart from all the other places mentioned earlier, a source of noise pollution that is hard to avoid is your neighbours, especially when they decide to throw a party or sing karaoke outdoors, using powerful loudspeakers.

Some people might solve this problem by using earplugs or simply move away. But we are hearing more and more about people resorting to violent solutions. Some noisy neighbours in Bangkok and other places such as Had Yai were shot dead for having disturbed their neighbours for so long. This is because the noises deprived people of sleep and they become stressed out and vengeful. The most important thing to keep in mind is that not everyone enjoys listening to loud music late at night. Have your parties and sing your karaoke, but do try to keep the volume down and do not keep your neighbours up until very late. It doesn't hurt to have a good relationship with your neighbours, to respect their right to enjoy some peace and quiet, and your community will be a much happier one. And it is one way to keep everyone both physically and mentally healthy. What do you think?