The Sounds of Ho Chi Minh City / Vietnam

Yes, still in Ho Chi Minh City, I thought I can try to give you a little impression of the sounds, which fill the air around me at the moment. If it were not necessary to read this mail for getting the picture I would tell you to close your eyes ... Well anyway, there we go: ...

We still stay in one of those very narrow alleys. A lot of the houses have incredibly little space to live inside, so life is outside the front door. Depending on the time of day you hear a lot of people chatting along, sometimes it gets a bit louder (and harsher), babies being played with, sometimes crying .... or long Shhhhhhn!Shhhhhhn!-sounds usually from someone carrying a small child with naked bottom trying to animate it to pee or else ... the sound of cutting-knives on wood, when food is being prepared...Oh, there is the repeating calling melody of someone carrying a tray on one shoulder or a bamboo-pole with baskets on either ends or pushing a cycle selling fruits or other things ... there are birds chilping...TVs burbling along very loud .... sometimes there is singing to be heard, like our hosts singing to the little one while cradling her in the hammock; often sounds like the Buddhist-melodies, which you can hear in pagodas, but Vietnamese songs too....in the evening for example the karaoke is turned on, I mentioned my respect for the Vietnamese joy of singing before, no matter if talented or not ... You can hear them sing!

Squiiiiiick, squiiiik, squiiiiiik, that's someone selling balloons (for playing in the water) in all shapes and colours (imagine a bicycle loaded with sticks full of balloons)

Bimmm, bimmm, bimmm, bimmm ..... that's the ice-cream being rolled down the street!

Rrrritshtshtshe, rrritshtshtshtshe, rrritshtshththe... Men on bicycles with small suitcases and bags and a rattle in their hands; it took us a while to find out what it's all about: They do massages, kneading feet, hands and shoulder on the spot ....

A similar mystery for us were those people walking the streets with a small piece of metal or bamboo and a stick going clog, clag, clog, clag, clog clog-clog, clag ...: It's the "call for the soup being ready" If you wish, you can order one, which is brought to you on a tray!

Well not to forget the constant background-noise of loads of motorbikes rushing past and like the cars beeping their horns at every occasion possible ... motorbike-and cyclodrivers clapping there hands for attention, asking: "Where do you go? Do you want a moto/cyclo? City tour ... " Do you want to buy books?" (someone carrying a tower of copied books) "Please come in" (someone jumping up in front of you pointing to a restaurant) ... hammocks, lighter, sunglasses, chewing-gums ... I will not continue this long list of things being offered to you on the street, as it seems endless ...

Well, you can return to your own world of sounds now, while I will make my way out of this clicking and clacking environment of the internet-cafe, into this sometimes tiring but jet "wonderfully noisy" city!