Reader question: What are those disco buses in Pattaya?

You can also rent these buses for a day out with staff and/or friends and acquaintances. The driver and/or his assistant is also the DJ and the music is – to my ears at least – loud, and the bass even louder. I went on a staff outing like this once at the company of an acquaintance of mine, but I will NEVER do that again.

In Chon Buri there are a few hundred similar buses, sometimes with beautiful paintwork. The music system is (usually) less loud and the buses are used to take staff to and from the factories.
I think the drivers live in those buses and they are washing and polishing the bus all day long.
Unbelievable that those buses look so neat because the drivers on those buses think that they are alone on the road or that the road is only for them. (I am big and he is small mentality)

I have regularly traveled on such a bus, when I was still teaching English or sometimes with my wife. They are usually used for school trips. This often means leaving Buri Ram late at night, driving all night and arriving in the morning. Later in the afternoon the departure for home is started again, so an overnight stay is saved. Children from all over Isan are usually treated once a year by the government to a school trip, sometimes also an education trip or (Buddhist) school camp (retreat). Many children have never seen the sea and the beach before, so the preference for school trips is usually the sea. Sometimes a national park is also visited, but that is not nearly as spectacular. It is a great experience for the children, dancing, jumping, dancing, etc. during the entire journey. Almost every 7-11 is visited. They often have a relatively large amount of money with them (sometimes several hundred baht for snacks). Personally I think it's terrible, exhausting, but I temporarily ignore my own opinion and fatigue, and in the end it's also fun, short and powerful in a way. We always take our son with us (now 6), and he always likes it very much.

Imagine living in the life of teenagers in… It's quite an experience for them… Isan children don't have the possibilities (ahem…) and freedoms (ahem…) that we ourselves had as teenagers: unlimited going out (also in Fryslân), discos everywhere /pubs/festivals/concerts/coffee shops/village parties, freedom, drink what I wanted, etc (in hindsight I don't know which is better, perhaps Thai children are not worse off, they don't miss that much... saves a lot of brain damage)

Of course it is dangerous, bumping and stamping while driving and not sitting still in the seat belts, but yes… that risk is simply taken.

I went on a bus like this last year.
In Si Maha Phot, the whole neighborhood was picked up early in the morning for a trip to Ayutthaya. Back late at night. Traveled about 9 temples, drinks on board, of course and music.
And it was free!!!