Casual Conversation: The Sound of the Train Whistle

My family used to live in the center of Nha Trang city, about a kilometer as the crow flies from the train station. In the early mornings or late at night when everything was quiet, I would often hear the train whistle.

I don't know if it was a train coming from the North or from the South, but I imagine it could be an outpouring of joy or perhaps a profound sadness in the stories told at the train station.

On those sleepless nights, whether in the early morning or late at night, I would hear not only the train whistle but also the hacking cough of an old man from the house opposite... This small, peaceful neighborhood and its tranquil moments lasted for over 25 years until the day I left. Occasionally, reminiscing about my old neighborhood, I walk past and am surprised to see it now a bustling street full of shops. Some families have sold their houses and moved elsewhere, like me, while others remain, their homes closed, lost in the vibrant atmosphere of the tourism boom. I wonder if anyone else still experiences those sleepless nights listening to the train whistle like I did back then?

When I first arrived in Saigon, in the Phu Nhuan area near the railway tracks, I heard not only the train whistle but also the rumbling sound every time a train passed by. The train whistle was long but lively, signaling a safe departure or arrival.

The train whistles and the rumbling on the railway tracks made my life faster, more hurried, and sometimes I miss the feeling of not hearing the train whistles on those early morning nights in Nha Trang for so long.

Then I moved to District 7 (the old name). My apartment overlooked the city's "lifeline" river, with its large, sturdy ships and barges carrying goods to destinations both domestically and internationally. The train whistles were now replaced by the whistles of ships, which sounded without any pattern, as ships came and went all day long. Hearing the ship whistles on sleepless nights or on early mornings waiting for dawn, I intensely missed the sound of the train whistles arriving at Nha Trang station on the North-South railway.

My house in Nha Trang is now about 5 kilometers from the city center, so I can no longer hear the train whistle in the morning like I used to; but on some afternoons, sitting on the porch, I can still hear the distant sound of the train whistle as it passes Phu Vinh. The train whistle in those afternoons didn't carry a nostalgic, contemplative, or philosophical tone of farewell and reunion, but rather a lively, bustling feeling of embarking on a long, distant journey.

There were afternoons when I would wander around the train tracks, watching and waiting for the trains to pass, sometimes waiting forever... And then there were times when I arrived just as the train had gone. I missed a chance to take beautiful pictures in the afternoon sun. It's a truly poignant feeling to think about the trains departing from or arriving in Nha Trang.

There were also days when my waiting at the railway tracks paid off. I was overjoyed to capture a beautiful photograph of a train passing by in the peaceful sunset.

The joy is real when you capture the moment a train leaves the city!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhan-dam-tieng-coi-tau-185251011153831759.htm